CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD
Stanford: Suite for Violin and Orchestra Op 32 / Violin Concerto in D major Op 74 Anthony Marwood (violin) / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion Romantic Violin Concerto Vol 2 / CD - released 15/Nov/2000 ] 2001 GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST - Concerto - "A first recording for the Violin Concerto, and a performance unlikely to be bettered. Anthony Marwood is the impassioned soloist" |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No 5 / Scenes adapted from Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress Emily Portman (folk voice), Kitty Whately (mezzo-soprano), Marcus Farnsworth (baritone), etc / BBC Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion / CD - released 30/Oct/2020 ] GRAMOPHONE Award Nomination 2021 - Orchestral |
HENRI DUTILLEUX
Dutilleux: L'Arbre des songes / Timbres, espace, mouvement / etc Martyn Hill (tenor), Neal Davies (baritone), Olivier Charlier (violin) / BBC Philharmonic, Yan Pascal Tortelier [ Chandos / CD - released 2/Feb/1996 ] "In the Violin Concerto (1985) Tortelier again favours a symphonic approach, and very effective it is too, with a soloist who's authoritative without being overly selfassertive." Gramophone |
PARRY / STANFORD
Parry / Stanford: Piano Concertos Piers Lane (piano) / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins, conductor [ Hyperion Romantic Piano Concertos Vol 12 / CD - released 3/Apr/2005 ] 'Splendid, eloquent performances in clear, warm sound plus Jeremy Dibble's scholarly notes full of insights about the period of these compositions makes this an issue not to be missed. One is left dumbfounded that the [Parry] concerto could have lain... |
JOHN ADDISON / ARTHUR BENJAMIN / ELIZABETH MACONCHY / HUMPHREY SEARLE / EDMUND RUBBRA GEOFFREY BUSH
British Piano Concertos Simon Callaghan (piano), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Martyn Brabbins [ Lyrita / CD - released 3/Feb/2023 ] "Smaller concertos for piano and modest orchestral forces were a feature of British composition in the first half of the 20th century. Often they were written for a special occasion, and typically vanished into oblivion thereafter. During the COVID... |
CHARLES Villiers STANFORD
Stanford: Requiem Carolyn Sampson, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, James Way, Ross Ramgobin / University of Birmingham Voices, City of Birmingham Symphony, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion / CD - released 2/Jun/2023 ] "Brabbins, who truly understands the language of this music, judges the tempos and balance of the ensemble with instinctive sensitivity...For anyone interested in British choral music of the period, it is a must!" Gramophone Editor's Choice June 2023 |
VIANNA da MOTTA
Vianna ds Motta: Piano Concerto in A major / Fantasia DramAItica / etc Arthur Pizarro (piano) / Orquestra Gulbenkian / Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion Romantic Piano Concertos Vol 24 / CD - released 10/Nov/2000 ] 'To hear Pizarro is always a pleasure…lyrical phrasing wrapped in one of the most entrancing and expressive pianissimos of any pianist' - International Record Review |
HENRIQUE OSWALD & ALFREDO NAPOLEAO
The Romantic Piano Concerto 64 - Oswald & Napoleão dos Santos Artur Pizarro (piano) / BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto Vol 64 / CD - released 29/Sep/2014 ] Portuguese virtuoso Artur Pizarro makes a welcome return to the Romantic Piano Concerto series with the outpourings of two brilliant pianist-composers. |
JOHN PICKARD
Pickard: Sixteen Sunrises & Symphony No. 5 BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Martyn Brabbins [ BIS / CD - released 30/Jun/2017 ] "The music fair kidnaps the listener's attention at the outset and does not random it until the gripping, wholly satisfying close...The performance by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales is stunning in its virtuosity" Gramophone |
CYRIL SCOTT
