This week we learned the sad news of the passing of pianist and conductor Jean-Bernard Pommier, at the age of 81. As well as being a highly regarded solo pianist, Pommier held a post with the Northern Sinfonia – as you can read from this tribute on the Cultured North East website
Pommier made several highly regarded recordings, including cycles of the Mozart and Beethoven piano sonatas – and the Tidal playlist Arcana have compiled recognises this, as well as recordings of the Brahms Violin Sonatas, in partnership with Jaime Laredo, and the Mozart piano concertos with Sinfonia Varsovia. You can access the playlist here
by Ben Hogwood Image (c) CBS Television, courtesy of Wikipedia
Last week we heard the very sad news of the loss of charismatic conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, after a long illness. You can read an obituary from Barry Millington at the Guardian website
Tilson Thomas was well-loved at all the orchestras where he held conducting positions – these included the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where he was assistant conductor in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the London Symphony Orchestra, where he was principal conductor from 1988 until 1995, and the San Francisco Symphony, who he led until 2020. With the San Francisco Symphony, Tilson Thomas delivered a high quality survey of the works of Gustav Mahler, a journey you can take on this Tidal playlist
However the playlist I have compiled for Arcana is of shorter works, designed to show off the conductor’s affinity with music of his homeland – in works as varied as John Adams’ Lollapalooza, Ruggles’ Sun Treader, Copland’s Symphonic Ode and music by Charles Ives, with whom Tilson Thomas had a special affinity. Also included is a recent remastering of Tilson Thomas at the piano, partnering Jules Eskin in Debussy’s Cello Sonata, and a recording with the London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra of Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, of which this writer is particularly fond.
The playlist ends with MTT conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic from the piano in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. You can listen on Tidal here
by Ben Hogwood Picture courtesy of Wikipedia / Thechisholm
Last week we heard the sad news of the death of trumpeter and conductor John Wallace, at the age of 76. There have been a number of affectionate obituaries for John that refer to his character, musicianship and academic influence among many other positive qualities. Wallace was principal trumpet of the London Symphony Orchestra from 1976 to 1995, and along the way blossomed into an international soloist of considerable repute.
In 1981 he played at the wedding of Price Charles and Princess Diana, joining soprano Kiri te Kanawa in a performance of Handel’s Let The Bright Seraphim:
He also formed The Wallace Collection in 1986, an influential brass ensemble whose flexible approach brought brass music to new audiences. Several composers wrote for Wallace, among them Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Sir Malcolm Arnold, Sir James MacMillan and Robert Saxton.
Arcana has put together a playlist in honour of John Wallace, featuring the concertos written by Arnold and Maxwell Davies, along with the latter’s Litany for a Ruined Chapel between Sheep and Shore, written for Wallace to perform solo in 1999.
Wallace also features as soloist in Haydn’s much-loved Trumpet Concerto, Prayer of St Gregory by Alan Hovhaness and a commanding performance by the Wallace Collection of Berlioz’s Grande Symphonie Funèbre et Triomphale. There is also a pop nugget, Wallace playing piccolo trumpet on The Alan Parsons Project’s Don’t Let It Show, from the album I Robot.
Listen, enjoy, and appreciate the ability of a wonderful player whose presence will be greatly missed
by Ben Hogwood Picture: Erik Satie, by Pablo Picasso
Today marks the death of one of the most innovative 20th century composers, Erik Satie.
Satie was well ahead of his time…to the extent that even now, one hundred years on, some of his music gives the appearance of being fresh off the page. And indeed, there is some ‘new’ music to enjoy from his pen, as pianist Alexandre Tharaud has recently collated an album of Satie Discoveries, to be reviewed shortly on this site.
Satie’s music has proved incredibly versatile, and his most popular pieces are heard every day – not just on classical music radio, but as part of relaxing playlists and TV soundtracks. It is certainly fair to say that if you enjoy the music of Einaudi, Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds and the like, each of them would credit Satie as a lasting influence.
Here are some of his best-known pieces, with the Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes for piano proving some of his most minimal yet most memorable compositions. To counter those, it helps to have something of the more modern Satie – the Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear, and two orchestral ballets – Relâche and Parade. Listen carefully to the latter and you will hear a tune that sounds remarkably like the theme to Postman Pat! You can access the playlist on Tidal here:
This year CRD Records are marking their 50th anniversary as a label with something of a refresh. Whereas the initials once stood for Continental Record Distributors, they are now undergoing a subtle rebrand to stand for Classical ReDefined.
I wanted to take this opportunity to pay tribute to an excellent label, particularly in the fields of chamber, instrumental and choral music, by way of a celebratory playlist which you can find on Tidal by clicking on the link below.
It includes some cornerstones of the repertoire from established CRD artists, such as pianist Paul Crossley in Ravel, Fauré and Takemitsu, Hamish Milne in Weber and Medtner, and an early Nash Ensemble treasure, their recording of Hummel’s ‘Military’ Septet.
Also appearing are L’Ecole D’Orphée, with cellist Susan Sheppard starring in Vivaldi, and some English gems from New College Choir Oxford under Edward Higginbottom. You can listen here:
Arcana.fm 