City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Simon Rattle conducts Stravinsky

Bartók - Piano & Violin Concertos

Leonard Bernstein

Like Gershwin before him, Bernstein (1918-1990) composed music for the concert hall and for musical theatre. Through the Broadway musical West Side Story his name reached a far larger audience than that of virtually every other modern American composer, with the possible exception of Gershwin himself.The pieces on this disc illustrate Bernstein's work in the theatre. Four of the works, the dance episodes from On the Town, the overture to Candide, the suite from West Side Story and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, were written for the Broadway stage; Facsimile and On the Town are both ballet scores, Mass is a theatre piece for singers, players and dancers and what should have been a purely jazz piece, the Prelude, Fugue and Riffs, ended up being incorporated into the musical comedy Wonderful Town.

John Adams

Born 15 February 1947, John Adams is one of America's most esteemed composers. Although his musical roots were in minimalism he has, like most other composers from that school, developed an orchestral and harmonic style that uses the rhythmic vitality of minimalism combined with a romantic accessibility.This CD is a wonderful introduction to Adams's music: it includes the light-hearted Grand Pianola Music of 1982; Shaker Loops, the last three movements of which have been used in a video game, and the spectacular and exciting Short Ride in a Fast Machine, which is exactly what it is!

George Gershwin

Gilbert & Sullivan - Ruddigore & The Merchant of Venice Suite

Tchaikovsky - Souvenir Russe

Latvian violinist Baiba Skride proffers a collection of works for violin and orchestra by Tchaikovsky, the composer for which she feels the greatest affinity. Featuring the Violin Concerto, the album also includes Skride's interpretation of Tchaikovsky's triptych Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Op.42 in this rarely-heard version for violin and orchestra. She completes her musical souvenir album of the great Russian composer with two pieces from Swan Lake

Debussy & Ravel - Orchestra Works

Rattle is no more at home than when conducting masterpieces from the 20th-century repertoire and in this set of 5 CDs he can be heard performing works by two great French masters. From Debussy's revolutionary Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune to Ravel's Piano Concerto in G, Rattle takes us on a journey through the world of French impressionist orchestral music. All the most notable larger works are here: Debussy's Trois image, La mer, La boîte à joujoux; Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé, Ma mère l'oye, Boléro and the two Piano Concertos. Rattle has made two recordings of Ravel's Piano Concerto for the left hand and both are included in this set. This work is a masterpiece of invention that was written for the amazingly talented Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in the First World War

Szymanowski - Concertos, Orchestral & Choral Works

The music of the great Polish composer Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) has, until recently, been relatively neglected. Sir Simon Rattle's recordings, gathered together here for the first time, brought it before a new and receptive audience. This 4-CD set contains all the Szymanowski recordings that Sir Simon has made for EMI Classics. The collection contains some of the composer's best-known works: the two Violin Concertos, The Song of the Night, the beautiful Stabat Mater and the exquisite Love Songs of Hafiz. The set also contains Rattle's complete recording of the opera King Roger.