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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Elgar - Quintet and Violin Sonata
‘As ever the playing of The Nash Ensemble evinces consummate refinement and total dedication; their heartwarmingly eloquent reading communicates strongly … no true Elgarian could fail to derive considerable satisfaction from such effortlessly idiomatic music-making’ (Gramophone) | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Elgar: String Quartet & Piano Quintet
“exceptionally searching readings...These are dedicated performances which understandingly bring out the contrast between the expansive Quintet, bold in rhetoric, and the more intimate Quartet, with its terse, economicaly structure.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Elgar: String Quartet and Piano Quintet
“the Maggini Quartet impress with the luminous refinement and beguiling tonal beauty of their music-making” Gramophone Magazine | | | (also available to download from $6.00) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Sir Philip Ledger: A Musician's Legacy
'This CD release celebrates Philip Ledger’s pianism and his musicianship, which were never eclipsed by his vision of the future of the performing arts and the operational and administrative skills which he brought to the conservatoire scene in the UK.' Professor John Wallace CBE Principal, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland “this is a very welcome release, and a worthy tribute to a great musician.” MusicWeb International, April 2013 | 
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| |  | Elgar in Sussex
Escaping London towards the end of the Great War, Elgar found a haven and inspiration in the countryside of Sussex. On this disc, musicians associated with Champs Hill - a short distance away from Elgar’s retreat at ‘Brinkwells’ - celebrate the period which became one of the happiest times of Elgar’s life. The Schubert Ensemble perform Elgar’s Piano Quintet in A Minor. This elegiac Quintet with its substantial slow movement is a record of his time in Sussex. Infused with the atmosphere of the surrounding countryside, it - while of its time - transcends the war. Despite Elgar’s declaration that he was ‘not a song writer’, a number of his songs stand comparison with the very best of the English song repertoire. Dame Felicity Lott, accompanied by Joseph Middleton, sings a variety of Elgar’s most noted songs. Included in this selection of seven songs are Pleading and Is She not Passing Fair?, the texts for both of which contain a mixture of the nostalgia and whimsy which attracted Elgar in the first place, and inspired his melodies which linger in the mind. In 2007, the composer Paul Adrian Rooke was commissioned to complete Elgar’s unfinished Three Movements for Piano Trio, newly recorded here by the Gould Piano Trio. Elgar left the first of these three Movements in fragmentary form, and unfortunately little is known of its origin. The second Movement is a Minuet and Trio, and was written by Elgar for a private performance with his friend Charles Buck and Buck’s mother while staying at their home in Settle, Yorkshire. The third Movement, The March for the Grafton family, is a version for piano trio of Elgar’s Empire March of 1924. While not written as a set, they can be effective, played consecutively. | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Elgar: Piano Quintet & String Quartet
Inspired by the rural beauty of the surroundings at his country retreat in 1917, Edward Elgar embarked on the composition of some of his most inspired and imaginative chamber works. Both the String Quartet and the Piano Quintet are works of great depth and elegance. Their conservative style disregards the compositional trends of the time and displays an unabashed late-romanticism. Elgar wrote: ‘It is full of golden sounds and I like it. But you must not expect anything violently chromatic or cubist.’ The disc features sumptuous playing from the acclaimed Goldner String Quartet, who are joined by pianist Piers Lane for Elgar’s sublime Piano Quintet, a large-scale work of almost orchestral sonority. These masterpieces are accompanied by four previously unrecorded works for solo piano, the last of which was written by Elgar at the age of 72. They are intimate, charming rarities, superbly performed by Lane. “The quintet is given real stature in this very fine recording, with the Goldners and Piers Lane revelling in the expansive themes of the opening moderato and the unashamedly romantic adagio. The Goldners bring the same emotional intensity to the febrile quartet with its shifting tonality and quirky rhythmic scheme, before Lane presents some fascinating miniatures” The Observer, 12th June 2011 “as this fine account by Piers Lane and the Goldner Quartet demonstrates, [the Piano Quintet is] full of highly expressive, authentically Elgarian tunes. The Goldners' account of the quartet is finely fluent, too, and in both works they resist the temptation to over-egg the climaxes.” The Guardian, 16th June 2011 **** “Of his 1918 quartet, [Elgar] wrote: “I know it does not carry us further, but it is full of golden sounds and I like it.” The well-named Goldner Quartet capture those golden sounds — and the piece’s elegiac moods — in an exquisitely nuanced way. The Quintet, more extrovert despite its moving adagio, gets brilliant playing from Lane” Sunday Times, 3rd July 2011 **** “The Goldner String Quartet judges the Elgar idiom persuasively, finding that blend of sensibility and muscularity, wistful meditation and optimistic motivation. The main works are the E minor String Quartet (1918) and the A minor Piano Quintet...both are played with distinction, and