Simon Channing (treble), James Bowman (countertenor), Richard Morton (tenor), Marcus Creed (bass), James Lancelot (organ) & David Corkhill (percussion)

Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Sir Philip Ledger

Te Deum in C

Rory Phillips (treble) & James Lancelot (organ)

Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Sir Philip Ledger

Jubilate Deo

Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Sir Philip Ledger

A Hymn to the Virgin

Stephen Barton (treble), Hugh Hudleston (treble), Warren Trevelyan-Jones (tenor) & Francis Pott (bass)

Winchester Cathedral Choir, David Hill

St Nicolas, Op. 42

Words by Eric Crozier

Robert Tear (tenor), Bruce Russell (treble), Andrew Davis & Ian Hare (piano duet

Cambridge Girls’ Choir, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge & Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir David Willcocks

Hymn to St. Peter, Op. 56a

Mark Emney, Peter Rowe (trebles) & Timothy Farrell (organ)

Wandsworth School Choir, Russell Burgess

A Hymn of Saint Columba

Mark Emney, Peter Rowe (trebles), Christopher Hughes, Timothy Farrell (organ)

Choir of King’s College, Cambridge & Wandsworth School Choir, Russell Burgess

Sacred and Profane, Op. 91

Vasari Singers, Jeremy Backhouse

The Little Sweep

Words by Eric Crozier

Robert Lloyd, Robert Tear, Sam Monck, Heather Begg, Catherine Benson, Cato Fordham, Catherine Wearing, Mary Wells, David Glick, Colin Huehns & Katherine Willis

Finchley Children’s Music Group, Choral Scholars of King’s College, Cambridge & Medici String Quartet, Sir Philip Ledger

A Boy was Born, Op. 3

London Sinfonietta Chorus & Choristers of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Terry Edwards

A Shepherd's Carol

Sarah Leonard (soprano), Susan Bickley (mezzo-soprano), Peter Hall (tenor) & Gordon Jones (baritone)

London Sinfonietta Chorus, Terry Edwards

Noye's Fludde

Richard Pasco, Donald Maxwell, Linda Ormiston, Alexander Gallifant, Timothy Lamb, Nicholas Berry, Catriona Johnson, Polly Hewetson & Joanna Brown

Coull String Quartet & Schools’ Orchestra from schools of Salisbury and Chester, Richard Hickox

AMDG

London Sinfonietta Chorus, Terry Edwards

The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard (Text: The Oxford Book of Ballads)

Baccholian Singers of London

The Company of Heaven

Peter Barkworth, Sheila Allen (narrators), Cathryn Pope (soprano), Dan Dressen (tenor) & Christopher Herrick (organ)

London Philharmonic Choir & English Chamber Orchestra, Philip Brunelle

Ballad of Heroes, Op. 14

Robert Tear (tenor)

CBSO Chorus & City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Praise We Great Men

Alison Hargan (soprano), Mary King (contralto), Robert Tear (tenor) & Willard White (bass)

CBSO Chorus & City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Les illuminations, Op. 18

Heather Harper (soprano)

Northern Sinfonia Orchestra, Sir Neville Marriner

Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings, Op. 31

Neil Mackie (tenor) & Barry Tuckwell (horn)

Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Steuart Bedford

Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal, for tenor, horn and strings

orch. Colin Matthews

Neil Mackie (tenor) & Barry Tuckwell (horn)

Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Steuart Bedford

Nocturne, Op. 60 for tenor, obbligato instruments and strings

Robert Tear (tenor)

English Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Tate

Quatre Chansons Françaises

Jill Gomez (soprano)

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Our Hunting Fathers, Op. 8

Elisabeth Söderström (soprano)

Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera, Richard Armstrong

Four Folksong Settings

Elisabeth Söderström (soprano)

Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera, Richard Armstrong

Phaedra, Op. 93

Felicity Palmer (mezzo-soprano), Jane Salmon (cello) & Melvyn Tan (harpsichord)

