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Raphael Wallfisch has recently recorded Lionel’s Cello Concerto for Dutton-Epoch. The recording sessions took place on 25 May 2011 with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Martin Yates.
Watch this space for further details.
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Raphael Wallfisch
photo: Benjamin Ealovega |
Martin Yates
photo: Eric Richmond |
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Lionel’s Soliloquy for solo violin was recorded by Czech violinist Vit Muzik at Olomouc in the Czech Republic on 10 July 2011 for Navona Records. Navona is the classical label imprint of Parma Recordings, USA, a New England-based label whose eclectic catalogue offers listeners “FINE MUSIC from Grammy® and Pulitzer Prize winning artists to new and undiscovered voices in the classical tradition”, “a fresh taste of the leading innovators in orchestral, chamber, and experimental music.” Release of the recording is envisaged for early 2012: watch this space for further news.
Vit Muzik Biography |
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Parma Recordings |
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Navona Records |
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Lionel's Mirage Op.29 was performed on 6 November 2011 by violinist Rupert Luck and pianist Matthew Rickard as part of the 2011/2012 Recital Series at the Concertzaal In den Wouwdfluit, Wouw, in The Netherlands.
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Rupert Luck
violin |
Matthew Rickard piano |
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Lionel’s Two Cuban Dances were performed
by piano duo Janet Obi-Keller and David Wordsworth
at Columbia University, New York and at Union
College, Schenectady, New York in October 2011
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Two pieces from Lionel's
South American Suite for piano Op.23
- Passeio and Recuerdos de España –
were performed by pianist Michael Jones at the Countess of Huntingdon Hall, Worcester in August 2011. He also included Lionel’s Nocturne op.18, at a lunchtime recital in Kidderminster in October 2011. |
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Pianist Mark Bebbington included Nos. 1,3,4,5,6,7,9 and 11 from Lionel’s Twelve Preludes in his recital at the Dean and Chadlington Summer Music Festival, 26 June 2011.
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Mirage for violin and piano
was performed by violinist Rupert Luck and pianist Matthew Rickard at the 2011 English Music Festival in Dorchester Abbey, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, 30 May 2011. |
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Rupert Luck
violin |
Matthew Rickard piano |
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Lionel’s Cuban Fantasy Op.22 was performed by pianist Matthew Rickard as part of ‘Beautiful music in historic surroundings’ series at St. Peter’s Church, Old Woking, Surrey, on 23 April 2011.
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Performance of Lionel’s Sonata for violin and piano in Birmingham |
Violinist Rupert Luck and pianist Matthew Rickard included two of Lionel's works – Violin Sonata Op.5 and Mirage for violin and piano Op.29 - in their Barber Lunchtime Concerts programme at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham, January 2011.
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Anna Hashimoto Andrew Saunders |
Lionel's Prelude, Blues and Postlude for clarinet and piano op.9 was performed by internationally acclaimed clarinettist Anna Hashimoto and pianist Andrew Saunders at Senate House, London, on 16 November 2010.
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World Premiere in Dublin of Lionel's Mirage for violin and piano
Violinist Rupert Luck and pianist Matthew Rickard gave the world premiere of Lionel's Mirage for violin and piano at the National Concert Hall in Dublin on 8 October 2010, in a programme which also included Lionel's Sonata for violin and piano. |
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Andalusian Fantasy in Oxford
Lionel's Andalusian Fantasy was the final work on the programme of pianist Jack Gibbons at Oxford's Holywell Music Room on 12 August 2010. The concert formed part of Jack Gibbons' annual Summer Piano Series. |
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 buy from Crotchet |
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NEW on
Dutton-Epoch, March 2010
Lionel’s Violin Concerto was released on Dutton-Epoch on 15 March 2010 - CDLX7245 - with soloist Lorraine McAslan and the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Barry Wordsworth.
The new recording was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 16 March 2010 as part of Afternoon on Three's focus on the BBC Concert Orchestra.
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Review in Classical Lost and Found “RECOMMENDED BEST FIND”
“Dutton scores again with the world première recording of Sainsbury's Violin Concerto of 1989, which at forty minutes is on a grand scale… the opening Allegro is rhythmically agitated, invigorating… The Andante is a beautifully written rhapsodic offering with spun-out melodies that ends with the auburn glow of an autumnal sunset… The final Allegro begins with a Waltonian march-like motif; throughout the movement this lurks behind the scenes in rondo fashion, and is worked into a triumphant concluding coda along with remembrances of past major themes. Although the soloist is given several opportunities along the way to demonstrate their technical prowess the music never becomes an empty display of plumage. With this release Lorraine McAslan continues her invaluable survey of little known British violin works, playing with the same enthusiasm and authority that has characterized her previous CDs. She receives outstanding support from the BBC Concert Orchestra under Barry Wordsworth.”
Bob McQuiston, Classical Lost and Found; 23 July 2010 
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Fanfare Magazine Review:
"unabashedly romantic… reinforcing the primary power of melody as one of the essential foundations of musical expression… reinvigoration of the Walton tradition… the music is fraught with many interesting and appealing ideas, especially a jazzy main theme in the first movement that returns spectacularly in the finale… the material is more than pleasurable, and Sainsbury not only knows how to orchestrate but also gives his soloist plenty of interest to do up front.
