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Joseph Holbrooke is a fascinating and important figure in British music, and this is the first Naxos recording of his music.
His Violin Sonata No. 1 – also called a Sonatina – is a bright, engaging and light-hearted work that owes something to his interest in popular song. His Violin Concerto, subtitled ‘The Grasshopper’, was published in full score and in two versions for violin and piano – including a ‘sonata’ version with a somewhat technically less demanding final movement. In this recording we present the original ‘concerto’ version. The Horn Trio took Brahms’s similar trio as a precedent, and is a work of great dignity and melodic appeal.
Joseph Holbrooke: Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 6a, "Sonatina"
I. Allegro: Marcato e moderato
II. Nocturne: Adagio e molto espressivo
III. Scherzo: Presto ma non troppo
IV. Rondo: Allegro con moto
Joseph Holbrooke: Horn Trio in D major, Op. 28 (original version)
I. Larghetto sostenuto - Allegro con brio
II. Adagio ma non troppo
III. Molto vivace
Joseph Holbrooke: Violin Concerto in F major, Op. 59, "The Grasshopper" (version for violin and piano as Violin Sonata No. 2)
I. Allegro con molto fuoco
II. Adagio non troppo con molto espressione
III. Maestoso - Vivace giocoso
Joseph Holbrooke: Mezzo-Tints, Op. 55: No. 2. L'Extase (version for violin and piano)
Mezzo-Tints, Op. 55: No. 2. L'Extase (version for violin and piano)
November 2011
“All the performances are of a high standard, often brilliant and imaginative, and I was particularly impressed with Kerenza Peacock's lithe, elegant violin-playing and her easy conquest of the virtuoso demands of The Grasshopper”
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