Lorelt label

London New Voices presents a cross-section of the work of five graduate composers under the guidance of Silvina Milstein (Argentine composer), as an acknowledgement and celebration of the extraordinary creativity, diversity and artistic commitment displayed by the many young composers that have converged at King’s College London over recent years. This release is a window into the new musical talent that is coming out of London.

Andrew Sparling has played guest principal clarinet with many UK orchestras, including the BBC Scottish, Philharmonia, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, London Sinfonietta, Andrew also appears regularly with many of the most important contemporary music ensembles in the UK, including the Almeida Opera, Apartment House, Chroma, Double Image, Ensemble Exposè, Gemini, Lontano and the Michael Nyman Band. Andrew Sparling has issued solo CDs on NMC and Divine Art. This, his first disc for Lorelt features a wondrous array of new works by leading composers such as Howard Skempton

The Brazilian born Marlos Nobre is one of the most prominent composers of our time. Nobre’s first contact with music was at the piano, where he would reproduce melodies from the street carnival dances. Starting formal lessons at the age of 5, Nobre spent his childhood submerged in two seemingly different worlds – the Folk traditions of popular street music and formal classical training. His musical talent received early recognition, enhanced by studying for two years in Buenos Aires with masters such as Ginastera, Copland and Malipiero. This CD release is a testament to his journey so far.

The pieces that appear on this CD are all relatively recent compositions, and share some similar characteristics. One of these is the influence of the Macedonian folk music tradition. Macedonianborn composer/violinist Mihailo Trandafilovski studied at the Royal College of Music (RCM) and has been the recipient of numerous awards, one of which was the United Music Publishers Prize for composition at the RCM.

Lorelt, the label that pioneers the compositional work of women, is releasing one of the most important female composers of her generation, Elizabeth Maconchy. The land is undoubtedly the outstanding work of Maconchy’s early years. It was her first work for symphony orchestra and was composed as she was finishing her studies at the RCM.

This title is the second collection of works by Peter Child to be released by the enterprising Lorelt Records. The song cycles that open and close this recording Songs of Bidpai (2002) and Rilke Songs (2008), are at opposite ends of an expressive spectrum. Intersperse this with the charming Oboe quartet Pantomine (2007) and you have the recipe for an album of true delight.

Since its foundation in 1976, Lontano has been recognised as one of Britain’s most exciting and versatile exponents of 20th & 21st century music. This CD of Odaline de la Martinez’s chamber work spans a compositional period from 1977 to 1985 and fully reveals the talent that lies within.

Silvina Milstein was born in Buenos Aires in 1956, emigrating to Britain in 1976. At Glasgow University her composition teachers were Judith Weir and Lyell Cresswell and at Cambridge University she worked with Alexander Goehr. Her work first came to public attention in 1985 with Sombras, which was a joint winner of the ‘Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust Orchestral Award’. This new recording of her chamber works highlighted by the main titles of Fire Dressed in Black and the intriguingly titled Tigres azules (blue tigers) will undoubtedly bring her to the forefront once again.

Dorothy Ker was born in New Zealand in 1965 but after studying composition and electronic music with John Rimmer she emigrated to the UK where she is now Research Fellow at Sheffield University.

Apart from the cello solo all the pieces feature the clarinet and were composed with one player in mind: Andrew Sparling. Ker's creative preoccupations are form, space and memory -- each composition draws stimulus from an extra-musical source, from the natural world to the inner world of the dream