Christopher Williamson - Piano Music 2 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

SEMYON ALEXEYEVICH BARMOTIN (1877-1939) was a student of Balakirev and Rimsky-Korsakov, and his fate under the Soviet regime in the 1930s remains a mystery, but what survives of his music is impressive in both scale and content. These world première recordings are filled with color and contrast the Tema con variazioni transforms it's material into a multitude of moods to conclude in a symphonic march, while the 20 Preludes are striking in their sophisticated harmonies and heightened emotional impact. Christopher Williams is a music graduate of Cardiff University and now leads a busy and varied professional life as a pianist, composer, conductor, teacher and arranger. He is currently assistant director of the BBC National Chorus of Wales and is a pianist for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, with whom he has performed at the BBC Proms and recorded for the Chandos and Hyperion labels. In addition to his work as a soloist, Williams is in great demand as an accompanist and chamber musician, and has partnered many of the prominent instrumentalists of his generation including Philippe Schartz, Tim Thorpe, David Childs, David Pyatt and Tine Thing Helseth. He has also appeared on BBC TV and been broadcast on BBC Radio and Radio Luxembourg. His recording of Brahms transcriptions for Grand Piano was featured as album of the week on NDR Kultur.

This album of rarely heard piano music by Mendelssohn displays the composer's wide emotional range and features two youthful sonatas, composed when he was just eleven years old. Pianist Christopher Williams has previously recorded acclaimed albums of music by Semyon Barmotin for Grand Piano (GP799, 865, 866)and makes his Naxos tag debut with this album.

This CD single edition of 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' celebrates Mariah's perennial Christmas classic in honour of it's 30th Anniversary. The single features the timeless version of 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' as well as the festival So So Def remix version, plus 'Christmas Time Is in the Air Again (Magical Christmas mix)', 'Christmas Wrapping (Live from Madison Square Garden)', featuring Mariah's daughter Roe, 'Miss You Most (At Christmas Time) [Video Version]' and 'Joy to the World (Celebration Mix)'. The single also features brand new cover art that pays homage to the original single artwork.