with a secure grasp of the give and take of pulse that is integral to Elgar’s music.” The Telegraph, 14th July 2011 *** “The Quartet is delicately charming, with an exquisite Elgarian touch that the Goldners capture most sympathetically, without sentimentalising it. They also give an excellent performance with Piers Lane of the better known, much more dramatic Piano Quintet, tracing its mood swings seamlessly and handling the great Adagio with the unaffected restraint it deserves.” Financial Times, 23rd July 2011 “This is one of those rare discs that give pleasure and food for thought in equal measure...when [Elgar's chamber music] is played with the kind of understanding shown by these five musicians it leaves one wondering how anyone could miss the subtle variety, the elegant sophistication under the surface...The whole experience is a valuable reminder that Elgar doesn't display his originality openly.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2011 ***** “In the Elgar Piano Quintet, they make the most of the work's Brahmsian qualities balancing solidity with élan, tenderness with tension, delicacy with ferocity. The String Quartet is likewise treated with sensitivity, subtlety and great understanding of its tremulous, troubled nature. Lane gives an affectionate account of the little piano pieces.” Classic FM Magazine, September 2011 ***** “No beating about the bush: the Goldners give the most sublimely articulate and raptly communicative reading of Elgar's elusive String Quartet that it's been my privilege to encounter. It's not just their fabulous technical address and scrupulous adherence to the text that are so impressive...but the recreative ardour, tumbling fantasy and sinewy strength they bring to this marvellous score make it seem as though the ink is barely dry on the manuscript” Gramophone Magazine, October 2011  BBC Music Magazine
Disc of the month - September 2011 |
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| |  | Climbing the Skies
The Aronowitz Ensemble was formed in 2004 out of the desire of seven outstanding young international artists to explore and perform chamber music together in the highly adaptable combination of string sextet and piano. Previously members of the BBC's prestigious New Generation Artists scheme, the Aronowitz Ensemble's performances have been regularly featured on BBC Radio 3. Broadcasts included concerts at BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall, the Sage, Gateshead, and in Glasgow, as well as concerts at the Bath, City of London and Tetbury Festivals and a residence at the Two Moors Festival. This is the Aronowitz Ensemble’s first CD release, featuring two key works of the British ensemble repertoire, coupled with a premiere recording of a new work from Huw Watkins written specially for the Aronowitz Ensemble, commissioned by the BBC and premiered at the BBC Proms in 2008. The Aronowitz Ensemble has recently been awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Special Ensemble Scholarship. The Aronowitz Ensemble; Magnus Johnston & Nadia Wijzenbeek – violin, Jennifer Stumm & Tom Hankey – viola, Guy Johnston & Marie Macleod – cello, Tom Poster - piano “Splendid in both the Vaughan Williams and the Watkins, the Aronowitz Ensemble probe deeply into the Elgar's elegiac slow movement, and there are some nice 'ghostly' (Elgar's own description) touches in the first movement...the recorded sound is lovely.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2010 ***** “The Elgar Piano Quintet, the most ambitious of his three late chamber works, has rarely sounded so cogent as here… The Spanish flavour of the second subject is especially attractive. The slow movement is here gloriously rich in its very Elgarian lyricism, while the finale refers back to earlier themes, offering a satisfying conclusion. ...superb playing and finely honed recording.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2010 “There's virtuosic playing from the young Aronowitz Ensemble on their first disc...The seven-strong ensemble's repertoire choice, a balance of old and new, proves satisfying...The players' exuberance keeps English nostalgia at bay and all stays in keen, bright focus.” The Observer, 31st January 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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| |  | Schumann & Elgar - Piano Quintets
Two of the great piano quintets ever composed played by a superb quintet of musicians headed by Lars Vogt and Christian Tetzlaff. Two piano quintets, two very different works. Excellent performances recorded live at the Spannungen Festival 2007. “Lars Vogt is equally subtle and acutely penetrating in Schumann and Elgar… Teztlaff and his fellow strings have almost ideal tone and expressive touch in the first-movement second theme of the Schumann, but at the equivalent point in the Elgar tension and understanding flag temporarily.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2009 **** “The opening of Elgar's Piano Quintet is one of his most extraordinary utterances. In the right hands, it can pack a real emotional punch, its anguish conveyed via the most sparing of means. And that is certainly the case in this live recording… This starry line-up well captures the work's ambiguity and the players aren't afraid to reveal its darkness where others... glory more in its Brahmsian antecedents.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2009 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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John Bingham (Piano) Medici String Quartet | | | Usually despatched in 8 - 10 working days. |
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Building a Library
Gramophone Magazine