Age of Wonders
Maya Iwabuchi I Tom Poster
Philharmonia Orchestra I Stuart Stratford
Stone Records
Age of Wonders, a voyage in music by Michael Stimpson, was composed to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, now masterfully recorded by the Philharmonia Orchestra under the baton of conductor Stuart Stratford. Violinist Maya Iwabuchi and pianist Tom Poster bring to life Darwins early life in The Man Who Walked with Henslow, while Maya, Fiona Cornall, Nicholas Bootiman, and Karen Stephenson of the Philharmonia expertly perform the string quartet (The Beagle). The music is added to on the second CD with the inspirational readings of Darwin by the late Robert Tear, Ruth Padel reading some of her poems also written for the Darwin anniversary, other interviews, and recordings of Darwins finches used in the music.
Jesse Owens & Preludes In Our Time
Abigail Kelly I Johnny Herford I Megumi Fujita
Philharmonia Orchestra I Stuart Stratford
Stone Records
The Philharmonia Orchestra are heard in all their majesty on the incidental music from Michael Stimpson's opera, Jesse Owens, a work about the legendary US athlete who won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics of 1936. This is accompanied by a collection of songs from the opera, arranged for soprano, baritone, and piano, in which singers Abigail Kelly and Johnny Herford beautifully illustrate the breadth of the work, the struggle, humour, and achievements of the greatest Olympian ever. These two works are complimented by Preludes In Our Time, for solo piano. Written while the world was looking towards the Beijing Olympics, this unique collection is enchantingly performed by Megumi Fujita, who also accompanies the singers.
Released on Stone Records
12/08/2016
Available to pre-order from
Jesse Owens licensed by the Jesse Owens Trust c/o Luminary Group LLC. www.JesseOwens.com
Jesse Owens & Preludes In Our Time
Promotional Film
Dylan & The Drowning of Capel Celyn
Promotional Film
Dylan & The Drowning of Capel Celyn
Roderick Williams I Sioned Williams
Stone Records
The CD features two of the UKs finest musicians, Roderick Williams (baritone) and Sioned Williams (harp) in a superb performance of Michael Stimpson's Dylan, a biographical song cycle of Wales's most renowned poet, Dylan Thomas. Through his own wonderful texts and poems, Dylan's life is traced from his childhood in Wales, through his fiery marriage to Caitlin and love of alcohol (Bottled God), to his untimely death in New York in 1953.
a superb performance of a winning work
Classical Music
Stimpson's settings of the poetry and prose enhanced the imagery, the mystery, the dark moods, the wartime horrors and the enigmatic verses dedicated to his wife Caitlin
Musical Opinion
Roderick Williams’s performance of all this is, quite simply, superb
MusicWeb International
Michael Stimpson’s composition is a fine understanding of Dylan Thomas, the poet and the man, and this performance made it abundantly clear just how good it is
Llandudno Festival Review
This is a most attractive disk
MusicWeb International
The impeccable, sensitively shaded playing by Williams, and the addition of a substantial work to the limited original repertoire for baritone and harp, make this CD an important disc to add to your collection
Harp Magazine
(UKHA)
A ruminative and evocative monodrama of depth and originality
South Wales Evening Post
Journeymen
Allegri String Quartet I Paul Agnew I Daniel Tong
Riverrun Records
The CD features String Quartet No.1 (Robben Island) performed by the Allegri String Quartet. Composed to celebrate the end of apartheid, it is accompanied by a performance of A Walk Into War, a work for tenor and piano quintet based on the delightful writings of Laurie Lee.