Lorraine McAslan gives a breathtaking reading… total identification with the spirit of the score… superb support from the wonderfully versatile BBC Concert Orchestra under Barry Wordsworth. While the relatively ugly receive the adoration of the cognoscenti, this release proves conclusively that beautiful and communicative music-making is alive and well. No lover of the English violin literature can afford to be without it."."
Paul A.Snook, Fanfare, September/October 2010 |
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Gramophone Review:
Assured concerto whose time has surely come, played by a dream team
"... Even more satisfying but just as English in its sensibilities is the meaty and substantial Concerto by Lionel Sainsbury. Its three movements, lasting 40 minutes, are hugely challenging for the soloist and McAslan meets them head on, whether soaring with lyrical passion in the upper reaches (try the opening minutes of the finale) or with glorious cello-like sonority on the G-string. It's a terrific performance, one that will surely encourage others to take up this assured, artfully structured work of prolific melodic invention."
Jeremy Nicholas, Gramophone July 2010
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Review in BBC Music Magazine:
"Anyone who thrills to the sound of the Khachaturian Concerto will find the Sainsbury especially conducive... underpinned by the tonal impulses that continue to drive mainstream music to the present day… Lorraine McAslan soars aloft, shading her ecstatic cantabile with portamentos reminiscent of Jascha Heifetz – indeed at times Heifetz’s classic West Coast recordings of the 1950s are brought irresistibly to mind. McAslan plays both concertos as though they were among the most treasured in the repertoire… The BBC Concert Orchestra provides devoted support and the recording is out of the top drawer."
PERFORMANCE * * * * *
RECORDING * * * * *
Julian Haylock, BBC Music Magazine, October 2010 |
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Review in International Record Review:
"I regard this as a very worthwhile issue, and the Dutton team deserves to be warmly congratulated on it... Sainsbury’s Violin Concerto speaks to us in a language of ‘traditional’ harmony and counterpoint… we must applaud a composer whose strength of character enables him to express himself naturally and fluently in a form that neither Elgar nor Puccini would have had difficulty in grasping… One can easily imagine that many music lovers, particularly those keen to keep up with the latest developments in art, will dismiss Sainsbury’s Concerto out of hand after a few minutes because, superficially, it does not ‘sound’ very modern; such a dismissal would cause them to miss the subtleties and expressive qualities of his music. …the second movement is genuinely inspired: this is quite magnificent music – surely the heart of the work – and much of the finale is on a similarly high level."
Robert Matthew-Walker, International Record Review, June 2010
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Review in Elgar Society Journal:
"I found myself pleasantly surprised by the Lionel Sainsbury... an unfairly neglected piece, it has echoes of Walton, and is written in a totally accessible and immediately attractive style... played with verve and commitment by Lorraine McAslan."
Martin Bird, Elgar Society Journal, June 2010
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Musicweb International review:
"... big-boned and generous-hearted, a treasurable and magnificent work... the first movement is Elgarian yet interlaced with Tippett-like motifs and the sort of nervy energy often associated with Constant Lambert. The central Andante mesto is touchingly tender and romantic in the manner of the Barber and Korngold yet spliced with the contemplative peace of Finzi’s Introit. The finale, Allegro molto, moves through episodes of rustling euphoria, marcato energy and stirring power... ."
Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International, April 2010
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Review in Classic FM Magazine
"Fans of the English tradition and of the somewhat suppressed strand of 20th century tonal music will adore this premiere recording…"
Jessica Duchen , Classic FM Magazine, August 2010
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Classic FM’s The New CD Show David Mellor referred to...
"... the very jazzy orchestral tutti that opens the first movement… I really have enjoyed this Dutton-Epoch CD, which is why it’s my ‘choice for the curious’ for this Saturday afternoon… well worth having… Lionel Sainsbury likes to write melodic music, but that doesn’t mean facile music… this it not music to be frightened of because it’s written in our time and you think it might be aggressive and unmelodic: this is anything but…"
The New CD Show, Classic FM, 3 July 2010 |
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Review in Catholic News Agency
"... In the remaining space, here are some recent treasures I can briefly urge upon you. I have been completely blown away by the Violin Concerto by Lionel Sainsbury, on a new Dutton CD (CDLX 7245), with violinist Lorraine McAslan and the BBC Concert Orchestra under Barry Wordsworth. After listening some six times, completely addicted to the main theme, I finally looked at the CD jacket cover to discover that this melodic, syncopated charmer was written in 1989 - and not in the 1930s or 1940s where I had placed it. It sounds like William Walton at his most rhapsodic. If you want your spirits lifted and your heart warmed, here is the work to do it. Anyone who loves British music will find in this piece a reason to fall in love with it all over again. Gorgeous playing by all concerned."
Robert R. Reilly, 10 March 2011 |
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The recording sessions at Watford Colosseum ( photo credits: Horst Kolo,1 - Lewis Foreman,2) |
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