CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD
Stanford: Suite for Violin and Orchestra Op 32 / Violin Concerto in D major Op 74 Anthony Marwood (violin) / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion Romantic Violin Concerto Vol 2 / CD - released 15/Nov/2000 ] 2001 GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST - Concerto - "A first recording for the Violin Concerto, and a performance unlikely to be bettered. Anthony Marwood is the impassioned soloist" |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No 5 / Scenes adapted from Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress Emily Portman (folk voice), Kitty Whately (mezzo-soprano), Marcus Farnsworth (baritone), etc / BBC Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion / CD - released 30/Oct/2020 ] GRAMOPHONE Award Nomination 2021 - Orchestral |
HENRI DUTILLEUX
Dutilleux: L'Arbre des songes / Timbres, espace, mouvement / etc Martyn Hill (tenor), Neal Davies (baritone), Olivier Charlier (violin) / BBC Philharmonic, Yan Pascal Tortelier [ Chandos / CD - released 2/Feb/1996 ] "In the Violin Concerto (1985) Tortelier again favours a symphonic approach, and very effective it is too, with a soloist who's authoritative without being overly selfassertive." Gramophone |
JOHN ADDISON / ARTHUR BENJAMIN / ELIZABETH MACONCHY / HUMPHREY SEARLE / EDMUND RUBBRA GEOFFREY BUSH
British Piano Concertos Simon Callaghan (piano), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Martyn Brabbins [ Lyrita / CD - released 3/Feb/2023 ] "Smaller concertos for piano and modest orchestral forces were a feature of British composition in the first half of the 20th century. Often they were written for a special occasion, and typically vanished into oblivion thereafter. During the COVID... |
CHARLES Villiers STANFORD
Stanford: Requiem Carolyn Sampson, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, James Way, Ross Ramgobin / University of Birmingham Voices, City of Birmingham Symphony, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion / CD - released 2/Jun/2023 ] "Brabbins, who truly understands the language of this music, judges the tempos and balance of the ensemble with instinctive sensitivity...For anyone interested in British choral music of the period, it is a must!" Gramophone Editor's Choice June 2023 |
EDWARD ELGAR / ERNEST BLOCH
Elgar (arr. Tertis) - Viola Concerto / Bloch: Suite for Viola and Orchestra Timothy Ridout (viola) / BBC Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 13/Jan/2023 ] "Ridout is a strong, personable player whose deft handling of the Scherzo and heartfelt playing of the Adagio make the concerto's central episodes exceptionally memorable." Gramophone Award WINNER 2023 - Concerto |
VIANNA da MOTTA
Vianna ds Motta: Piano Concerto in A major / Fantasia DramAItica / etc Arthur Pizarro (piano) / Orquestra Gulbenkian / Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion Romantic Piano Concertos Vol 24 / CD - released 10/Nov/2000 ] 'To hear Pizarro is always a pleasure…lyrical phrasing wrapped in one of the most entrancing and expressive pianissimos of any pianist' - International Record Review |
HENRIQUE OSWALD & ALFREDO NAPOLEAO
The Romantic Piano Concerto 64 - Oswald & Napoleão dos Santos Artur Pizarro (piano) / BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto Vol 64 / CD - released 29/Sep/2014 ] Portuguese virtuoso Artur Pizarro makes a welcome return to the Romantic Piano Concerto series with the outpourings of two brilliant pianist-composers. |
JOHN PICKARD
Pickard: Sixteen Sunrises & Symphony No. 5 BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Martyn Brabbins [ BIS / CD - released 30/Jun/2017 ] "The music fair kidnaps the listener's attention at the outset and does not random it until the gripping, wholly satisfying close...The performance by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales is stunning in its virtuosity" Gramophone |
CYRIL SCOTT
