Gerard Schwarz - Symphony No 4 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

From the discovery of roses laid on Claudio Monteverdi's tomb at the Frari in Venice by unknown admirers, comes this passionate story, which became a novel by Gabriella Bianco and records the inhibited passion between Ariadna and Levon, the failure of the union and in the painful denouement, Levon's renunciation of life and Ariadna's return to Berlin coinciding with the fall of the wall in 1989. In the background of this painful story, two constant presences shine, that of Monteverdi and that of Venice, in it's languid evanescence and poignant beauty. The meeting with composers Monica Nasti and Daniela Nasti gave music to the words brilliantly underscoring each passage of the story, in absolute and loving homage to Monteverdi's music.

Inner City / O.B.C. / Inner City / O.B.C. - Inner City / O.B.C. [COMPACT DISCS] date 02/02/2011

The unjustly neglected and often dissident music of Ruth Gipps is with this album finding all the resonance it deserves by Rumon Gamba and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, having already championed many British composers from the twentieth century with their series devoted to British Tone Poems and Overtures from the British Isles. While, not surprisingly, there are echoes of the most popular composers of the time - Sibelius, Walton, and Vaughan Williams - the music is notable for it's personal voice, confident conception, and vivid writing for the orchestra. Gipps herself actually felt her best works were those for orchestra. In a programme of contrasting impressions and emotions, Symphonies Nos 2 and 4, the former inspired by the Second World War, offer an approachable tuneful idiom. They are complemented by the lyrical, shorter Song for Orchestra and the early tone poem Knight in Armour, premiered at the last Night of the Proms in 1942.