Endymion Ensemble, John Whitfield

Five French Folksong arrangements

Felicity Palmer (mezzo-soprano)

Endymion Ensemble, John Whitfield

Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, Op. 22

Peter Pears (tenor) & Benjamin Britten (piano)

The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, Op. 35

Peter Pears (tenor) & Benjamin Britten (piano)

On this Island, Op. 11

Robert Tear (tenor) & Sir Philip Ledger (piano)

Winter Words, Op. 52

Robert Tear (tenor) & Sir Philip Ledger (piano)

Canticles I-V

Ian Bostridge (tenor), David Daniels (countertenor), Christopher Maltman (baritone), Timothy Brown (horn), Aline Brewer (harp) & Julius Drake (piano)

Folksong Arrangements: The Plough Boy, The Salley Gardens, The foggy, foggy dew, There's none to soothe, O Waly, Waly, The Ash Grove, Greensleeves

Ian Bostridge (tenor), David Daniels (countertenor), Christopher Maltman (baritone), Timothy Brown (horn), Aline Brewer (harp) & Julius Drake (piano)

Two songs by Thomas Hardy

Neil Mackie (tenor) & Roger Vignoles (piano)

Beware

Neil Mackie (tenor) & Roger Vignoles (piano)

Two songs by W.H. Auden

Neil Mackie (tenor) & Roger Vignoles (piano)

Three rhymes by William Soutar

Neil Mackie (tenor) & Roger Vignoles (piano)

Tit for Tat

Jonathan Lemalu (bass baritone) & Malcolm Martineau (piano)

Two Ballads for two voices and piano

Felicity Lott (soprano) & Ann Murray (mezzo-soprano)

Folksong arrangements

Robert Tear (tenor) & Sir Philip Ledger (piano)

Folksong arrangements

Sarah Brightman (soprano) & Geoffrey Parsons (piano)

Paul Bunyan

Soloists, Chorus & Orchestra of the Plymouth Music Series, Philip Brunelle

Peter Grimes

Recorded: VI.1992, Watford Town Hall

Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Felicity Lott, Thomas Allen, Patricia Payne, Maria Bovino, Gillian Webster, Stuart Kale, Stafford Dean, Sarah Walker, Neil Jenkins, Simon Keenlyside, David Wilson-Johnson

Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Bernard Haitink

The Turn of the Screw

Recorded: 17–19.I.2002, Maltings Concert Hall, Snape, Suffolk

Ian Bostridge, Joan Rodgers, Julian Leang, Caroline Wise, Jane Henschel, Vivian Tierney

Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Daniel Harding

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Recorded: XI.1990

James Bowman, Lillian Watson, Dexter Fletcher, John Graham-Hall, Henry Herford, Della Jones, Jill Gomez, Norman Bailey, Penelope Walker

Trinity Boys’ Choir, City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox

The Rape of Lucretia

Abridged recording of the revised version (1947), Recorded: 16–19.VII. & 19.X.1947, No.1 Studio, Abbey Road, London

Peter Pears, Joan Cross, Norman Lumsden, Denis Dowling, Frederick Sharp, Nancy Evans, Flora Nielsen, Margaret Ritchie

English Opera Group Chamber Orchestra, Reginald Goodall

Benjamin Britten was born on the day of the Patron Saint of Music – St. Cecilia – 22nd November in 1913 in Lowestoft. He showed remarkable skill at composition from his earliest days. In 1924 he met Frank Bridge (1879-1941), a fine composer in his own right, and became his pupil; through him he developed an appreciation of contemporary music with scores by Bartók and the Schönberg school, particulary Berg.

In 1930 he entered the Royal College of Music and developed the pianistic skills which made him such a brilliant interpreter of both his own music and other greats particularly Mozart and Schubert. From these times date the beautiful A Hymn to the Virgin, Quatre Chansons Françaises and the Sinfonietta, his official Op. 1. He visited Vienna in 1934 and saw Wozzeck but family resistance prevented him studying with Berg (who, in any case, died from blood poisoning caused by an insect sting a year later).

