Hyperion Records | Lambert: Romeo & Juliet

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CDA67545

Recording details: December 2004
Clothworkers' Hall, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Phil Rowlands
Release date: August 2005
Total duration: 61 minutes 56 seconds

CLASSICAL CD OF THE WEEK (The Sunday Times)
EDITOR'S CHOICE (Gramophone Magazine)

'The performances are splendid. David Lloyd-Jones and the English Northern Philharmonia give the impression of enjoying themselves as much as the composer evidently did … pianist Jonathan Plowright brings just the right amount of vitality, wit and delicacy. A must for all British music enthusiasts' (BBC Music Magazine)

'Lambert was a maverick, rebelling against convention, and these dapper performances convey both his brilliant craftsmanship and his boundless zest' (The Daily Telegraph)

'Strongly recommended - hats off to Hyperion once again' (HMV Choice)

'sparkling disc of five orchestral works … Plowright and Lloyd-Jones are masterly advocates for this brilliant, entertaining music' (The Sunday Times)

'a fascinating programme' (The Times)

'Jonathan Plowright cuts a dash with his scintillating technique, opalescent tone and beguiling range of colour … A winner of a disc, this' (Gramophone Magazine)

'a totally recommendable new CD, which in terms of repertoire, performances and recording quality has the edge over its rivals. In addition, Stephen Lloyd's booklet notes are masterly. All in all, this constitutes a superb issue for the Lambert centenary' (International Record Review)

Constant Lambert (1905-1951)

Romeo & Juliet

English Northern Philharmonia, David Lloyd-Jones (conductor)

LISTEN TO ALL EXTRACTS

		Romeo and Juliet
1		Tableau 1 Movement 1: Rondino. The dancers arrive, late for class [2'02]
2		Tableau 1 Movement 2: Gavotte and Trio. Women's dance [2'14]
3		Tableau 1 Movement 3: Scherzetto. Men's dance [1'43]
4		Tableau 1 Movement 4: Siciliana. The professor teachers a pas de deux [2'58]
5		Tableau 1 Movement 5: Sonatina. The lovers are separated [2'29]
6		Tableau 2 Movement 1: Entr'acte. The stage is prepared [1'36]
7		Tableau 2 Movement 2: Sinfonia. Romeo and Juliet meet at the ball [2'50]
8		Tableau 2 Movement 3: Alla Marcia. The nurse and the servant [1'49]
9		Tableau 2 Movement 4: Toccata. The duel between Romeo and Tybalt [2'35]
10		Tableau 2 Movement 5: Musette. The balcony scene [2'29]
11		Tableau 2 Movement 6: Burlesca. Paris enters, searching for Juliet [1'26]
12		Tableau 2 Movement 7: Adagietto. The death of Juliet [1'54]
13		Tableau 2 Movement 8: Finale. The curtain falls [3'21]
14		Elegiac Blues 'In memory of Florence Mills' [2'54]
		Piano Concerto for piano solo, two trumpets, strings and timpani
15		Movement 1: Allegro risoluto [2'56] Jonathan Plowright (piano)
16		Movement 2: Presto [4'03] Jonathan Plowright (piano)
17		Movement 3: Andante [5'14] Jonathan Plowright (piano)
18		Movement 4: Allegro [4'53] Jonathan Plowright (piano)
19		The Bird Actors [3'18]
20		Prize Fight [9'12]

Constant Lambert – pioneering ballet composer, maverick author and lover of cats – was composing in those heady days between the two wars when English artistic optimism was at a peak. The first English composer to have a work taken up by Diaghilev, his Romeo and Juliet was premiered by the Russian master in Monte Carlo. The story presents elements from the familiar Shakespearean story within the context of rehearsals for a ballet of the same, this convolution itself being typical of Lambert’s desire to avoid the obvious. The Piano Concerto recorded here dates from 1924 (the 1931 concerto is recorded on Hyperion CDA66754) but had to wait until 1988 before being given its first performance. Then, as now, the soloist was Jonathan Plowright. Three shorter works complete the programme: Prize Fight responds to the ludicrous musical confections by French contemporaries Satie, Poulenc and Milhaud (Lambert has the boxing ring collapse following a ‘pitch invasion’); The Bird Actors is a resurrected section from the original score for Romeo and Juliet; and Elegiac Blues is a jazz-inflected homage to Lambert’s idol Florence Mills who had so scandalized London ‘polite society’ with her touring shows in the 1920s.