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (1937) / Symphony No. 1 (1899) BBC Philharmonic / Martyn Brabbins [ Chandos / CD - released 29/Feb/2008 ] The Chandos survey of orchestral music by Cyril Scott comes to a close with the premiere recording of the Cello Concerto and Symphony No. 1. The BBC Philharmonic is conducted by Martyn Brabbins, with Paul Watkins as the cello soloist. From an early... |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus, Martyn Brabbins (conductor) [ Hyperion / CD - released 28/Sep/2018 ] One of the mightiest of first symphonies, Vaughan Williams's setting of Walt Whitman creates a very special sense of occasion. The coupling is more Whitman: RVW's later, virtually unknown 'Darest thou now, O soul' for chorus and strings. |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos 6 & 8 Roderick Williams (baritone) / BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion / CD - released 7/Oct/2022 ] "Even against formidable competition [in No. 6], Martyn Brabbins impresses handsomely. Nothing is forced - the fury and the anguish, the grandeur and the desolation seem almost to speak for themselves." BBC Music Five Stars |
ARNOLD BAX
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bax - Choral Works Christine Bunning (soprano), Huddersfield Choral Society / BBC Philharmonic / Martyn Brabbins (conductor) [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 27/Jan/2004 ] All the glorious choral music of Bax on one Chandos CD |
YORK BOWEN
Bowen: Piano Concertos Nos 3 & 4 Danny Driver (piano) / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins (conductor) [ Hyperion Romantic Piano Concertos Vol 46 / CD - released 1/Nov/2008 ] 'Danny Driver's pianism is fully and eagerly up to Bowen's considerable demands' (BBC Music Magazine) |
KENNETH LEIGHTON
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Leighton: Orchestral works Vol 3 (Incls 'Symphony No 1') Howard Shelley (piano) / BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Martyn Brabbins [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Mar/2011 ] "Shelley proves a marvellously stylish, involving exponent and is backed to the hilt by Brabbins and the BBC NOW. Chandos's sound and balance, too, are beyond reproach." (Gramophone) |
CYRIL SCOTT
Scott: Piano Concerto No.1 / Symphony No.4 Howard Shelley (piano) / BBC Philharmonic / Martyn Brabbins [ Chandos / CD - released 8/May/2006 ] 'Scott's scoring is extravagant but lucid, his harmony sensuous and involving, and his structures are free but controlled… This is a CD of terrific music, its demands comprehensively met by the musicians, and the recording' International Record Review |
MAX BRUCH
Bruch: Violin Concerto No 2 & other works Jack Liebec (violin) / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Martyn Brabbins, conductor [ Hyperion / CD - released 18/Jan/2017 ] "There's much to admire in Jack Liebeck's patrician account of Bruch's D Minor Violin Concerto. His playing is virtually flawless in its technical ease, scintillating articulateness and purity of tone." Gramophone |
John Martyn
Solid Air (LP) [ Universal Music / LP - released 4/Apr/2013 ] A record that has grown in stature since its 1973 release, John Martyn's Solid Air has become a cult touchstone, pointing the way towards ambient, trip-hop and more abstract sonic textures. |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: Owen Wingrave (complete opera recorded in 2001) Kent Nagano / Gerald Finley / Peter Savidge / Hilton Marlton / Josephine Barstow / Anne Dawson / Elizabeth Gale / Charlotte Hellekant / Martyn Hill / [ Arthaus Musik / Kultur / DVD - released 1/Mar/2009 ] G - GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE RECORDING OF THE YEAR FINALIST 2004: DVD |
Kronos Quartet, with Zakir Hussain, Taraf de Haidouks, Martyn Jones, +
Caravan [ Nonesuch Records / CD - released 6/Mar/2001 ] Kronos Caravan is inspired by the part of the world once known as "Pannonia" - the territory that connects northeastern Europe with the Mediterranean and western Asia. This crossroads of peoples and cultures is the starting point for this recording |