He worked for some years in the film unit of the General Post Office where he met W.H. Auden whose poetry inspired the brilliant song cycle Our Hunting Fathers. The experience in the film unit enabled him to develop the expressive immediacy and technical abilities – often using small and unconventional resources – which would assist his composition of operas in the years to come.

In 1939 he decided to follow Auden to America, accompanying him was the tenor Peter Pears (1910-1986) who was to be the inspiration behind so many great operatic roles and song cycles. There he composed the Sinfonia da Requiem, the Michelangelo Sonnets and the First Quartet. His first opera, Paul Bunyan, to an Auden libretto, was also composed there but then withdrawn (it was revived for the Aldeburgh Festival in the year he died).

He started to get the pangs of homesickness especially when he read, by chance, an article by E.M. Forster on the Suffolk poet Crabbe (whose work was to lead to arguably his greatest success) and he returned to England in 1942. He wrote A Ceremony of Carols and Hymn to St. Cecilia (another Auden text) during this year.

For British Opera the date 7th June 1945 will always remain a red-letter day as it heralded the premiere of a masterpiece, Peter Grimes. The triumph not only established Britten as Purcell’s successor as Britain’s greatest music dramatist but its numerous performances abroad showed that Britain had an international composer celebrity.

The Rape of Lucretia was premiered the following year as was the work by which Britten is probably best remembered – certainly by thankful schoolchildren for their guide to the Orchestra. Here he subjects the theme by Purcell to a series of ingenious variations played by each member of the orchestra and then as groups and finally a fugue where everything comes together in a simply unforgettable coda.

Indeed when one examines Britten’s output it is hard not to credit him with at least one work of genius, if not a masterpiece, virtually every year for the rest of his composing life – whether it be an opera, for example The Turn of the Screw in 1954 or A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1960; a choral work, for example Spring Symphony in 1949 or the War Requiem in 1961, a large vocal work, for example Serenade for tenor, horn and strings in 1943, Nocturne in 1958 and Phaedra in 1975; a smaller vocal work, for example the Canticles of 1947, 1952, 1954, 1971 & 1974; the works he wrote for Mstislav Rostropovich – the Cello Sonata in 1961, the Cello Symphony in 1963 and the three Solo Cello Suites in 1964, 1967 & 1971; the two remaining string quartets in 1945 & 1975 and a full length ballet The Prince of the Pagodas in 1956.

Besides setting many classic poets from Britain including Blake, Burns, Coleridge, Donne, Hardy, Keats, Jonson, Milton, Owen, Shakespeare, Shelley, Spenser, Tennyson and Wordsworth he also set texts in French (Hugo, Rimbaud and Verlaine), Italian (Michelangelo), German (Hölderlin) and Russian (Pushkin). He was also partly responsible for the reawakening of interest in the music of his great predecessor, Henry Purcell by making realizations of a large number of his works. He also launched the music festival in his adopted town of Aldeburgh.

EMI - 2175262

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Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50

Gil Shaham (violin), Yefim Bronfman (piano) & Truls Mørk (cello)

In 1880 Tchaikovsky’s patron, Nadezhda von Meck, asked Tchaikovsky to write a work for her ‘house’ trio (which included the young Debussy), a request he initially refused. However, after Nicoai Rubenstein’s death in 1881 Tchaikovsky returned to the idea of a trio as a means of paying tribute to his friend.

Tchaikovsky rebuked the suggestion that the twelve variations of the second movement, with their unusual structure - theme and variations - depicted different aspects of Nicolai’s life. In fact Tchaikovsky wrote this music for the enjoyment of the performers which accounts for the trio’s popularity amongst chamber musicians.

This recording features an established trio each with high profile international careers. Pianist Yefim Bronfman apears regularly with the world’s greatest orchestras and has won widespread praise for his solo, chamber and orchestral recordings.

