Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, The Royal Ballet's 2011 production of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was their first full-scale commission in 20 years and was instantly acclaimed as a classic. Joby Talbot's score to the production, performed on this new recording by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, captures perfectly the madcap-yet-enchanting mood of the production – described by the New York Times as "the trump card for 'Alice'".

Also included on this disc is an earlier work for dance by Talbot created in collaboration with Christopher Wheeldon, 'Fools Paradise'.

"It's official: the Royal Ballet has a perennial hit on its hands… What truly sets it all spinning is the shimmering, urgent and mischievous music of the composer Joby Talbot." The Times

Just prior to the Second World War, Sir Adrian Boult (1889–1983) single-handedly built the BBC Symphony Orchestra into a world-renowned ensemble that attracted such artists as Arturo Toscanini, Serge Koussevitzky and Bruno Walter to conduct it. After retiring from the BBCSO in 1950, Boult became chief conductor of the London Philharmonic until 1957. He continued to guest conduct and record prolifically until 1978 and enjoyed an ‘Indian summer’ in the studio with both English music (Vaughan Williams and Elgar) and nineteenth-century German repertoire (Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Schubert and Wagner). His early studies at the Leipzig Conservatory with Max Reger and with the charismatic conductor Arthur Nikisch, who knew Brahms, gave Boult a unique understanding of this composer.

Boult’s period in Leipzig also brought him in touch with the music of Mendelssohn, who had founded the Conservatory as well as being appointed as conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.

The live 1975 Proms performance of Brahms’s Symphony No.4 has never been issued before. The live account is more electrifying than the studio recording made in 1972. It has been recorded in stereo and fully captures the ‘Indian summer’ that Boult enjoyed at the Proms and in the studio with EMI at the time.

The Mendelssohn Symphony No.4 was recorded live in stereo and has never been issued before. It is a comparative rarity in that Boult’s only other recorded performances were in 1966 (unissued on CD) and in 1954 in mono.

Dedicated to Kathryn Stott, Peter Maxwell Davies’s Piano Concerto is “one of the most attractive and immediately likeable piano concertos to appear for some time. Miss Stott’s performance must be regarded as definitive in its comprehensive grasp of the work’s multi-facted appeal.” (The Sunday Telegraph) The symphonic “Motet for Orchestra” Worldes Blis unites medieval plainchant with the emotional impact of early 20th century expressionism, having “an organic concentration that is unsurpassed in his output” (Gramophone).

Offered a grant in 1930 to broaden international interest in Finnish music through recordings made in London, Jean Sibelius did not hesitate in his choice of a conductor, writing that “there are none who have gone deeper and given [my symphonies] more feeling and beauty than Robert Kajanus”. These thrilling recordings remain a critical reference today, with Kajanus seen as “Sibelius’s most eloquent and perceptive champion… listening to the Second Symphony one senses the extraordinary feeling Kajanus had for the organic nature of Sibelius’s symphonic thought” (The Gramophone). Including the exotic and enticing Belshazzar’s Feast and patriotic Karelia suites, this is the second of three volumes containing Robert Kajanus’s complete Sibelius recordings.

Mark Obert-Thorn, producer and audio restoration engineer

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’s passionate Sixth Symphony is dedicated to the memory of the writer George Mackay Brown, with the ‘very special musical virtuosity’ of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in mind. It is one of his most beautifully expressive works and, whilst not untroubled, reaches moments of serene beauty. Composed for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, Time and the Raven is a brilliant and exciting collage, whilst few contemporary works enjoy such popularity as the magical An Orkney Wedding with Sunrise. The Sixth is in many ways Maxwell Davies’s most immediately approachable symphony – an excellent ‘entry point’ to his ongoing cycle of symphonies. It’s both powerful and consoling, with the musical architecture leading ever onward to the moving last movement. Time and the Raven is a bold occasional piece, whilst An Orkney Wedding with Sunrise is one of his most performed compositions, notable for his use of the bagpipe. The performances are conducted by the composer with his favourite orchestra.

1930 and 1932 studio recordings

Jean Sibelius wrote that “there are none who have gone deeper and given [my symphonies] more feeling and beauty than Robert Kajanus”. The nobility and affection in this première recording of the First Symphony makes it uniquely cherished amongst Sibelius aficionados. Pohjola’s Daughter is a supreme masterpiece, filled with brooding atmosphere and tension, and Tapiola is a graphic evocation of destructive climate and landscape. This is the first of three volumes containing Robert Kajanus’s complete Sibelius recordings.

Mark Obert-Thorn, producer and audio restoration engineer

Born only two years earlier than Webern and successful as a conductor in Berlin, Ignatz Waghalter built on the tradition of Schumann and Brahms rather than seeking revolutionary innovation. The inspiring melodic and rhythmic invention of his 1911 Violin Concerto led a contemporary reviewer to recommend that ‘violinists should take it up without hesitation!’, while the earlier Violin Sonata won the coveted Mendelssohn Prize in 1902.

A milestone in violinist Irmina Trynkos’ ‘Waghalter Project’, this release brings to light one of the most unjustly forgotten musicians of interwar Europe.