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“Benjamin Frith presents a very formidable challenge to rival versions, at super-budget price.
Both works are played with effortless fluency, plus all the immediacy and freshness of new discovery. In No 1 Frith is acutely responsive to the delicate charm of the Scottish-inspired ('Twas within a mile of Edinboro' Town) slow movement. He makes one aware of Field's teasing delight in the unexpected in the smiling outer movements, to which he brings a wide range of tone, and piquant accentuation in the last. There's warm, sympathetic support from the Northern Sinfonia under David Haslam.
The performers revel in the composer's surprises of modulation, rhythm and orchestral colouring, while from the soloist there isn't a trace of the perfunctory in passagework. The recording (in a resonant venue) might be thought overforward and full, but it remains a true bargain.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “Both works are played with the effortless fluency we know from his Mendelssohn series - plus all the immediacy and freshness of new discovery” Gramophone Magazine | | | (also available to download from $6.00) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | Chopin & Field: Piano Concertos
| | | (also available to download from $6.00) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | John Field - Complete Piano Concertos
John Field, inventor of the Nocturne. That is all most people know about this remarkable and influential Irish composer. Born in 1782 in Dublin, he became one of the most celebrated pianist-composers of the early-Romantic age. Admired by his contemporaries Hummel, Moscheles and Kalkbrenner, he also drew praise from Chopin (upon whose music he exerted a huge influence) and Schumann. ‘Discovered’ by Clementi in London in 1794, he was given a thorough musical education by the great Italian master, who quickly recognised the 11-year-old’s talent. Moving in circles that included J.B. Cramer, Dussek and Gyrowetz, he performed before Joseph Haydn in London. In 1799 he premiered his Piano Concerto No.1 in E flat to huge acclaim, and followed it quickly with the three piano sonatas Op.1. Clementi and Field left London in 1802 for an extended European tour, to include Vienna and St Petersburg. The kindly Clementi arranged for Field to study with Albrechstberger, who had taught the young Beethoven. In 1803, in St Petersburg, the two men went their separate ways, Field having become the darling of the Russian aristocracy. ‘Not to have heard Field was regarded as a sin against art and good taste’said one commentator about the ‘Field fever’ that was sweeping the salons. His seven concertos contain some of his most strikingly original and beautiful ideas. Notable is the central slow nocturne section in the first movement of No.7 (praised by Schumann), and the storm sequence in No.5, complete with gong, bell, tam tam, trombone and a second piano. The Second Concerto remained in the repertoire of the great virtuosi Pachmann, Mark Hambourg, Nikolai Rubinstein and von Bulow. Chopin and Clara Schumann taught it. It remains one of the most influential and effective early-Romantic piano concertos, and the blueprint for Chopin’s two concertos. “A bargain for all fans of John Field's influential Piano Concertos” Gramophone Magazine, October 2010 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| | x.jpg) | Field - Piano Concertos
The popular and critically admired Chandos recordings of John Field’s expressive cycle of Piano Concertos are brought together for the first time as a limited edition 4-CD set and released at the price of only 2 CDs. A major forerunner of the Romantic school of pianism that culminated in Chopin, Dublin-born pianist and composer John Field had scarcely received his due until Chandos released the performances of the Piano Concertos by fellow countryman, Miceal O’Rourke. “O’Rourke seems to have adopted the style of Field himself; he has a lovely touch and flow.” American Record Guide “all praise to those responsible…” Gramophone Magazine “O'Rourke and his partners capture Field's spirit and style to perfection, warmly recorded in a natural acoustic.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2008 “The music of these concertos is uneven, but they are all easy to enjoy and most have their fair share of winning themes...O'Rourke is very persuasive and he receives admirable support...the serene single-movement Piano Quintet is also delicately charming.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition “Field’s star is currently shining brighter than ever, thanks in no small measure to the partnership of pianist Miceal O’Rourke and the Matthias Bamert-led London Mozart Players” The Lady “O’Rourke’s delicate touch is ideal for conveying the charm of Field’s music” The Times | | | (also available to download from $19.75) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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