RECORDED BY GUSTAVO NUNEZ/ACADEMY OF ST. MARTIN IN THE FIELDS/SIR NEVILLE MARRINER/TITLE OF ALBUM 'THE BARBER OF NEVILLE' PENTATONE CLASSICS SUPER AUDIO CD HYBRID MULTICHANNEL PTC 5186 506 2013 www.pentatonemusic.com
In 1971 Howard composed a quintet for oboe and string quartet which was given a student performance at the RCM by David Powell, later oboist with the BBC Philharmonic. However no further promotion of the work was made after that time and the composer left it amongst pieces 'under consideration for revision'. In 2009 a suggestion was made by Bob Briggs and Len Mullenger of Music Web International that Howard should hear the brilliant young bassoonist Karen Geoghegan at a forthcoming Prom with a view to possibly writing a new concerto for her and the proposal that the work should be recorded by Chandos Records. Howard met Karen after the concert and she expressed an interest in the proposal. On reflection Howard believed that the early oboe quintet might translate well for bassoon and during the course of the summer he reshaped the material into this concerto for bassoon and string orchestra. Karen played it through with Howard and was delighted. Music critic Bob Briggs wrote : 'The Concerto is in three movements, a medium paced opening one - Moderato - a very beautiful slow movement and a sparkling Presto finale with a cadenza which brings together music from all three movements.' The project unravelled however when Ralph Couzens of Chandos signed Karen and much to everybody's dismay decided against including the work in her proposed recording schedule. However, in 2011 Sir Neville Marriner suggested including it in an album of Howard Blake woodwind concertos and approached Gustavo Nunes as soloist. It was recorded in St John Smith Square in September 2012
Recording for Pentatone conducted by Sir Neville Marriner, The Orchestra of The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields with soloist Gustavo Nunes (1st bassoon of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam)
Ist concert perf. tba
1st March 2015 | Sir Neville Marriner,conductor,The Orchestra of the Academy of St.Martin in the Fields,soloists: Gustavo Nunez, Jaime Martin and Andrew Marriner. Wind Octet for soloists within the orchestra: David Theodore, Rachel Ingleton (oboes); Timothy Lines, Katie Lockhart (clarinets); Graham Sheen, Gavin McNaughton (bassoons); Stephen Stirling, Susan Dent (horns). Released on Pentatone Classics/Hybrid Multichannel
PTC 5186 506 Super Audio CD Global distribution by Naxos, Recorded at St John's Smith Square, London
THE BARBER OF NEVILLE ON PENTATONE Released September 23rd 2013 by Pentatone Classics/hybrid multichannel/super audio. Link: http://onebitaudio/?cat=44 Recordings took place September 24-26 2012 in St. John's Smith Square with the Orchestra of The Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields. Clarinet Concerto perf. by Andrew Marriner with revisions previously unincorporated; Bassoon Concerto perf. by Gustavo Nunez (principal Concertgebouw Amsterdam); Flute Concerto perf. by Jaime Martin; Serenade for Wind Octet perf. by soloists from the orchestra. Music producer Andrew Keener, location sound engineering Erdo Groot and Roger de Schot from Polyhymnia, supervising producer Job Maarse for Pentatone. Editing Baarn Studios Netherlands. |
25th November 2014 | Orchestra and soloists of The Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by Sir Neville Marriner, Church of Saint Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square, London
Concertos and wind octet, soloists to be confirmed. |
The Bassoon Concerto, in which soloist Gustavo Nuñez is in wonderful form, is the only one of the three concertos presented here that has an extensive cadenza----in the last movement. It begins with a march-like first movement, in which’s Blake’s lyrical spirit soon takes over. The whole concerto is an ingenious adaptation of the stile gallant to today. Indeed, all of these concertos are written for a Haydn-sized orchestra, more or less, without percussion. Two of them are scored for a string group, but one has the sense that Blake is using strings as a total orchestra, not just as several choirs of one species of musical instrument. It is the newest work on the album, having been completed just four years ago.
Christopher Hathaway,, KUHF.fm 88.7 News for Houston [Music Library Reviews: Beethoven, Wagner, and Blake], 5/2013