New Releases

The Barbirolli Society's new 2-CD release brings together ‘live’ recordings, from the late 1950s, of Sir John conducting the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra and the RAI Symphony Orchestra, Turin. The complete concert from the Romanian Atheneum, Bucharest in September 1958 consisted of Wagner’s Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Vaughan Williams’s Fanstasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Debussy’s La Mer and Beethoven’s Symphony No.7.

The George Enescu Philharmonic was founded in 1868, the Romanian Philharmonic Society, conducted by Eduard Wachman, aimed at creating a permanent symphonic orchestra in order to promote musical culture and popularise classical music. When the palace of the Romanian Athenaeum was inaugurated, on 15 March 1889, concerts began to be held there, asnow, and is the headquarters of the Philharmonic. Eduard Wachman, conducted until 1907, and was succeeded by Dimitrie Dinicu, then in 1920, by George Georgescu, a remarkable conductor, student of Arthur Nikisch and Richard Strauss. After George Enescu died, in 1955, the Philharmonic took his name.

The five movements from Holst’s The Planets (Mars, Venus, Mercury, Uranus and Jupiter) comes from a concert in Turin on15 November 1957.

Lavinia Meijer is recognized worldwide as one of the most successful rising stars of the harp. In October 2009 Meijer received the “Nederlandse Muziekprijs” at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw by the Minister of Culture. This Dutch Music Prize, a state prize, is the highest award a classical musician can obtain in The Netherlands. Besides performing the standard harp repertoire Lavinia Meijer is very keen on playing modern music. She is also interested in experiments with electronic music, theatrical performances and jazz. She has inspired several composers to write new compositions for the harp in all possible combinations, not only the violin also a saxophone quartet and even a rock band.

‘Visions’ presents a varied picture of recent repertoire from the last forty years and includes Britten’s haunting Suite, and Paul Patterson’s incredible pictorial pieces “Spiders” and “Bugs”. Lavinia Meijer’s performance of Garret Byrnes’ “Visions of Twilight” will surely become the benchmark recording of a work which has become one of the most performed works for harp ever since it’s premier in 2000.

In the booklet notes Lavinia Meijer writes:

I am sometimes asked to name my favourite stylistic period. It doesn’t matter to me, as long as we’re talking about good compositions and I can give them my own personal interpretation. It’s true that even as a young performer I discovered that I had an affinity for modern music. I am particularly interested by the technical and interpretative possibilities. It gives the performer a sense of freedom. I also enjoy the challenge of making modern music, which is experienced by so many people as “difficult”, into something not only approachable but exciting. Personal contact with the composer is a priceless advantage here. I would never have been able perform the works which were written specially for me by Garret Byrnes, Carlos Michans, and Jacob TV (Jacob ter Veldhuis) with such conviction if the composers hadn’t been around.

This fascinating disc introduces the listener to a completely new experience - that of Mahler’s 10th Symphony, transcribed for solo piano. Whilst not slavishly attempting to reproduce every orchestral sound on the piano, there are quasi-orchestral effects in places, but it should be regarded as a piano piece - or perhaps more appropriately a ‘piano commentary’ on the performing draft of the uncompleted 10th Symphony.

A proportion of sales from this CD will go towards MacMillan Cancer Support.

Carol Jarvis is one of the most versatile musicians of her generation, whose work encompasses almost every musical genre from the Symphonic, through Jazz, Rock and Pop and just about everything in between. As a player, arranger, teacher, journalist and clinician, she is the sort of musician whose versatility defies all usual classifications and narrow pigeon holes, the sort of musician who makes the musical establishment feel just a little uncomfortable, the sort of musician who is well worth a listen. In 2004, in her mid 20s, Carol was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma.

For a good many of us, such a revelation would stop life in its tracks, interrupt the progress of our careers and make us feel at the very least, that we had suddenly and savagely arrived at the end of something. It would be a time to stop and hide ourselves away and lick our wounds. Carol’s tenacity in doing exactly the opposite, in reaching out for life with tremendous passion and working harder than ever throughout a six year ordeal of often brutal therapies and treatments, has been an inspiration to all who know and work with her. At the time of making this CD, her fight goes on.

It is hoped that this album might inspire other young people who suddenly find themselves in a fight against a Cancer, or a fight for life itself, and show that there is always hope and that through Macmillan they and their families and friends can find help, support and information which will lead to that hope. As for the music, some tracks are old friends, some are tunes that have been important to Carol herself over the last few years and in most cases their significance will be obvious. Others are just great songs and are here for that reason alone. One or two of the tracks are quite simply just a bit of fun.

The album is co-produced by Roderick Dunk (who also conducted the orchestra) – incidentally one of the UK’s most versatile conductors. The front cover design is a painting of Carol by Rolf Harris.

Sales of “Smile” will generate valuable income for the Macmillan Cancer Support (at least £1.50 per CD).