Kathleen 0'neal Gear

The Canadian-born violinist Kathleen Parlow was one of the most exceptional violinists at the beginning of the 20th century. A brilliant child prodigy, who had performed before King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace at the age of 14, Parlow was a student of the legendary Leopold Auer, who was so enamored of her playing that he referred to her as ‘Mischa Elman in a skirt’. While a still a student, Glazunov, the director of the St Petersburg Conservatory, recommended that she give the Belgian premiere of his Violin Concerto.

For this wonderful recital finally making is digital debut, Kathleen Battle made a beautiful selection of Handel arias excerpted from its most famous operas (Alcina, Giulio Cesare in Egitto), oratorios (Solomon, Messiah) and masques (Acis and Galatea). It is witfully accompanied by Neville Marriner’s Academy, who provides an ideal backdrop in which Battle’s voice can express all its charm and virtuosity. This album is definitely a highlight of our Neville Marriner centenary retrospective!

Cambodian composer Chinary Ung was an extreme disadvantage in terms of his musical background; the only Western instrument he was able to study in his native Cambodia was the E flat clarinet, which he learned well enough to enter the Manhattan School of Music in 1964. Since earning his doctorate in music composition at Columbia in 1974, Ung has largely made his career in the United States as a teacher and, partly owing to that, missed the genocide conducted in his home country, although most of his family was not so fortunate.