Truls Mørk’s reputation as a cellist of fierce intensity and grace has been built on performances throughout the world. He performs with the most distinguished orchestras including the New York, Berlin, Vienna, and London Philharmonic Orchestras.

Finally and arguably most importantly, violinist Gil Shaham is internationally recognised as one of today’s most virtuosic and engaging artists. His wide discography includes many award winning discs, including multiple Grammys. Gil’s most recent recordings have been produced for his own label, Canary Classics, which he established in 2004.

‘Shaham is warm and elegant, Mørk poised and thoughtful...Bronfman is a heart-on- sleeve type pianist, mediating grandly between his colleagues.’ Chicago Tribune, 2002

Canary Classics - CC05

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Schubert - String Quintet & 'Quartettsatz'

Schubert:

String Quintet in C major, D956

String Quartet No. 12 in C minor, D703 ‘Quartettsatz'

Truls Mørk (cello)

Artemis Quartet

“Like the augmented Alban Berg Quartet in their EMI recording of Schubert's Quintet, the Artemis and Truls Mørk keep romantic expressiveness, dramatic urgency and a classical sense of architecture in fine equilibrium.” The Telegraph, 12th April 2008

“The Artemis Quartet combines fullness, quality and great transparency of sound and well-moulded suppleness of line with an overwhelming musical eloquence ... With Truls Mørk as second cellist the ensemble achieved an unprecedented inner breadth and a dark-hued and subtly shaded fullness of sound.” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

“[Artemis Quartet and Morks'] playing is energetically graceful and blessed with a spectacular dynamic range (very helpful in the long paragraphs of the C major Quintet, D 956). Nothing is more feverish than the opening Quartettsatz; and nothing sounds more beautiful than the Quintet’s adagio. A starry extra cellist, Mork plays very much as one of the team.” The Times, 11th April 2008 ****

“…though Truls Mørk, the extra cellist, does his best to contribute some bite. My impression is that the players are too seduced by the surface glories of the music to see what lies underneath.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2008 **

EMI - 5021132

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Pintscher:

En Sourdine (2002) for violin and orchestra

Tenebrae (2001) for viola and piano ensemble with live electronics.

5 Reflections on Narcissus (2004/5) for cello and orchestra.

Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin), Christoph Desjardins (viola) & Truls Mork (cello)

This recording was made under the direction of the composer.

“It (En Sourdine) is beautifully conceived for the instrument, and Frank Peter Zimmermann plays it superbly, just as Christophe Desjardins and Truis Mork are equally impressive interpreters of the viola and cello works respectively.” Guardian, January 18th 2008

“A consistent and sensitive recording that does Pintscher justice.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2008

Kairos - KAI0012582

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Chopin - Cello sonata & Transcriptions for cello & piano

Chopin:

Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65

Introduction and Polonaise Brillante in C, Op. 3

Nocturne No. 16 in E flat major, Op. 55 No. 2

Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28 No. 4

(arr. Truls Mørk & Kathy Scott)

Prelude No. 6 in b Minor Op. 28/Lento assai

Étude Op. 25 No. 7 in C sharp minor

Waltz No. 3 in A minor 'Grande Valse Brillante', Op. 34 No. 2

Nocturne No. 20 in C sharp minor, Op. post.

Nocturne No. 19 in E minor, Op. 72 No. 1

(arr. Truls Mørk & Kathy Scott)

Étude Op. 10 No. 6 in E flat minor 'Lacrimosa'

(trans. Alexander Glazunov)

Truls Mørk (cello) & Kathy Stott (piano)

“Chopin's compositional output did not include a great deal of chamber music, but what he did write included a number of pieces for cello. From this one could assume he had a special affinity for the instrument. In this recording, we have taken this a step further by choosing transcriptions of music originally written for solo piano - pieces with a strong melodic line which seem to transport themselves to the cello so beautifully.” Truls Mørk

Virgin - 3857842

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Beethoven - The Masterpieces

Stylish 60 CD box set containing every major Beethoven work and several others besides, including ...