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (1937) / Symphony No. 1 (1899) BBC Philharmonic / Martyn Brabbins [ Chandos / CD - released 29/Feb/2008 ] The Chandos survey of orchestral music by Cyril Scott comes to a close with the premiere recording of the Cello Concerto and Symphony No. 1. The BBC Philharmonic is conducted by Martyn Brabbins, with Paul Watkins as the cello soloist. From an early... |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus, Martyn Brabbins (conductor) [ Hyperion / CD - released 28/Sep/2018 ] One of the mightiest of first symphonies, Vaughan Williams's setting of Walt Whitman creates a very special sense of occasion. The coupling is more Whitman: RVW's later, virtually unknown 'Darest thou now, O soul' for chorus and strings. |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos 6 & 8 Roderick Williams (baritone) / BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion / CD - released 7/Oct/2022 ] "Even against formidable competition [in No. 6], Martyn Brabbins impresses handsomely. Nothing is forced - the fury and the anguish, the grandeur and the desolation seem almost to speak for themselves." BBC Music Five Stars |
ARNOLD BAX
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bax - Choral Works Christine Bunning (soprano), Huddersfield Choral Society / BBC Philharmonic / Martyn Brabbins (conductor) [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 27/Jan/2004 ] All the glorious choral music of Bax on one Chandos CD |
YORK BOWEN
Bowen: Piano Concertos Nos 3 & 4 Danny Driver (piano) / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins (conductor) [ Hyperion Romantic Piano Concertos Vol 46 / CD - released 1/Nov/2008 ] 'Danny Driver's pianism is fully and eagerly up to Bowen's considerable demands' (BBC Music Magazine) |
JENO HUBAY
Hubay: Violin Concertos 3 & 4 Hagai Shaham, violin BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Martyn Brabbins, conductor [ Hyperion Romantic Violin Concerto Vol 3 / CD - released 28/Apr/2003 ] "This third volume in Hyperion's Romantic Violin Concerto series may make you wonder why Hubay's Third Concerto has escaped the attention of virtually every fiddle player from Heifetz to Hahn." (BBC MUsic) |
KENNETH LEIGHTON
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Leighton: Orchestral works Vol 3 (Incls 'Symphony No 1') Howard Shelley (piano) / BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Martyn Brabbins [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Mar/2011 ] "Shelley proves a marvellously stylish, involving exponent and is backed to the hilt by Brabbins and the BBC NOW. Chandos's sound and balance, too, are beyond reproach." (Gramophone) |
CYRIL SCOTT
Scott: Piano Concerto No.1 / Symphony No.4 Howard Shelley (piano) / BBC Philharmonic / Martyn Brabbins [ Chandos / CD - released 8/May/2006 ] 'Scott's scoring is extravagant but lucid, his harmony sensuous and involving, and his structures are free but controlled… This is a CD of terrific music, its demands comprehensively met by the musicians, and the recording' International Record Review |
MAX BRUCH
Bruch: Violin Concerto No 2 & other works Jack Liebec (violin) / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Martyn Brabbins, conductor [ Hyperion / CD - released 18/Jan/2017 ] "There's much to admire in Jack Liebeck's patrician account of Bruch's D Minor Violin Concerto. His playing is virtually flawless in its technical ease, scintillating articulateness and purity of tone." Gramophone |
HAMISH MacCUNN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: MacCunn: Land of the Mountain and the Flood / Excerpts from Jeanie Deans / The Lay of the Last Minstrel / etc Janice Watson (soprano) Lisa Milne (soprano) Jamie MacDougall (tenor) Peter Sidhom (bass) / BBC Scottish Orchestra & Chorus. Martyn Brabbins. [ Hyperion / CD - released 25/May/2005 ] 'Yet again Hyperion successfully rediscovers one of our neglected Victorian composers ... Admirers of Hyperion's earlier efforts need not hesitate to buy this' (Classic CD) |
John Martyn
Solid Air (LP) [ Universal Music / LP - released 4/Apr/2013 ] A record that has grown in stature since its 1973 release, John Martyn's Solid Air has become a cult touchstone, pointing the way towards ambient, trip-hop and more abstract sonic textures. |