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Track(s) taken from CDA67316

Concertino for piano and string orchestra in E major

composer

Martin Roscoe (piano), Guildhall Strings, Robert Salter (conductor)
Recording details: July 2001
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Simon Eadon
Release date: March 2002
Total duration: 9 minutes 24 seconds
 

Reviews

‘Altogether this is a wholly delectable disc of spirited miniature concertos where the composers are never let down by paucity of invention. Performances are lighthearted and polished, and beautifully recorded. Most rewarding and entertaining’ (Gramophone)

‘Roscoe and the Guildhall Strings have put together an attractive collection here’ (American Record Guide)

‘Martin Roscoe's playing is sparklingly sympathetic, as are the accompaniments from the Guildhall Strings. This is music which you are seldom likely to encounter in the concert hall, but is ideally suited to revival on disc’ (International Record Review)

‘I have to be honest: of all recent CDs from our 'land without music', this has been spinning on my player the most’ (The Times)

‘Martin Roscoe and the Guildhall Strings approach these light-as-a-feather gems with sincerity and assurance. Their playing is impeccable and agile … those of you who have developed a taste for the ongoing light music series on Hyperion … will find this release a required purchase … this is a truly delightful, genial compilation of attractive and shamefully neglected English early-to-mid-20th-century light music for piano and string orchestra … I enjoyed this album immensely’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Bravo to all’ (International Piano)

‘Martin Roscoe and his colleagues obviously enjoy themselves enormously, and their readings of these attractive works are beautifully recorded … this delightful release is a joy from first to last, and is unreservedly recommended’ (MusicWeb International)

‘Martin Roscoe … is the sparking soloist in this enchanting disc’ (Yorkshire Post)
The great tragedy in Milford’s life, from which he never really recovered, came in 1941 when his six-year-old son Barnaby was killed in an accident. Milford continued to compose, works including the Elegiac Meditation for viola and strings, the music now seeming to have a darker and more wistful tone. This was followed by what is perhaps his best-known orchestral work, Fishing by Moonlight for piano and strings (1952, published in 1958), to which this Concertino is a companion piece.

The Concertino dates from 1955 and is in three movements: a genial ‘Allegro moderato’, a characteristic Romanza (‘Poco adagio’), and an effervescent Rondo (‘Vivace’) finale, the theme given out in running octaves interrupted towards the end by a ‘Poco adagio’ interlude which provides a characteristic reflective moment before the rush to the throw-away end. It is in the Romanza that we find one of Milford’s most characteristic moments, a delightful tune in 12/8 first announced by the piano and then sung by the strings. Yet below its quiet surface there lurks a passionate vision, the fifth bar being marked ‘appassionato’ as the piano right-hand octaves rise above the stave. Later the movement rises to a warmly sonorous climax with the return of the opening theme, now richly harmonised.

from notes by Lewis Foreman © 2002

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