Beethoven:

Symphonies Nos. 1-9 (complete)

Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, David Zinman

Overtures (complete)

Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, David Zinman

The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43

Lithuanian Chamber Philharmonia, Karl Anton Rickenbacher

Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5 (complete)

Yefim Bronfman

Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, David Zinman

Fantasia for Piano, Chorus and Orchestra in C minor, Op. 80

Yefim Bronfman

Schweizer Kammerchor, Tonhalle Orchestra, David Zinman

Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61

Christian Tetzlaff

Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, David Zinman

Romances Nos. 1 & 2 for violin and orchestra

Christian Tetzlaff

Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, David Zinman

Triple Concerto for Piano, Violin, and Cello in C major, Op. 56

Yefim Bronfman, Gil Shaham, Truls Mork

Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, David Zinman

Septet in E flat major, Op. 20

Yefim Bronfman, Gil Shaham, Michel Rouilly, Truls Mork, Roland Dangel, Michael Reid, Jakob Hefti, Florenz Jenny

Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-10 (Complete)

Pinchas Zuckerman, Marc Neikrug

Piano Trios (complete)

Seraphin Trio

String Quartets Nos. 1-16 (Complete)

Alexander String Quartet

Grosse Fuge in B flat major, Op. 133

Alexander String Quartet

Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-32 (Complete)

Robert Casadesus, Justus Franz, Vladimir Horowitz, Gerhard oppitz, Charles Rosen, Yukio Yokoyama

Diabelli Variations, Op. 120

Olli Mustonen

Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85

Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy

Mass in C major, Op. 86

Ensemble of Tokyo, Wolfdieter Maurer

Missa Solemnis in D major, Op. 123

Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, David Zinman

Cello Sonatas Nos. 1-5 (Complete)

Anner Bylsma, Jos van Immerseel

Fidelio, Op. 72

Jeannine Altmeyer, Carola Nossek, Siegfried Jerusalem, Rudiger Wohlers

Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Kurt Masur

Includes a 116 page E-booklet with sleevenotes and full track listing along with English and German texts and libretti

Sony - 88697075082

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£49.99 (£42.54 ex. VAT)

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Brahms, Sibelius & Grieg - Cello Sonatas

Brahms:

Cello Sonata No. 1 In E minor, Op. 38

Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99

7 Songs for cello & piano

(arr. by Truls Mørk)

Grieg:

Cello Sonata in A minor, Op. 36

Intermezzo in A minor

Sibelius:

Two Pieces (Serious Melodies), Op. 77 for violin and orchestra

Four Pieces, Op. 78

Malinconia, Op. 20

Truls Mørk (cello), Juhani Lagerspetz (piano) & Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano)

Virgin de Virgin - 3499332

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Truls Mørk

Dvorak:	Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104
Haydn:	Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major, Hob. VIIb:1 Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Iona Brown Cello Concerto No. 2 in D major, Hob. VIIb:2 (Op. 101) Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Iona Brown
Kernis:	Colored Field, concerto for cello and orchestra Minnesota Orchestra, Eiji Oue Musica Celestis for string orchestra Minnesota Orchestra, Eiji Oue Air for cello and orchestra for cello and orchestra Minnesota Orchestra, Eiji Oue
Miaskovsky:	Cello Concerto in C minor, Op. 66 City or Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Prokofiev:	Sinfonia Concertante in E minor for cello & orchestra, Op. 125
Shostakovich:	Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 107 London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons Cello Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 126 London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons
Tchaikovsky:	Variations on a Rococo theme Op. 96 Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons

Truls Mørk (cello)

Virgin Budget Box Sets - 4820192

(CD - 5 discs)

£17.49 (£14.89 ex. VAT)

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Russian Cello Sonatas

Miaskovsky:	Cello Sonata No. 1 in D major, Op. 12
Prokofiev:	Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 119
Rachmaninov:	Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19 Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14 Two Pieces for cello and piano, Op. 2
Shostakovich:	Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 40
Stravinsky:	Suite italienne