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NIMBUS RELEASES DISCOVER JEAN FRANÇAIX: THE BEST OF MARTIN JONES,  ON 2 MAY 2025

10/2/2025

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Nimbus Records releases Discover Jean Françaix: The Best of Martin Jones, on 2 May 2025 (NI.7732). The album is a compilation of Martin Jones's acclaimed three-volume set of Jean Françaix's complete piano music.
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Click above to download on iTunes with digital booklet or stream on Apple Music
Jean René Désiré Françaix was born in Le Mans on 23 May 1912 into a musical family – his father was a composer and pianist, his mother a singing teacher.

Françaix was a prolific composer, whose output amounts to over 200 works in a wide range of genres. His œuvre includes symphonies and cantatas, but he was most prolific in writing for the forces of soloist and orchestra. He first made his name in 1932, with a performance of his Eight Bagatelles for piano and string quartet at the International Society for Contemporary Music Festival in Vienna. His language is resolutely tonal, with a generally restricted but effective harmonic vocabulary… Charm wit and elegance, often with a sense of wry detachment, inform his scores, which are distinguished by their precision and clarity. Though an archetypally French composer, he exhibited a cheerful eclecticism, ranging over the Western musical tradition in all its diversity, which chimes with the ‘magpie’ instincts of his compatriots Poulenc and Ibert, for example.

The piano occupies a prime position in Françaix’s output, whether as a concertante instrument or in the more intimate forms of chamber music and instrumental pieces for solo piano and duets. He used it principally as a vehicle for exhibiting his virtuosity, yet his piano scores contain several examples of introspection and nostalgic reflection.
© Paul Conway


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Celebrated British pianist Martin Jones recorded the complete piano music of Jean Françaix (1912-1997) in 2012 on 3 CDs. This is a compilation of his best music, in which wit, sophistication and extreme virtuosity combine in one of the twentieth century’s instantly recognisable voices.

Martin Jones has been one of Britain’s most highly regarded solo pianists since first coming to international attention in 1968 when he received the Dame Myra Hess Award. The same year he made his London debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and his New York debut at Carnegie Hall, and ever since has been in demand for recitals and concerto performances on both sides of the Atlantic.

He is a prolific recording artist and his many major projects include the complete solo piano works of Mendelssohn, Brahms, Debussy, Grainger, Stravinsky, Korngold, Szymanowski, Granados, Guastavino, Mompou, Ernesto Halffter, Joaquin Nin, Has Gál, Jean Françaix, Jean Roger-Ducasse, and Alan Richardson.






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JULIUS RÖNTGEN VIOLA SONATAS WITH HERBERT KEFER AND MARKUS SCHIRMER RELEASED BY NIMBUS RECORDS ON 4 APRIL 2025

18/1/2025

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Click above to pre-order download with digital booklet from Presto Music
Nimbus Records releases its Julius Röntgen Three Viola Sonatas album, with Herbert Kefer, viola, and Markus Schirmer, piano, on 4 April 2025 (NI 8118).
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These Sonatas were written between November 1924 and March 1925. They show the composer at the height of his art… His friendly respect for the great North German and Viennese masters has quite obviously found its way into his creative thinking, and he makes use of the most diverse procedures with a sure hand. Nowhere is there a dubious proportion, no piece seems too long, no subject unduly strained. It should also be noted that Röntgen has a profound knowledge of the instruments - himself an excellent pianist, the piano part makes great demands, the viola part exploits the advantages of the instrument skilfully without ever overtaxing it. © Herbert Kefer

PictureHerbert Kefer
Herbert Kefer, viola

Herbert Kefer was born in Eisenerz, Austria, in 1960. At the age of five he received his first musical education on the violin. He continued his studies with Prof. Karl Frischenschlager in Leoben and with Prof. Karl Stierhof at the University of Music in Vienna. In 1986 he graduated with distinction. In 1980 he founded, together with three colleagues, the Artis-Quartett. The Quartet made more than thirty recordings, some honoured with the Grand Prix du Disque and the Diapason d'Or. In 1991 Herbert Kefer was appointed head of Viola at Graz University of Music / Institution Oberschuetzen. He is in demand as a soloist as well as a sought-after partner for chamber music groups.
                                  
© www.wyastone.co.uk/viola-concertos-herbert-kefer.html



PictureMarkus Schirmer (photo: Christian Jungwirth)
Markus Schirmer, piano

Energy, expression and emotion characterize Austrian top-pianist Markus Schirmer’s music making. No matter where he tours he receives audience acclaim for his charismatic musicianship and his ability to tell vivid stories with the instrument. Markus has worked with numerous orchestras worldwide including the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London and Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.For his exceptional artistic diversity Markus Schirmer was awarded the “Music Manual Award“ at the Euromusic International Music Convention and is a recipient of one of Austria’s most prestigious awards, the Karl Böhm Interpretation Prize. One of his reviews sums him up: 'A pied piper on the piano ... music that comes straight from the heart, the brain and the fingertips.'

© www.markusschirmer.at/artist/biography



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NIMBUS RECORDS RELEASES JULIUS RÖNTGEN PIANO MUSIC 6 WITH MARK ANDERSON ON 4 APRIL 2025

18/1/2025

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Click above to pre-order on iTunes
Nimbus Records releases Julius Röntgen Piano Music Volume 6, performed by Mark Anderson, on 4 April 2025 (NI 8117).

'I must confess that I’ve been following this series since it began and I’ve been very impressed with all of the discs so far.' Jonathan Welsh, MusicWeb International

This recording provides the listener with a chronological overview of Julius Röntgen’s creative output, from his earliest published composition, written in 1864—when he was just nine years old—to pieces written as a mature composer five decades later. The latter reveals a composer of outstanding skill, diverse influences, and a master of musical forms and compositional techniques. It has been said that “One would look in vain for anything truly original or shocking in Röntgen’s output....”. However, there are works included on this recording that dispel that assumption. This pianist would argue that three works stand out, which are truly unique and powerfully original. The first is a short Toccata, which is something of a mystery work having never been published and lacking a date of composition. The others are the Sonata in C Minor from 1877 and the Passacaglia and Fugue of 1911. It is the latter that most decidedly distinguishes Röntgen as having a truly original voice. Julius Röntgen composed over 600 works and is especially known for his concertos, symphonies and chamber music. His piano music has remained unjustifiably neglected since he died in 1932. © Mark Anderson

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Mark Anderson
 
Pianist Mark Anderson’s recordings and performances have met with widespread critical acclaim. Since his successes at the 1993 Leeds (U.K.) and 1994 William Kapell (U.S.) International Piano Competitions, Mark Anderson has appeared frequently as recitalist, soloist and chamber musician. He has performed in Japan, throughout much of Europe and Great Britain, Ireland and North America. Mark Anderson has collaborated with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Nicholas McCegan, William Boughton, George Cleve, and Adam Fischer. Mark given recitals at New York’s Alice Tully Hall and Weill Hall, the Kennedy Centre and the Phillips Gallery in Washington D.C., London's Wigmore Hall and Zurich's Tonhalle and elsewhere throughout Europe and North America. His solo and concerto performances are complimented by chamber music work, most recently with the newly formed Röntgen Piano Trio.



