Recordings
Coming soon: AGE OF WONDERS
Maya Iwabuchi, Tom Poster, Philharmonia Orchestra, Stuart Stratford
Age of Wonders, a voyage in music by Michael Stimpson, was written to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. Now masterfully recorded by the Philharmonia Orchestra, the full evolution from violin and piano, through string quartet, string orchestra, and to complete as a work for full orchestra can be heard in its entirety under the baton of conductor Stuart Stratford.
Violinist Maya Iwabuchi and pianist Tom Poster bring to life Darwin’s early life in The Man Who Walked With Henslow, while Maya, Fiona Cornall, Nicholas Buttiman, and Karen Stephenson of the Philharmonia Orchestra expertly perform the string quartet, The Beagle. The ‘Englishness’ of Darwin’s home, Down House is expressed in the work for string orchestra, An Entangled Bank, named after the famous quotation by Charles Darwin. Transmutations, for full orchestra, finally brings together the evolving threads, motifs, patterns, and mutations into four orchestral variations, closing Age of Wonders with a reflection of the opening work for violin and piano.
The music is added to on the second CD by 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 even recordings of Darwin’s finches used in the music.
Released on Stone Records, Friday 15th September 2017
Available to pre-order from
WWW.MICHAELSTIMPSON.CO.UK
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