Orchestral Works Vol 2 (Incls 'Variations on a Hungarian Peasant Song')

"the seductive Jennifer Pike...is equally impressive in both the virtuosity and sweet lyricism of her solo role...[The Cello Concerto] is comparatively austere but emotionally gripping...These are four first-rate works by a still neglected composer, marvellously played and recorded."
(Editor's ChoiceGramophone Sept 2011)

"The second volume in Chandos's survey of Miklos Rozsa's orchestral output gets off to an auspicious start with a beautifully nuanced performance from violinist Jennifer Pike of the Variations on a Hungarian Peasant Song...Paul Watkins delivers a strongly committed performance of the Concerto, brilliantly negotiating the hair-raising technical challenges of the solo part."
(BBC Music)

"[Watkins is] a very impressive contender and no fan of the composer should hang back from acquiring his account...Chandos scores especially with the sumptuousness of its recorded sound. I await further volumes with interest."
(International Record Review)

This is Volume 2 in the series of orchestral music by Miklós Rózsa. No fewer than four exclusive Chandos artists perform on this release: The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the conductor Rumon Gamba, and soloists Paul Watkins on cello and Jennifer Pike on violin.

Miklós Rózsa was best known for his film music, for which he was Oscar-nominated on thirteen separate occasions, winning three times with A Double Life, Ben Hur, and Hitchcock's Spellbound. Alongside his film music, Rózsa also wrote music for the concert hall, including some notable concertos.

The Cello Concerto, Op. 32 is a dark, savage, and often quite brutal work. It consists of three movements; a strong driving first movement, an introspective second movement, and an energetic finale which brings the work to a brilliant conclusion. The soloist is Paul Watkins. As one of Britain's foremost cellists, he performs regularly with the major British orchestras and has made six appearances as concerto soloist at the BBC Proms.

The new, exclusive Chandos artist Jennifer Pike (BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2002) is the featured soloist in Rózsa's colourfully orchestrated Variations on a Hungarian Peasant Song, Op. 4. Here the theme is taken from a collection of Hungarian folk tunes. It is presented very simply by solo violin, and followed by a series of fourteen variations. These are performed without a break and require some very expressive and virtuoso playing from the soloist. The CD represents Jennifer Pike's first orchestral release on Chandos. Her first recording for us was a disc of French violin sonatas (CHAN10667) - released in April 2011