NIMBUS MUSIC PUBLISHING

Alongside this album, Nimbus Music Publishing is publishing sheet music for Julius Röntgen's Passacaglia und Fuge (NMP 1292), Piano Sonata in C minor (NMP 1293), and Toccata (NMP 1294).



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NIMBUS RELEASES TRIO SHAHAM EREZ WALLFISCH: COMPLETE BEETHOVEN PIANO TRIOS AND TRIPLE CONCERTO ON 6 MARCH 2025

6/12/2024

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Nimbus Records releases Trio Shaham-Erez-Wallfisch performing Beethoven's complete Piano Trios, and Triple Concerto with The Orchestra of The Swan conducted by Eckehard Stier on 7 March 2025 (NI1709).
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Trio Shaham-Erez-Wallfisch was founded in 2009 and comprises three of the finest international instrumentalists performing today. Playing chamber music together at the Pablo Casals Prades Festival Hagai Shaham and Raphael Wallfisch recognised an immediate musical synergy. Arnon Erez joined them for trio concerts in Lucerne and the Netherlands later that year and the Trio Shaham-Erez-Wallfisch was established. Since its formation, the Trio has been invited numerous times to prestigious chamber music series at venues such as London’s Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Rotterdam De Doellen, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie. The Trio often appears in Spain, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Israel and Canada, and were invited by the Wigmore Hall to present the complete Beethoven piano trios in 2020.

The monumental 'Archduke' Trio Op.97 represents Beethoven at the peak of his creativity in the genre. Sketches for all four movements of this 'symphony scored for atrio' are included in a sketchbook of 1810 containing also drafts for the Egmont music and the String Quartet in F minor Op.95… Three years elapsed before the work's public premiere, by Beethoven, Schuppanzigh and Linke, on 11 April 1814 as part of a charity concert in the hall of the 'Hotel zum Römischen Kaiser' in Vienna. This concert sounded the death knell of Beethoven's public career as a pianist, owing to his profound deafness… Although Haydn and Mozart contributed much to the piano trio's evolution, Beethoven breathed new life and dynamism into the medium, expanded its size and scale and enriched its thematic and tonal substance. His trios provided a benchmark for the further flowering of the genre in the nineteenth century, as exemplified in the works of Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms and Dvorák.
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RTF CLASSICAL / NIMBUS ALLIANCE RELEASES PARIS 1913: L'OFFRANDE LYRIQUE WITH CLAIRE BOOTH AND ANDREW MATTHEWS-OWENS ON 7 FEBRUARY 2025

16/11/2024

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RTF Classical releases Paris 1913: L'Offrande lyique - music by Auric, Boulanger, Caplet, Chaminade, Debussy, Durey, Fauré, Grovlez, Hahn, Milhaud, Ravel, Ropartz, Saint-Saëns and Satie, in partnership with Nimbus Alliance, on 7 February 2025 (NI 6455).
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Click above to download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music
The world première recording of Louis Durey’s L’Offrande lyrique Op. 4, six songs set to texts by Rabindranath Tagore (recipient of the 1913 Nobel Prize for Literature) in French translation by André Gide, is a highlight of this collection. Inspired by the atonality of Arnold Schoenberg’s The Book of Hanging Gardens, and often credited as the first piece of free twelve-note technique in French music, L’Offrande lyrique navigates a harmonic language which can hold clarity and vivid colour in Lumière ! ma lumière !, or blur into dark heavy clouded gesture in Les nuages s’entassent, effectively supporting Tagore’s language. At times, the words seem to muse over seemingly unconnected piano motifs, before meeting - sometimes harmonically, sometimes not - sometimes walking the same path, other times meandering separately again. For Paris 1913 to include a world première recording of such important music, written over a century ago, is thrilling, and places Durey firmly alongside his contemporaries in the cafés and salons of pre-war Paris. Far from being overshadowed by the better-known composers in this anthology, these songs stand as a testament to the strength of French melodies of the era. © Andrew Matthews-Owen & Claire Booth
 
Claire Booth
British soprano Claire Booth is renowned for the vitality and musicianship that she brings to the operatic stage and concert platform, with a versatility that encompasses repertoire spanning from Monteverdi and Handel, through Rossini, Berg and Strauss, to a fearless commitment to the music of the present day... A champion of lesser performed vocal repertoire, Booth has released a series of vocal retrospectives of Grainger, Grieg, Mussorgsky and Schoenberg. Her discovery of Durey’s ‘L’Offrande Lyrique’ fits squarely into this narrative, and she is extremely happy to partner with long-time friend and collaborator Andrew Matthews-Owen for this inaugural recording of Durey’s work. © www.claire-booth.com
 
Andrew Matthews-Owen
Welsh-born pianist Andrew Matthews-Owen studied at the Royal Academy of Music, London, where he received numerous prizes and has been elected an honorary Associate. He now enjoys a busy career partnering some of the most successful classical singers of our time, on the concert platform, on acclaimed commercial records, on broadcasts and as a vocal coach. Andrew has partnered singers including Patricia Bardon, Susan Bickley, Claire Booth, Susan Bullock and many more.

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RFT Classical is a record label owned by the Richard Thomas Foundation, aiming to bring interesting and occasionally challenging pieces of contemporary music to new audiences. Our first recording of songs with Claire Booth and Andrew Matthews-Owen (and Susan Bickley) was Songs and Vexations (2019) including songs by Debussy, Fauré, Satie and Jonathon Dove, which went on to win the ALLMUSIC.COM “2019 Vocal Recording of the Year”.


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BACH-CENTRICITY: CONCERTOS, TRIOS & SONATAS ARRANGED FOR TWO HARPSICHORD WITH DAVID PONSFORD AND DAVID HILL, RELEASED BY NIMBUS ALLIANCE ON 3 JANUARY 2025

10/10/2024

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NImbus Alliance releases Bach-Centricity: Concertos, Trios & Sonatas arranged for two harpsichords, with David Ponsford and David Hill, on 3 January 2025 (NI 6454).
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All the concertos, trios and sonatas on this recording are in some way associated with J. S. Bach, being composed, arranged, transcribed or copied by the composer. All are in the BWV catalogue; most have positive links with Bach’s first important appointment as Court Organist and Chamber Musician at the Ducal Court in Weimar (1708-1714).

