Interlude

Taking time off from her big band, pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi is well showcased on this excellent trio outing with bassist Dennis Irwin and drummer Eddie Marshall. She performs four veteran standards (including "Solitude" and "You Stepped Out of a Dream") and a quartet of originals. Of the new pieces, "Interlude" and "I Know Who Loves You" (the latter is based on the chords of "Somebody Loves Me") are among the highlights. Akiyoshi's piano playing sometimes gets overlooked due to her work with her orchestra so this particularly strong set (reissued on CD) serves as a reminder of her excellent Bud Powell-inspired style. Recommended.

William Alwyn valued his Lyra Angelica concerto for harp above all his other music, and it is indeed very beautiful. It was premiered at the first night of the 1954 Proms and, not surprisingly, made an immediate impression. The work is inspired by stanzas written in the seventeenth century by the English metaphysical poet, Giles Fletcher, and Alwyn prefaces each of the movements with a line from his poem, ''Christ's Victorie and Triumph''. The music opens mistily and then a wondrous tune appears, like a carol, and it almost fits the words of the first quotation, ''I looke for angels' songs, and hear Him crie''.

At once a virtuosic tour de force and an outpouring of romantic feelings, Elgar's Violin Concerto is one of the titan concertos of the repertoire. At about 50 minutes in total length, it was conceived of on a scale even greater than Dvorák or Brahms before him, but retains the same symphonic characteristics and importance of the orchestral accompaniment.