GEORGE ANTHEIL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Antheil: Fighting The Waves Martyn Hill (tenor) Jagdish Mistry (violin) Hermann Kretzschmar (piano) / Ensemble Modern, HK Gruber [ RCA Victor Red Seal / CD - released 24/May/1996 ] "It's always faintly depressed me how some concert-goers feel compelled to listen to music stony-faced, while some works abound with musical jokes. Antheil's musical pickpocketing is a riot." Gramophone |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: The World Of The Spirit / King Arthur Suite / American Overture Martyn Hill (tenor), Pamela Helen Stephen (mezzo-soprano), Stephen Varcoe (baritone) / Britten Singers, BBC Philharmonic, Richard Hickox [ Chandos / CD - released 2/Feb/1996 ] "The recording is superbly wide in its range and offers a realistic quality." Gramophone |
GERLAD FINZI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Finzi: Earth and Air and Rain (Songs by Gerald Finzi to words of Thomas Hardy) Martyn Hill (tenor) Stephen Varcoe (baritone) Clifford Benson (piano) [ Hyperion Dyad / 2 CD - released 1/Sep/2009 ] "You can't go wrong with this recording of these immensely beautiful and brilliantly-crafted songs." (MusicWeb Oct 2010) |
ARNOLD BAX
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bax: Symphony No 7 / Four Songs for Tenor and Orchestra Martyn Hill (tenor) / Ulster Orchestra, Bryden Thomson [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 10/May/2004 ] "I found his interpretation of the Seventh fully acceptable...I found myself in his more leisurely company enjoying the scenery." MusicWeb |
IGOR MARKEVITCH
Markevitch: Complete Orchestral Works Volume 7 - Piano Concerto / Cantate / Icare Martyn van den Hoek (piano) / Nienke Oostenrijk (soprano) / Netherlands Concert Choir / Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra / Christopher Lyndon-Gee [ Naxos / CD - released 2/Mar/2011 ] "Icare is arguably Markevitch's masterpiece, one of the great ballets of the 20th century. If you don't know Markevitch the composer, this is probably the best place to start." (ClassicsToday 10/10 Jan 2011) |
FINZI / GURNEY / FARRAR / BROWNE / KELLY / BUTTERWORTH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: War's Embers: a legacy of songs by composers who perished or suffered in World War 1 Michael George (bass) Martyn Hill (tenor) Stephen Varcoe (baritone) Clifford Benson (piano) [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 20/Sep/2009 ] 'If you enjoy English song, this set is a must ... The singers are Britain's best, and their excellence is matched by the accompaniments of Clifford Benson' (BBC Music Magazine) |
HERBERT HOWELLS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Howells: Missa Sabrinensis Neill Archer (tenor) Janice Watson (soprano) Della Jones (contralto) Martyn Hill (tenor) / London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra., Gennady Rozhdestvensky [ Chandos / 2 CD - released 27/Sep/2005 ] 'Gratitude, then, for an essential contribution towards the re-evaluation of an original visionary…' Gramophone 'Editor's Choice' on Missa Sabrinensis |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Handel: Acis and Galatea (Complete opera) Norma Burrowes, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Martyn Hill, Willard White / The English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner [ Archiv / 2 CD - released 8/Mar/1986 ] "A joy ... glorious singing." International Music Guide |
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saens: The Three Violin Concertos Philippe Graffin, violin / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins, conductor [ Hyperion Romantic Violin Concerto Vol 1 / CD - released 22/May/2005 ] 'All are beautifully crafted, irresistibly violinistic and catchily tuneful. Graffin is a real stylist, a player in the Franco-Belgian tradition with exquisitely sweet and focused tone and enviable bravura in the technical high jinks Saint-Saëns... |
CECIL COLES
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Coles: Music from Behind the Lines Sarah Fox (soprano) Paul Whelan (baritone) / BBC Scottish Symphony, Martyn Brabbin [ Hyperion / CD - released 10/Aug/2014 ] "His orchestral writing is highly accomplished; and the dramatic flair suggests a potential opera composer…excellent singing and committed playing." (BBC Music Magazine) |
ROGER SACDEVERELL COKE