The value of such arrangements is that they allow a wider perception into a composer’s compositional processes, and which have the potential for presenting new insights and different characteristics to particular pieces of music, which might not be evident in the originals. Hence these arrangements extend a practice that was normal in the early eighteenth century, and in this recording, they are played on instruments with which Bach would have been entirely familiar. What revelations they reveal! © David Ponsford

‘The Two Davids’, as they have sometime been called, began playing together in 2020 when they recorded Bach’s Six Organ Trio Sonatas (NI 6403) on two harpsichords. This recording elicited the following review in Choir & Organ: ‘The recording conveys a compelling sense of dialogue and sociability between two virtuoso musicians, equally at one with the material, and the alternation between instruments makes great sense of Bach’s antiphony and repeats.’ Since then they have played at the St Albans and Cambridge Festivals, as well as for music societies in various parts of the country, including The Athenaeum Club in London. © David Ponsford


Retour aux sources: France Musique, 29 January 2025

Maureen Buja, Interlude: 9 February 2025

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PictureDavid Ponsford
David Ponsford is an organist, harpsichordist, musicologist and conductor, and an authority on keyboard music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries… David has an extensive discography, having recorded all four parts of J. S. Bach’s Clavierübung, the complete series of Bach violin sonatas with Jacqueline Ross, ‘Parthenia’ (1612), and the complete Handel recorder sonatas with Alan Davis… In March 2024 he was awarded The Medal of the Royal College of Organists, its highest honour, ‘in recognition of distinguished achievement in organ performance and scholarship’.


PictureDavid Hill
Renowned for his fine musicianship, David Hill is widely respected as an organist, conductor and educator. He has held positions as Organist of Westminster Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral and St John’s College, Cambridge. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists when he was 17 whilst studying at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester… He has given recitals since he was 10 years old and continues to do so. Away from the organ world, David operates a busy life as a freelance musician… as Musical Director of The Bach Choir, London, Music Director of the Leeds Philharmonic Society, Associate Guest Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and from 2013-24 he was Professor and Principal Conductor of Schola Cantorum, Yale University… He has made a number of discs as an organist, and a recent recording from Peterborough Cathedral was nominated as Critic’s Choice in the American Record Guide in 2021.



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RTF/NIMBUS ALLIANCE RELEASES JOSEPH PHIBBS STRING QUARTETS ON 1 NOVEMBER 2024

4/9/2024

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The Richard Thomas Foundation with Nimbus Alliance released Joseph Phibbs String Quartets album on 1 November 2024 (NI 6452), with the Piatti Quartet.

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Click above to download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music
PictureJoseph Phibbs
“Having studied the cello as a child, I have always felt a special affinity with string music. My introduction at the age of 14 to the music of Britten was through his first string quartet, the opening of which still fills me with awe, and his works - especially those for strings - have remained a lifelong inspiration. I am delighted therefore that this recording of my String Quartets Nos. 2-4 has been released, made possible by the generous support of the Richard Thomas Foundation. I have been fortunate to work closely with the Piatti Quartet over a number of years. It was they who commissioned my String Quartet No. 1 (2014), a piece they have performed extensively and recorded (Champs Hill Records 2018). Their enthusiasm encouraged me to continue exploring the genre, and - a decade later – it has been both a privilege and a huge pleasure to have another opportunity to write for them (String Quartet No.4).

Much of my music is inspired by light and landscapes (as well as cityscapes): these two elements drawn from places in the past that have been especially important to me, including Ithaca (NY) and New York City. When considering which images would best sum up the overall feel of the album, light-both natural and artificial - as seen within a landscape, seemed the most fitting choice. The vibrant colours of Casting Nets (2024) by my niece, the artist Rose Jones (reproduced on the rear inside cover of this booklet) provides a perfect contrast to the reflective Whistler image on the front cover, both works presenting light and water in completely different ways.” © Joseph Phibbs



'The Fourth Quartet ... mixes turbulent restlessness with a more predominant songful element. The composer’s touchstone here, a querulous beauty, has a remote enchantment about it. A dance of the heavenly spirits casts a sideways glance at Hovhaness in his more recessed moments.' Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International, 14 October 2024

'Pierre Boulez thought the string quartet was dead. I beg to differ'.
Joseph Phibbs Profile: Gramophone Magazine, 1 November 2024

‘One of the most rewarding musical relationships’ - Joseph Phibbs’s string quartets recorded by the Piatti Quartet - Interview:  The Strad, 1 November 2024

'[The Piatti Quartet] master these challenges with technical finesse and deepening verve in their performance..intensively explore and present the life-affirming and sometimes downright lively movements.. lyrical warmth and rich playing.'
Pizzicato, 5 November 2024


'Phibbs has an individual voice: compelling, expressive... Listening carefully to these performances, registering time and again, one realises not only just how powerful the music is, but also the superb nature of the performances. All four instrumentalists: Michael Trainor, Emily Holland, violins, Miguel Sabrinho, viola, Jessie Ann Richardson, cello - is expert in their own right, but they combine to make a whole greater than the sum of their four parts - surely the very definition of hot string quartet playing.' Colin Clarke, Classical Explorer, 8 November 2024

'Phibbs is a resourceful while often imaginative writer for string quartet, his music demonstrably in the lineage of 20th-century totems such as Bartók or Shostakovich (with a nod toward Britten), without being beholden to these or any other precedents. It helps when the Piatti Quartet ... sounds so well attuned to his idiom and has evidently prepared each one of these works with unfailing commitment.' Arcana, 28 November 2024

  1. 'I really enjoyed these quartets and look forward to hearing more of Phibbs’s music... The Piatti Quartet repay the composer’s confidence in them with strong and committed performances, and the recording is excellent. Those who care for string quartets should explore these works.' Stephen Barber, MusicWeb International, 17 December 2024

'English whimsy unafraid of its passionate emotional core'.
Steph Power, BBC Music Magazine, 20 December 2024


'Presenting light and water',Maureen Buja, Interlude, January 2025

The Piatti Quartet are Michael Trainor (violin), Emily Holland (violin), Miguel Sobrinho (viola) and Jessie Ann Richardson (cello). Resident Quartet at Kings Place, London, the distinguished quartet are widely renowned for their ‘profound musicmaking’ (The Strad) and their ‘lyrical warmth’ (BBC Music Magazine). Following their prizewinning performances at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, they have performed all over the world and made international broadcasts from many countries. Contemporary music has been ever present in their repertoire and major commissions and dedications have stemmed from Mark-Anthony Turnage, Emily Howard, Charlotte Harding, and Joseph Phibbs whilst they have premiered a huge number of new works over the years.
 
“From that first moment we played Joe’s music we felt this was a voice that spoke to us, music that we instantly understood and connected with. He is the contemporary composer we have performed most often and audiences have always been enthralled by his music.”
The Piatti Quartet
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Electronic press kit and listening link available for reviewers and radio producers from Ulysses Arts.
Album supported by The RIchard Thomas Foundation.

