Music For Heart

Stuart Saunders Smith - A River Rose: Music for Violin - Airi Yoshioka (2014) {New World Records 80754-2}
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© 2014 New World Records | 80754-2
Classical / Modern Classical / Experimental / Avant-Garde

Stuart Saunders Smith (b. 1948) describes himself as "a confessional composer who focuses on revealing in his music the most personal aspects of his life, in the belief that the revelations of the particular speak to the universal." These six works feature the violin, unaccompanied and in a chamber context, and span four decades of compositional activity.

Glorious Majesty Music for English Kings and Queens is a 3CD collection of classical music written for English Kings and Queens through the ages. From Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II (via Queen Mary II, Queen Anne, George II, Edward VI, and George V) the collection includes the much-loved classics Handel s Zadok the Priest and Music for the Royal Fireworks, Parry s I was glad, Elgar s Coronation March, Walton s Crown Imperial and Orb and Sceptre, and not forgetting Elgar s arrangement of the National Anthem

One would think that, with the current feelings about the US presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, there would be frequent stagings throughout the country of Kurt Weill's JOHNNY JOHNSON, his awe-inspiring anti-war "play with songs" and his first work for the American theater. (Not coincidentally, where are all productions of Joan Littlewoood's OH, WHAT A LOVELY WAR and the Gershwin/Kaufman STRIKE UP THE BAND?)

One would think that, with the current feelings about the US presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, there would be frequent stagings throughout the country of Kurt Weill's JOHNNY JOHNSON, his awe-inspiring anti-war "play with songs" and his first work for the American theater. (Not coincidentally, where are all productions of Joan Littlewoood's OH, WHAT A LOVELY WAR and the Gershwin/Kaufman STRIKE UP THE BAND?)

Pure enjoyment is provided by this delightful new recording of popular Russian music arranged for clarinet and orchestra by Robin White. From Rimsky-Korsakov’s Clarinet Concerto – originally scored for military band – to the Andante Cantabile from Tchaikovsky’s first string quartet (a staple for arrangers for decades) this is a beautifully played album by one of Britain’s busiest orchestras. An interloper (but a welcome one) from Italy (but of Eastern European style) provides a superb finale. Ian Scott is the principal clarinet of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and has been guest principal with several top London orchestras. He has previously made premiere recordings of Clarinet Concertos for ASV and Dutton.