Franck, C: Symphonic Variations for piano & orchestra, M46

SOMM has embarked on an exciting new series of recordings with the RPO and pianist Valerie Tryon and conductor Kenneth Woods.

The first disc in the SOMM series, of Turina's Rapsodia Sinfonica, Cesar Franck's Symphonic Variations and Manuel de Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain will be released in June. These are works which Ms Tryon has had in her repertoire for many years but which she records for the first time. Born in Portsmouth in 1934 she is an artist of great stature, remains as popular as ever and her recitals continue to enchant her audiences the world over.

She is scheduled to play the Grieg Piano Concerto at Fairfield Halls, Croydon with the RPO this autumn. SOMM will be recording her second disc (Rachmaninov's First Piano Concerto, Dohnanyi's Variations on a Nursery Theme and Richard Strauss's Burlesque) with the RPO and conductor Jac Van Steen in mid-July at the Henry Wood Hall.

Both Pascal Rogé and Lorin Maazel were one of the mainstays of the Decca roster for several years, the former famed for the clarity of his vision in much French music, the latter recording vast tracts of repertoire with both, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra, in often white-hot performances. The Franck Symphony blazes away, with both conviction and sonic distinction. Its original LP coupling, the Variations symphoniques, receives its first international release on CD. And Bartók’s ‘Opus 1’, his Rhapsody for piano and orchestra, which, although a juvenile work, was performed by Bartók all the way through his piano-playing career. It was recorded by Rogé as a companion to his thrilling recordings of the Bartók concertos with Weller and the LPO.