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NIMBUS ALLIANCE RELEASES ROBERT BLOCKER COMTEMPORARY CHARACTER PIECES FOR PIANO ON 1 NOVEMBER 2024

4/9/2024

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Nimbus Alliance releases Robert Blocker: Contemporary Character Pieces for PIano, with works by eight composers, on 1 November 2024 (NI 6453).
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Click above to download from iTunes or stream on Apple Music
“The romantic character pieces of Schumann and Brahms have been my musical companions since childhood. In earlier years, I was immersed in their emotional content. The craft, especially the economy of scale and refinement of compositional technique, captured my attention as a college student…Throughout my career, I have championed new music created by fellow students and colleagues. Shortly after assuming the deanship of the Yale School of Music, it occurred to me that the expansive piano repertoire could be enriched further by contemporary character pieces. These would be in the tradition of the romantic era, each one being three to five minutes in length with an inherent emotional impulse...When asked to compose a contemporary character piece that I would perform and record, my faculty colleagues and friends were most gracious and responded affirmatively…My gratitude and admiration foreach of them is boundless not only for their personal encouragement but also for this significant contribution to the piano repertoire and our musical life.” © Robert Blocker
 
This release includes compositions from Ezra Laderman (Decade), David Lang (Winter Piano), Joseph Schwantner (Palindrome’s Dance), Warren Lee (Three Novelettes), Martin Bresnick (Extrana Devocion), Paul Reale (The Pooka’s Revenge), Aaron Jay Kernis (Toward The Setting Sun) and Christopher Theofanidis (Wake Up, Calleth The Voice).
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“Robert Blocker began his study of the instrument at age five, presenting his first public recital two years later. Following baccalaureate studies at Furman University, Blocker earned master’s and doctoral degrees in piano performance at the University of North Texas under the tutelage of the eminent American pianist Richard Cass.”


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GEORGE BENJAMIN PICTURE A DAY LIKE THIS RELEASED BY NIMBUS RECORDS ON 6 SEPTEMBER 2024

24/6/2024

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Sir George Benjamin's opera Picture a Day Like This, with libretto by Martin Crimp, wll be released by Nimbus Records on 6 September 2024 (NI.8116).
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Click above to pre-order now on iTunes with digital booklet
An ordinary day. A terrible event. The death of her infant child sets in motion one woman’s search for a life-restoring miracle. All she needs to do – in the course of a single day – is find one genuinely happy human being. But when every encounter ends in disappointment, she turns finally to the mysterious owner of a magnificent garden…

Recorded during the first performances, as part of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, at the Théâtre du Jeu de Paume, Aix-en-Provence, France, on 5 July 2023.

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Kevin Mandy, British Music Society, 15 August 2024

Justin Bernard, La Scena musicale, 5 September 2024

Catherine Kustanczy, The Opera Queen, 9 September 2024

Andrew Clements, The Guardian, 12 September 2024

The Financial Times, 25 September 2024

Christopher Cook, BBC Music Magazine, 1 October 2024

Mark Pullinger, Gramophone, 3 October 2024

'The best classical albums of 2024 so far', The Times, 7 October 2024

Morgan Burroughs, MusicWeb International, 9 October 2024

John Gilks, Opera Ramblings, 13 October 2024

Maureen Buja, Interlude, 14 October 2024

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VLADIMIR FELTSMAN A TRIBUTE TO MOZART ALBUM RELEASED BY NIMBUS ON 6 SEPTEMBER 2024

24/6/2024

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Vladimir Feltsman's A Tribute to Mozart piano album (NI.6448) is released by Nimbus Alliance on 6 September 2024.
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In addition to sonatas, variations, and concertos for piano and orchestra, Mozart wrote numerous works for solo piano: fantasias, rondos, adagios, and other assorted pieces of short and moderate length. We don’t know exactly why these works were written, but we know that Mozart had to come up with new material for his many public and private appearances as a composer and performer.

In Mozart's time, composers inveriably were also performers. Any composition was also a potential source of income from publication and from patrons and friends to whom the works were dedicated. No matter why these marvellous works were written, we are lucky to have them.


'Fantasy in C minor K. 475 - Both C minor and E-flat major have three flats, and for Mozart these keys represent the Masonic values of “Strength, Beauty, and Wisdom,” and carry certain extra-musical and mystical implications… The beginning is dark and ominous… We are gently brought into a second episode in D major with a simple tune, gallant in style and execution. Out of nowhere there is an intrusion, a call of fate that breaks the peaceful atmosphere of the previous episode… This Fantasy ends with an ecstatic upsurge of energy in C minor scales, from low C in the bass to high C on top. Two and a half centuries later, we are still left wondering what just happened.

Fantasy in D minor K. 397… It is another unfinished work; the manuscripts lost. The last ten bars were supplied by the composer A.E. Müller, an admirer of Mozart, and this became the standard version as published by Hertel. This Fantasy is a short work, complex and intriguing.

Nine Variations on a Minuet by Duport K. 573 - Towards the end of the 18th century, variations and easy dances for keyboard were in great demand. Countless sets of variations of varying quality by diverse composers were published and sold to the public. Naturally, Mozart did not pass up this opportunity to make money and he wrote fifteen sets of variations for piano, mostly on borrowed themes. K. 573 is one such set. Mozart plays around with his material from the very beginning; the rhythmic formula of the main theme is altered right away in the fifth bar. Different pianistic textures are used in each of the nine variations, the first mimicking piano exercises and the others utilizing arpeggios, repeated notes, broken octaves, scales, double notes and what not. The obligatory slow variation “Adagio” is a parody, a spoof of Italian operatic tradition, with a Diva showing off her amazing vocal ability to an adoring public. In the last variation the time changes briskly from 3 to 2.' © Vladimir Feltsman

Gary Lemco, Audiophile Audition, 15 September 2024
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VLADIMIR FELTSMAN Pianist and conductor Vladimir Feltsman is one of the most versatile and constantly interesting musicians of our time. His vast repertoire encompasses music from the Baroque to 20th-century composers. A regular guest soloist with leading symphony orchestras in the United States and abroad, he appears in prestigious concert series and music festivals all over the world.

Born in Moscow in 1952, Mr Feltsman made his debut with the Moscow Philharmonic  Orchestra aged 11. In 1969, he entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory of Music to study piano under the guidance of Professor Jacob Flier. His debut at Carnegie Hall established him as a major pianist on the American and international scene.




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NIMBUS RELEASES ROBERT SAXTON EPIC OF GILGAMESH AND THE RESURRECTION OF THE SOLDIERS ON 5 JULY 2024 WITH ENGLISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONDUCTED BY KENNETH WOODS

20/5/2024

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Nimbus releases Robert Saxton's Epic of Gilgamesh and The Resurrection of the Soldiers (NI 6447) on 5 July 2024 with the English Symphony Orchestra and English String Orchestra, conducted by Kenneth Woods.
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Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest written literary text in Middle Eastern/Western cultural history, predating the Hebrew Bible. The epic relates the story of King Gilgamesh, partly divine, partly human, who may have existed historically circa 2800 BC. From immature youth and a belief in his immortality, he eventually comes to accept the power and reality of Death.

There are five movements/scenes including the Prologue, where the gods try to restore a sense of balance, the journey to the Forest of Cedar in search of glory, and Apotheosis, where Gilgamesh visits Ut Napishti (precursor of Noah in Genesis) who survived the Flood and had been granted immortality by the gods. Gilgamesh fails the final task set by Ut-Napishti to test his suitability for eternal life, returning to Uruk to build his lasting monument, the city walls.
 