Coke: Piano Concertos Nos 3, 4 & 5 Simon Callaghan (piano) / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins (conductor) [ Hyperion Romantic Piano Concertos Vol 78 / CD - released 1/Dec/2017 ] The late Romanticism of Roger Sacheverell Coke will appeal to anyone who enjoys Rachmaninov or Delius, Grainger or Scriabin. If that sounds an intriguingly eclectic mix, Coke establishes his own distinctive voice, and this is an important addition to... |
Stephane Grappelli (violin & piano), Marc Fosset (acoustic guitar), Allan Ganley (drums), Martyn Taylor (electric guitar), Patrice Caratini (bass)
Stephane Grappelli: Just One Of Those Things [ EMI / CD - released 18/Apr/1988 ] Praising a recent Stephane Grappelli album, American jazz critic Leonard Feather noted that Grappelli in his mid-70s "plays with more cheerful self-confidence than he did at 57 or 27." |
SIR DONALD FRANCIS TOVEY
Piano Concerto in A major, Op 15 (with Mackenzie- Scottish Concerto) Steven Osborne (piano) / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins (conductor) [ Hyperion Romantic Piano Concertos Vol 19 / CD - released 30/Aug/2008 ] 'What a bonanza this Hyperion offering is! If you fancy piano concertos you'll find plenty in these two neglected specimens to challenge and enchant you' (Fanfare, USA) |
HAVERGAL BRIAN
Brian: Symphony No 1 in D minor "Gothic" Susan Gritton (soprano), Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano), Peter Auty (tenor), Alastair Miles (bass) / London Symphony Chorus, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion / 2 CD - released 1/Mar/2012 ] "Hyperion's release is a perfect one, of a great event, a magisterial work and an encapsulation of the enormous difficulties of the project as a whole" Gramophone Editor's Choice Feb 2012 |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Handel: Urecht Te Deum & Jubilate / Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne / etc Emma Kirkby, Judith Nelson, James Bowman, Paul Elliot, Martyn Hill / Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, Christopher Hogwood [ Decca / 2 CD ] Recording locations: All Saints Church, Tooting, London, December 1977 (Anthem, Ode) St Jude's Church, Hampstead, London, July 1979 (Te Deum & Jubilate, Alceste) |
John Martyn
Piece by Piece [ Island RePresents / 2 CD - released 17/Apr/2015 ] This 2-CD, 27-track "best of" compilation collects a broad cross-section of the works of masterly British singer / songwriter / guitarist John Martyn. |
JUDITH WEIR
The Vanishing Bridegroom Ailish Tynan, Anna Stéphany, Andrew Tortise, Owen Gilhooly & Jonathan Lemalu / BBC Singers & BBC Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins [ NMC / 2 CD - released 21/Jul/2014 ] Weir's writing combines lush descriptive soundscapes with ethereal choruses and Gaelic folk melodies; the romanticism of the three tales is offset by the sardonic humour and down-to-earth attitude of their protagonists, and of the composer herself. |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: Spring Symphony / Welcome Ode / Psalm 150 Alfreda Hodgson (contralto), Elizabeth Gale (soprano), Martyn Hill (tenor) / Southend Boys Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Hickox [ Chandos Hickox Legacy / CD - released 19/Jul/2013 ] This re-release of the Spring Symphony, complemented by two smaller but equally life-confirming works by Britten, marks the composer's centenary year. It also forms part of our ongoing Richard Hickox Legacy series, which pays tribute to this great co |
JEAN GILLES
Messe des Morts [Requiem] Anne-Marie Rodde, Jean Nirouet, Martyn Hill, Peter Kooy / Collegium Vocale Gent / Philippe Herreweghe [ Brilliant Classics / CD - released 1/Mar/2009 ] 'This is in short a performance with the carefully moulded contours, sensitively judged sonic qualities and sheer spiritual presence that we have come to recognize over the years as true Herreweghe characteristics.' Gramophone |
SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR / SIR ARTHUR SOMERVELL
Coleridge-Taylor/Somervell: Violin Concertos Anthony Marwood (violin) / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins, conductor [ Hyperion Romantic Violin Concerto Vol 5 / CD - released 6/Mar/2005 ] 'Marwood's unflashy, sweet-toned playing lends just the right note of enchantment and authenticity to these forgotten scores. In short, this is Hyperion at its best' - Gramophone |