Stanford: Piano Concerto No. 2: & works for solo piano

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The compulsive fluency of Stanford’s music is part of its charm…Frith’s advocacy is state-of-the-art (does any pianist around draw a lovelier sound from the keyboard, or phrase more naturally?),... — BBC Music Magazine, November 2016, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 1st Apr 2016
Catalogue No: CHRCD042
Label: Champs Hill Records
Length: 75 minutes

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Stanford: Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 126

Work length36:10

Album only

Benjamin Frith
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Andrew Gourlay

I. Allegro moderato

Track length15:27

Album only

II. Adagio molto, Piu mosso

Track length10:49

$1.50

$2.10

III. Allegro molto

Track length9:54

$1.50

$2.10

Stanford: 3 Dante Rhapsodies, Op. 92

Work length27:48

$5.00

$7.00

Benjamin Frith

I. Francesca

Track length11:56

$2.00

$2.80

II. Beatrice

Track length8:32

$1.50

$2.10

III. Capaneo

Track length7:20

$1.50

$2.10

Stanford: Six Characteristic Pieces, Op. 132

Work length6:19

$2.00

$2.80

Benjamin Frith

II. Study

Track length3:09

$1.00

$1.40

IV. Roundel

Track length3:10

$1.00

$1.40

Stanford: Five Caprices, Op. 136: V. Tempo di Valse

Work length5:08

$1.00

$1.40

Benjamin Frith

About
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About

Stanford’s church music is very well-known, especially in Great Britain, but performances of his other repetoire are quite rare. He influenced a generation of composers, who studied with him, including Vaughan Williams, Holst, Bridge, Moeran, Howells, Bliss and Goossens.

This new disc centres around his Piano Concerto No.2, dating from 1911, a work which is romantic and ambitious in scale. It begins with a tribute to Rachmaninov’s 2nd, which Stanford had conducted the British premiere of the previous year, with composer as soloist.

British pianist Ben Frith, celebrated for his work in the Gould Piano Trio, has programmed it alongside neglected repertoire: Stanford’s ‘Dante Rhapsodies’, Six Characteristic Pieces and Five Caprices.

The Dante Rhapsodies of 1904 were inspired by the playing of Percy Grainger (whom Stanford nicknamed “Polar Bear”) and represent his grandest work for solo piano.

Benjamin Frith, who has a large and diverse concerto repertoire, has recorded piano concertos by John Field and with the Gould Piano Trio received critical acclaim for fine accounts of Stanford’s trios and a reconstructed piano quartet in C minor together with works by Ireland, Bridge, Scott and Bax – nominated for a Gramophone award.

He is joined on this disc by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under the baton of Andrew Gourlay.

Reviews

November 2016

The compulsive fluency of Stanford’s music is part of its charm…Frith’s advocacy is state-of-the-art (does any pianist around draw a lovelier sound from the keyboard, or phrase more naturally?), and the orchestra’s contribution under Andrew Gourlay is excellently vivid and anti-routine

July 2016

[Frith] brings out the abundant invention of the concerto in the clarity and nuance of his touch and phrasing. In particular, the visionary and intimate chamber idiom of the first movement’s development, introspective in mood, is especially moving and beautifully shaped

Classical Ear

Benjamin Frith is fully on top of the solo part's technical demands and brings plenty of poetry and obvious affection to proceedings, and he receives sympathetic support from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Andrew Gourlay...a valuable programme that all Stanford fans will want to add to their collection.

Stanford: Piano Concerto No. 2

CD

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