The Resurrection of the Soldiers for string orchestra was commissioned by George Vass, to whom it is dedicated, and the English Symphony Orchestra, for the 2016 Presteigne Festival, with funds generously donated by the John S. Cohen Foundation and the Arts Council of England. The title derives from the final panel of Stanley Spencer’s Sandham Chapel visionary series of paintings which were the result of Spencer’s experiences in the British Army in World War One and depicts soldiers emerging from their graves on the last day.

The piece is in three continuous parts: a slow, sustained introduction which is, in essence, a descent from the note E by means of a prolation canon, but which ascends to a rather intense climactic point before falling and giving way to a very active fugue which, after arriving at an anguished, sustained climax, is succeeded by a closing slow movement consisting of arising melodic line which permeates the entire texture heterophonically, leading to the closing E major triad. The work thus traces a cyclical path as it progresses towards a sense of resurrection, re-birth and hope. © Robert Saxton


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'Saxton here evinces an orchestral mastery.' Richard Whitehouse, Arcana, 25 June 2024

'Full of captivating music-making, two remarkable and compelling compositions, magnificently played.' Guy Rickards, Gramophone, July 2024

'In Scenes from the Epic of Gilgamesh – a work that is subtle yet approachable in its idiom – Saxton reveals an understated orchestral mastery.'  Robert Saxton Composer Profile
Richard Whitehouse, Gramophone, 12 July 2024


'The strings cope with some fantastically demanding writing with apparent ease.'
Kevin Mandry, British Music Society, 18 July 2024

Maureen Buja, Interlude, 29 July 2024

'Fans of orchestral music will be impressed by this movingly powerful and emotionally charged symphonic poem.' Keith Finke, AllMusic, 2024


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Robert Saxton was born in London in 1953. At 21 he won the Gaudeamus International Composers Prize in Holland and was Fulbright Arts Fellow at Princeton in 1986. Now Robert is Emeritus Professor of Composition at Oxford University, Composer-in-Association at the Purcell School, and Honorary Research Fellow at the Royal Academy of Music.
 
Robert has been commissioned by the BBC, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic  Oorchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Nash Ensemble, Antara, Arditti and Chilingirian Quartets, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (USA) and written for the Huddersfield, Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, City of London, Lichfield and Three Choirs Festivals.




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Nimbus Records releases Steve Elcock, Symphony No. 8 and Violin Concerto on 7 June 2024

10/4/2024

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Nimbus Records releases Steve Elcock, Symphony No. 8 and Violin Concerto on Friday 7 June 2024 (NI. 6446), with the English Symphony Orchestra and soloist Zoë Beyers, conducted by Kenneth Woods, as part of their 21st Century Symphony Project.

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The 21st Century Symphony Project

The 21st Century Symphony Project (21CSP) is an English Symphony Orchestra initiative conceived by conductor Kenneth Woods. The initial goal was to commission, premiere and record nine new symphonies by nine different composers. The 21CSP has been called 'one of the most important musical initiatives of modern times' by Robert Matthew-Walker, Editor of Musical Opinion, and 'the most important series of commissions and recordings of our times' by musicologist and cultural commentator Peter Davison, former Artistic Consultant at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.


Alongside Steve Elcock’s Symphony No. 8, other works in the 21st Century Symphony Project include David Matthews Symphony No. 9 (NI 6382), Philip Sawyers Symphony No. 3 (NI 6353) and Adrian Williams, Symphony No. 1 (NI 6432).
PictureSteve Elcock

 Symphony No. 8
'Following the weighty Sixth and Seventh symphonies, I felt the need to write a smaller scale piece before tackling the Ninth, the finale of which was already written and was monumental enough in character to require some substantial movements to precede it. I attempted to produce such a lighter piece by turning to an early string quartet written in 1981 when I was aged 24. I had dismissed it as juvenilia but thought it could perhaps be salvaged by arranging it for string orchestra and filling out the textures… While my first two symphonies still await either performance or recording after a quarter of a century, the Eighth was already on the programme of the Three Choirs Festival before I had even finished reorchestrating it… Symphony no. 8 was commissioned by the English Symphony Orchestra and first performed by them as part of the Three Choirs Festival in Kidderminster on July 28, 2021.'
© Steve Elcock
 
Violin Concerto
'With the first movement, I wanted to achieve a return to the classical momentum that had largely been lost throughout the Romantic era and onward. The energy is unflagging, verging on the desperate, relief being provided only by the two appearances of the expansive second theme; but even this is underpinned by a niggling rhythm in the violas. The second movement provides a welcome contrast. Its opening makes use of change-ringing techniques applied to slowly moving scales in violins and violas, evoking distant bells ringing across a valley.' © Steve Elcock

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'Juxtaposing two major works which confirm his standing among the leading European symphonists of his generation ... This latest release warrants the strongest of recommendations.'
Richard Whitehouse, Arcana, 18 May 2024

'One of the UK's foremost composers.'
Geoff Pearce, Classical Music Daily, 26 May 2024

Maureen Buja, Interlude: 27 May 2024

Remy Franck, Pizzicato, 12 June 2024

'The more I discover and experience the music of Steve Elcock, the more I feel the need to recommend it to anyone who happens to read this review. If you enjoy classical music in general, with a preference for symphonic writing, this living composer ticks all the boxes when it comes to harmonic integrity, orchestration colors and textures, emotive power and structural stability.'
Jean Yves Duperron, Classical Music Sentinel, 13 June 2024

'A thoroughly gripping, involving album, urgently recommended.'
Guy Rickards, Gramophone, June 2024

Electronic press kit available for reviewers from Ulysses Arts



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Nimbus releases Augusta Read Thomas Terpsichore’s Box of Dreams World Première Recordings on 5 April 2024 (NI.6445)

2/2/2024

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Nimbus Alliance releases Augusta Read Thomas's Terpsichore’s Box of Dreams and other world prèmiere recordings on 5 April 2024.

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Click to download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music
Augusta Read Thomas writes:

'I am eternally grateful to the entire Nimbus Records team. Music for me is an embrace of the world, a way to open myself to being alive in the world--in my body, in my sounds, and in my mind. I care deeply about musicality, imagination, craft, clarity, dimensionality, an elegant balance between material and form, and empathy with the performing musicians, recording engineers, as well as everyone who works in the presenting organizations.'
 
'Collaborating with the artists whose performances are on this recording has been one of the most exhilarating experiences of my creative life. It is difficult to express how grateful I am to the many extraordinary colleagues who have made this possible. It is pure magic -- deeply rewarding, fun, and sincere.'


