Naxos Records

Pentatone

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Album Summary >Blake, Howard : Flute Quintet, Op. 493 >Blake, Howard : Concerto for clarinet >Blake, Howard : Concerto for bassoon & string orchestra, Op. 607 >Blake, Howard : Serenade for wind octet, Op. 419 Performers >Jaime Martin (Flute) >Timothy Lines (Clarinet) >David Theodore (Oboe) >Andrew Marriner (Clarinet) >Gustavo Nunez (Bassoon) >Stephen Stirling (Horn) >Rachel Ingleton (Oboe) >Gavin McNaughton (Bassoon) >Graham Sheen (Bassoon) >Susan Dent (Horn) >Katie Lockhart (Clarinet) Conductor >Marriner, Sir Neville Ensembles > >Academy of St. Martin in the Fields >Members of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Composer >Howard Blake (1938 - ) Notes & Reviews: Howard Blake, a living composer best known for his film scores (a.o. Snowman), presents his new classical compositions, all world premiere recordings. Sir Neville Marriner conducts. American Record Guide, March/April 2014 This orchestra's principal flute, Jaime Martin, a native of Spain who is also the principal flute of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, is the soloist in the compact and highly lyrical four-movement Flute Concerto (1996). Andrew Marriner, son of Neville and longtime principal clarinet of the London Symphony, is the soloist in the intense full-length Clarinet Concerto (1984), written for and premiered by the late Thea King. Concertgebouw Orchestra principal bassoon Gustavo Nunez, a native of Uruguay, is the soloist in the brief yet vigorous Bassoon Concerto (1971). Blake's pastoral neo-romanticism, his music is sincere and engaging, and he mesmerizes regardless of form and scope. These concertos are excellent works in both the orchestral and solo wind literature, and the Serenade should be a chamber music staple. Good performances are paramount for any composer, and as expected, these are at the highest level. The soloists play with authority and conviction. Martin boasts a rich and vibrant tone; Nunez has charming phrasing and resonance; and Andrew Marriner renders his British clarinet dialect with model clarity and elegance. The St Martin strings show their prowess in the demanding concertos, and the St Martin winds are just as virtuosic in the delightful Serenade. Notes & Reviews: Recording information: St. John Smith Square, London, UK (09/2012).

Almost all of the pieces listed above are being heard on records for the first time; the Clarinet Concerto, in which Sir Neville Marriner’s son Andrew (principal clarinet of the London Symphony) is soloist, is being recorded for the first time in the revised edition. Howard Blake, an Englishman who is now 75 years old, is much like his late American counterpart Alec Wilder in that he sees little if any distinction between “popular” and “serious” music---for want of better nomenclature. His style is lyrical above all, and his professional and contrapuntal grounding sets him apart from mere tunesmiths. He can write memorable melodies and he knows how to shape them and how to orchestrate them---in the marvelously compact first movement of the Flute Concerto, for instance, the melodic line is briefly traded off with the ‘cello. The Scherzo (second movement) is superb idiomatic flute writing, with deft handling of the strings. The slow movement is a deeply felt Andante espressivo, a piece that seems to be all about the flute’s middle register and the warmth of the lower strings. The finale is a march marked Grazioso. Jaime Martin is a marvelous artist who plays expressively, securely and without affectation.