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'Previous instalments in this long-running survey of Augusta Read Thomas's œuvre have ranged far and wide within a catalogue that spans some 30 years to date. In contrast, we explore here a variety of works of more immediately recent vintage - the earliest dates from 2018.  Between them, they fill out a vividly-coloured snapshot of Thomas' irrepressible current compositional persona. Many of her long-standing preoccupations are to be found in this collection: love of dance which propels the music into a tirelessly evolving voyage in both rhythmic and narrative terms; the iridescent, bell-saturated sonic environment that fills her musical landscapes with light and clarity; the sense of jazz auras acting as guiding spirits propelling the music on its course with its restless, hocketing rhythms and penetrating harmonic flavours; a celebration and understanding of instrumental virtuosity; the overall sense of her music engaged in a deep-seated interaction between the present and the past.' © Paul Pellay

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Augusta Read Thomas

The New Yorker called her “a true virtuoso composer.” Critic Edward Reichel wrote, “Thomas has secured for herself a permanent place in the pantheon of American composers of the 20th and 21st Centuries. She is without question one of the best and most important composers that this country has today. Her music has substance, depth, and a sense of purpose. She has a lot to say and knows how to say it—and in a way that is intelligent yet appealing and sophisticated.”


PictureForm map of Laetitia's Caprice by Augusta Read Thomas
Album Contents and Performers

TERPSICHORE’S BOX OF DREAMS 18:18
For flute (picc.), oboe, clarinet (bass clarinet), alto saxophone (baritone sax.), horn, 2 percussionists, harp, piano, 2 violins, viola, and 'cello (2023)
Grossman Ensemble;  Tim Weiss, conductor

1. Terpsichore Enters: 1:15
2. Dance No. 1 Scatter: 2:01
3. Dance No. 2 Tiptoe Caper: 1:11
4. Dance No. 3 Pointillistic Groove Flutter Pirouettes: 1:46
5. Dance No. 4 Slalom: 1:25
6. Dance No. 5 Dream: 5:09
7. Dance No. 6 Gambol: 2:37
8. Dance No. 7 Romp: 1:59
9. Terpsichore Departs: 0:45

10. STAR BOX
For percussion quartet or percussion ensemble (2020): 6:20
John Corkill, Ian Ding, Kyle Flens, Cynthia Yeh

11. DANCE MOBILE
For 13 players or small chamber orchestra (2021): 14:31
Grossman Ensemble. Stefan Asbury, conductor

12. LAETITIA’S CAPRICE
For solo soprano saxophone (2023): 3:03
Phil Pierick, soprano saxophone

13. CARNIVAL for bassoon and wind ensemble (2022): 12:37
State University of New York Fredonia Wind Ensemble; Nadina Mackie Jackson, bassoon
Paula Holcomb, conductor

14. BEBOP RIDDLE II for cello and piano (2022): 7:12
Alexander Hersh, 'cello. Tom Hicks, piano

15. CON MOTO for percussion quartet (2018): 7:28
John Corkill, Adam Rosenblatt, Garrett Arney, Nonoka Mizukami

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The Grossman Ensemble with Augusta Read Thomas (photo: Grittani Creative)

CLICK BELOW TO DOWNLOAD OR STREAM:

iTUNES

QOBUZ



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Nimbus celebrates composer Richard Blackford's 70th anniversary year with new recordings, publications and live performances throughout 2024

16/11/2023

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Richard Blackford

Nimbus celebrates composer Richard Blackford's seventieth anniversary year with a major series of new album releases, music publications and concerts throughout 2024.

5 January 2024: Nimbus Music Publishing releases scores for Babel, a new cantata for chorus, soloists, piano, organ and percussion (NMP.1126) and Clarissa's Tango. The latter has two versions: for violin and piano (NMP.1172), and for violin and string orchestra (NMP.1255). Clarissa's Tango also will be released on the same date as an audio (NI.1580) and audio-visual single (NI.1581), performed by Clarissa Bevilacqua, violin, and Thomas Hoppe, piano.



1 March 2024: Nimbus Records releases Blackford's Songs of Nadia Anjuman, performed by The Britten Sinfonia and soprano Elizabeth Watts, as an EP (NI.6444):
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Also on 1 March 2024: Lyrita Records releases La Sagrada Familia Symphony, with BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Richard Blackford, and Babel: A Cantata, with the Ikon Singers conducted by David Hill (SRCD.432):
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Ron Schepper, Textura, 27 Feburary 2024

'Entering the Spritual Forest'
Maureen Buja, Interlude, 11 March 2024


New Works by Richard Blackford from Nimbus Music Publishing: 5 January 2024

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NMP1126
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NMP1172
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NMP1255
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Richard Blackford writes about his new works:

Babel is a dramatic cantata based on the stories of Noah’s Flood and the Tower of Babel, with a thrilling and colourful score using organ, piano and percussion. Babel uses the chorus extensively to narrate both stories, as well as to evoke the terror of the Flood, the exuberance of the construction of the tower, and of course the multi-lingual babble of languages to which they are condemned. In addition to set pieces, such as the Nimrod baritone aria, and the soprano aria, ‘Do not fear the largeness of the showers’, the three soloists often sing together as the other-worldly voice of God. The instrumental forces are relatively modest, with the piano duet supported by the sustaining power of the organ, backed by two percussionists. This sound world is redolent of those Britten masterpieces for amateur choirs, ensembles and audiences, which have inspired many composers since, and to which I too am gratefully indebted.'

Babel's vocal score (NMP.1126) is for sale; full score and parts (NMP.1127) are available to hire. Approximate duration 38 minutes.

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'In Buenos Aires, tango is described as the forbidden dance. In this performance the violin and piano capture not only the sound but also the essence of tango, creating an evocative dance between the instruments. The violin has the lead melodic material and the piano has some really exciting riffs and plays the supportive role guiding their interplay.

I remember seeing the amazing film Scent a Woman starring Al Pacino and Gabrielle Anwar. Pacino plays a blind veteran but he has an amazing sense of smell and he invites a beautifully young woman to dance a tango, something that he does supremely well. It's just one of the coolest most beautiful scenes that I can remember. After I saw it for the fifth time I just woke up one night with the idea of a tango which wouldn't go away, so I had to write it.

Clarissa’s Tango starts with a short, cadenza-like introduction on the solo violin, the tango is cast in rondo form, with the central C section moving from the home key of D minor to D major. It’s an ebullient duet that makes virtuoso demands on the solo violin, from extreme high tessitura passages and multi-stops to fast passage work as the violin elaborates on the main tango melody.'

'Tango is very visual and we wanted to capture this as a part of our release. Alongside performing the première and making the audio recording, we also filmed a companion video in Berlin. Violin and piano, represented by red and black, are two perfect dance partners who find each other in this darkly lit club-like atmosphere, where the camera dances around them eliciting this Tango. But in the sunlight outside our red and black characters fail to find each other, only when they perform this Tango do then they finally come together as one. I performed Richard Blackford's Tango with the LGT Soloists throughout their tour of Europe, Asia and Australia from November 2023 to January 2024.' Clarissa Bevilacqua

Click here for more details of Richard Blackford's live performances.

Richard Blackford is becoming one of the foremost concert and media composers in Europe. His concert works are performed regularly around the world and his music for film and television is broadcast frequently in almost every European country. His acclaimed Pietà won an Ivor Novello Composer Award in 2020 for the Choral Category and has already received multiple performances.

'The music comes from the heart with integrity, and a technical assurance...There is a crying need for this kind of music.' The Independent on Sunday

Further Richard Blackford 2024 album, publication and live concert details will be published here.
Electronic press kit and listening links for revieweres available from Ulysses Arts.


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George Lloyd Signature Series: Lyrita Nimbus Arts releases the complete recordings and published works of George Lloyd from March 2024 to early 2025

10/11/2023

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George Lloyd

George Lloyd Archive of Scores and Recordings moves to Lyrita Nimbus Arts

The Trustees of Lyrita Nimbus Arts (LNA) reached an exclusive agreement in 2023 with The George Lloyd Society (GLS) to take over sale and hire of all George Lloyd’s scores held by the Society, as well as the commercial exploitation of the recordings made by the Society in the 1990s, conducted by the composer.

Read George Lloyd: Myths and Misconceptions by Peter Davison, published in Corymbus

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George Lloyd (1913-98) is remembered mostly for his twelve symphonies; his compositions also include operas, choral works, concertos, piano and chamber music. LNA approached GLS with a proposal that involves the complete digitisation of George Lloyd's scores and his entire record archive represented in new compilations. Going beyond preservation, LNA's Trustees believe Lloyd’s music is ripe for rediscovery by concert managers and music lovers. His music, particularly the operas, won great praise and popularity before World War Two. When broadcasting and concert life changed direction in the 1960s, his style - dramatic, large-scale, richly orchestrated, unafraid of a big tune - fell out of favour. We believe that George Lloyd’s time has come again and will use the combined resources of the Lyrita Nimbus Arts charity and Lyrita label, together with the manufacturing, printing, publishing and distribution arms of Nimbus Records, to support this venture.

William Lloyd was the composer’s business manager and executive producer; he has administered his record company and musical estate for the last twenty-five years. He writes: 'Our agreement with Lyrita Nimbus Arts is another milestone in the extraordinary story of George Lloyd and his music. The Lyrita label was responsible for issuing the first three commercial recordings of Lloyd’s symphonies over 40 years ago, and it is entirely fitting that Lyrita Nimbus will now take the complete catalogue of scores and recordings into the future. Lloyd was fiercely independent, and with the invaluable assistance of Albany Records USA, together with some of the best engineers and recording producers in the business and his loyal audience, he was able to maintain that independence from mainstream publishers and record companies. This allowed him to record over 20 albums under his own baton, and to publish his extensive catalogue under the imprint of the George Lloyd Music Library, but it came at a price. His commercial success was remarkable and was sufficient to finance all the recording and printing, but until now we have not had the international marketing reach, the in-house manufacturing and printing, and the digital distribution platforms which are required by the new global markets. This is a perfect match for us, and it is a great vindication of Lloyd’s faith in the enduring quality of his work that Lyrita have recognised its value and committed significant resources to bringing his music to a new audience.'

Because George Lloyd’s personal attention is a dominating influence on the scores and recordings – which mostly he conducted himself – we have decided to headline this representation the ‘Signature Edition’. Scores will be cleaned, new orchestral parts created and recordings reorganised into affordable sets with new notes commissioned from Paul Conway. All digital platforms will have access to a unified and comprehensive offering from a single source.

'Hugely impressive, splendidly designed musical architecture.'
Stuart Millson, Quarterly Review, 29 February 2024

'It is an extraordinary journey to hear the whole of George Lloyd’s symphonies over a single period of time, a psychodrama if ever there was one.' Geoffrey Atkinson, British Music Society Journal
26 February 2024 (Symphones 1-6) and 22 March 2024 (Symphonies 7-12)


'An absolute must-have for anyone deeply invested in powerful and polished 20th century symphonic writing.'
Jean-Yves Dupperon, Classical Music Sentinel, March 2024

'Those of us who have admired Lloyd’s music for many years will welcome the consolidation of his legacy in this way and will hope it stimulates more performances and perpetuates his name even more.'
Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International, 13 March 2024

'Lloyd’s music is direct even when elusive, commanding even when equivocal, and is strongly lyrical – some of his lyricism is simply unforgettable. It is also richly, ripely and colourfully orchestrated.'
Symphonies No.7-12: Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International, 9 April 2024

'Rejoice! A glorious symphonic cycle by a British composer has been issued as a set for the first time.'
Damian Thompson, The Spectator, 13 April 2024

'Both sets of symphonies are valuable and incredibly well priced ... they should top the wishlist of any lover of orchestral music.' F.A.R., American Record Guide, 2024

'Richard Whitehouse applauds Lyrita’s advocacy on behalf of George Lloyd.'
Richard Whitehouse, Gramophone, 23 May 2024

All scores now available from Lyrita.
The recordings are being released by Lyrita between March 2024 and early 2025, with accompanying sheet music published by Lyrita Nimbus Arts:

www.lnarts.org  www.lyrita.co.uk  www.georgelloyd.com

Electronic press kits and pre-release listening links for reviewers are available from Ulysses Arts.

GEORGE LLOYD SIGNATURE EDITION AUDIO RELEASES

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1 MARCH 2024

SRCD2417: Symphonies Volume 1

No. 1-6; Charade ‘Scenes from the ‘60s'
Overture John Socman

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Albany Symphony Orchestra
George Lloyd, conductor



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5 APRIL 2024

SRCD 2418: Symphonies
Volume 2
No. 7 - 12 (quadruple album)

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Philharmonia Orchestra
Albany Symphony Orchestra
George Lloyd, conductor




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3 MAY 2024

SRCD 420: Requiem and Psalm 130


The Exon Singers
Stephen Wallace, countertenor
Jeffrey Makinson, organ
Matthew Owens, conductor




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SRCD 2419: A Litany and A Symphony Mass

Janice Watson, soprano
Jeremy White, bass-baritone
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Brighton Festival Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra and Guildford Choral Society
George Lloyd, conductor



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7 JUNE 2024

SRCD 2421:  The Piano Concertos
No. 1 ‘Scapegoat’, 2, 3 and 4 (double album)

Martin Roscoe, piano
Kathryn Stott, piano
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
George Lloyd, conductor



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5 JULY 2024

SRCD2422: The Violin and 'Cello Concertos

(double album)
Violin Concerto No. 1 and No. 2
'Cello Concerto

Cristina Anghelescu, violin
Anthony Ross, 'cello
Philharmonia and Albany Symphony Orchestras
David Parry and David Alan Miller, conductors



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2 AUGUST 2024

SRCD 2423: The Piano Works: Solo and Duo
: double album
The Lilly Leaf and The Grasshopper, The Transformation of that Naked Ape, An African Shrine, The Road through Samarkand, St. Antony and the Beggar, Intercom Baby. For two Pianos - Aubade, Eventide, The Road Through Samarkand.

Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow, piano duo
Kathryn Stott; Martin Roscoe



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SRCD 0425: The Works for Brass
Royal Parks, Diversions on a Bass Theme, Evening Song, H.M.S. Trinidad March, English Heritage, A Miniature Tryptic

John Foster
Black Dyke Mills Band, conducted by David King
Equale Brass Quintet


5 SEPTEMBER 2024: Score Publications

SRMP 0105-0114:
Aubade | Eventide


Road Through Samarkand for Two Piano (and version for solo piano) 

Lullaby | St. Anthony & the Beggar | The Agressive Fishes

The Lily-leaf the Grasshopper | The Transformation of that Naked Ape
An African Shrine

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1 NOVEMBER 2024

SRCD0424: The Works for Violin & Piano
Lament for Violin & Piano, Air and Dance
Sonata for Violin & Piano
Seven extracts from The Serf

Tasmin Little, violin and Martin Roscoe, piano
Ruth Rogers, violin and Simon Callaghan, piano

6 MARCH 2025
Nimbus Lyrita Arts publishes four orchestral scores and parts by George Lloyd

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SRMP 0031 – The Dying Tree (1992), for large orchestra, 10 minutes
A single movement orchestral sketch, first performed at London's Barbican Centre in 1994 by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra with the composer conducting. The Dying Tree is one of Loyd's few works not yet been recorded.
 
SRMP 0033 – Floating Cloud (1993), for large orchestra, 16 minutes
A single movement orchestral sketch. First performed in 1993 by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra with the composer conducting. Floating Cloud is one of the few works that has not yet been recorded.
 
SRMP 0035 – In Memoriam (1984), for large orchestra, 6 minutes
In Memoriam pays heartfelt tribute to seven young bandsmen murdered by IRA terrorists on 20 July 1982 as they played in their band in Regent’s Park.
 
SRMP 0037 – Le Pont du Gard, for large orchestra, 10 minutes
A single movement orchestral sketch, inspired by the ancient Roman aqueduct that crosses the Gardon River in Vers-Pont du Gard near Remoulins in Southern France, were Lloyd spent a summer holiday.

DATE TBC

SRCD2426: John Socman (1951) - the complete opera (double album)
Using the composer’s suggestions, we presents the complete opera by combining the composer's studio recording of excerpts with a BBC broadcast recorded 'off-air' by Lyrita's founder Richard Itter.


4 APRIL 2025, TBC

SRCD2427:
Iernin (1934) - the complete opera (triple album), recorded in 1985, conducted by the composer with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Marilyn Hill-Smith in the title role (triple album)

'George Lloyd showed that rarest of all qualities in a British composer, an almost unerring perception of what the stage requires. An extraordinary achievement.' The Times

'One of the most successful operas written by a British composer'. The Musical Times


George Lloyd was born in St Ives, Cornwall, on 28 June 1913. He started to learn the violin at the age of five and was a pupil of the violinist Albert Sammons for six years. He began composing when he was ten. A rigorous musical training ensued, including lessons in counterpoint from C. H. Kitson and composition studies with Harry Farjeon.

National prominence came with George Lloyd’s first opera, Iernin (1933-34), featuring a libretto by his father, William Lloyd. Based on a Cornish legend, the opera was premiered at The Pavilion, Penzance in November 1934, conducted by the composer. An endorsement by Frank Howes, music critic of The Times, led to Iernin being performed by the New English Opera Company at London’s Lyceum Theatre in June 1935. It was a sell- out for three weeks. The following year, whilst holidaying in Switzerland, George met Nancy Juvet. They married in January 1937. Nancy’s love and support throughout six decades of marriage was to prove pivotal to her husband’s continued creativity and indeed to his very survival.

Lloyd’s second opera, The Serf, was premiered by the English Opera Company at Covent Garden in London in 1938. William Lloyd supplied the libretto, setting the story in Yorkshire at the time of King Stephen. A review in The Stage newspaper described the opera as ‘full of promise for the future’. This prospect of even greater musical attainment was about to be shattered. When war broke out in September 1939, Lloyd joined the Royal Marines as a bandsman. In 1942 he served as a radio signaller on Arctic convoys to Murmansk on the cruiser HMS Trinidad. During one of these convoys the ship was struck by torpedoes, an oil tank ruptured and the transmitting station which Lloyd was helping to operate filled with oil. There were heavy casualties and he was almost drowned. He was mentally and physically traumatised to the extent that his doctors believed he would never recover. Nancy Lloyd refused to accept this verdict and slowly nursed her husband back to health.

Convalescing at Nancy’s lakeside home at Neuchatel, Switzerland, Lloyd began to write music again. The resulting Fourth and Fifth Symphonies (1946, 1948), among his finest works, were not performed at the time. After returning to England, he won an Arts Council commission to compose an opera for the Carl Rosa Company to tour around the country during the Festival of Britain in 1951. The ensuing stage work, John Socman, featured another libretto by his father, which told the story of a Wiltshire solider returning from Agincourt. The production, which premiered in Bristol in May 1951, was ruined by artistic differences between conductor and director. Shortly after this debacle Lloyd’s father died and George’s health collapsed again. George and Nancy Lloyd bought a small cottage at Folke in Dorset and began earning a living as market gardeners. After growing and selling carnations, they started mushroom farming. During these years of self- imposed exile, George composed for three hours before the working day. Consequently, when the Lloyds sold their smallholding in 1973 and returned to London, they brought with them a portfolio containing 20 years’ worth of scores.

A friendship with John Ogdon had far-reaching consequences. Lloyd assisted with the orchestration of the pianist-composer’s Piano Concerto and Ogdon recorded for EMI Lloyd’s piano piece African Shrine, shortly after premiering it in 1969. In the same year Ogdon took the score of Lloyd’s Eighth Symphony to the BBC and had it accepted. Eight years elapsed before it was broadcast. In the meantime, another of Lloyd’s champions, conductor Edward Downes, premièred the Eighth Symphony with the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra, broadcast on Radio 3 in July 1977. In the succeeding five years, Downes tirelessly promoted and disseminated Lloyd’s music, including a performance with the BBC Philharmonic of the Sixth Symphony at the Proms in July 1981, the first appearance of the composer’s music at the celebrated summer music festival.

Inspired by his new-found popularity, Lloyd took up the baton himself. In 1986 he conducted the premiere of his Eleventh Symphony with the Albany Symphony Orchestra in New York. He also wrote his Twelfth Symphony for the orchestra. Other notable products of his glorious Indian summer of creativity include brass band piece Royal Parks, A Symphonic Mass and the 'Cello Concerto.

Having suffered heart problems for a year, George Lloyd died at University College Hospital, Marylebone, London, on 3 July 1998. A service was held a week later at Golders Green crematorium. His last work, the Requiem, written in memory of Diana, the Princess of Wales, was completed shortly before his death and premiered at the 2000 Oxford Contemporary Music Festival.  Paul Conway, 2023

Lyrita Nimbus Arts Registered Charity No. 1203867
Trustees: Dr Richard Blackford, Adrian Farmer, Lynda Farmer, Charlotte de Rothschild, Antony Smith


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