William Alwyn - Concerti Grossi Nos. 2 & 3; etc. (David Lloyd-Jones)

Information

Composer: William Alwyn

• (01) Dramatic Overture: The Moor of Venice (orch. Philip Lane)
• (02) Concerto Grosso No. 2
• (05) Serenade
• (09) Seven Irish Tunes, Suite
• (16) Concerto Grosso No. 3

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

David Lloyd-Jones, conductor

Date: 2011

Label: Naxos

https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.570145

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

William Alwyn was one of Britain's best-loved composers during the middle third of the 20th century, with a large body of film music to his credit along with many colorful orchestral works. He was an ideal candidate for the Naxos label's grand project to rediscover worthwhile non-modernist repertory, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under David Lloyd-Jones has responded with enjoyable recordings of some of his smaller works. Alwyn wrote three works designated as concerti grossi, with only the second closely following the Baroque model in which a small group or concertino plays the role of soloist in contrast to the larger ripieno orchestra. This is a superior short work with a lovely nocturnal slow movement in which the solo string group opens with mutes; it would serve well as a curtain-raiser for any orchestral concert. The other concerto grosso, from the early 1960s, is a more Stravinsky-like piece with brasses in the concertino role. The other three works are even less known than the two concerti grossi, and indeed they receive their world recording premieres here. The opening Dramatic Overture: The Moor of Venice, in fact, has never been performed live in its orchestral version; it was originally written for band. It's a bit hard to imagine this detailed little recapitulation of Othello, complete with Desdemona's "Willow Song," being played by a band, and it's quite ingeniously compact. The Serenade and Seven Irish Tunes, Suite for small orchestra are less substantial works; the Irish Tunes are actual arrangements of Irish folk melodies, while the Serenade was inspired by ideas drawn on Alwyn's stay in Australia. The recording is drawn on a pair of sessions three years apart, but both were done at the orchestra's home at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, and the musicians are in a lively mood throughout. A delightful slice of English neoclassicism.

-- James Manheim, AllMusic

More reviews:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/aug/18/alwyn-concerti-grossi-review

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/aug/28/alwyn-concerti-grossi-naxos-review

https://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.570145&languageid=EN

https://www.amazon.com/Alwyn-Concerti-Grossi-Nos-William/dp/B0058JDC8A

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

William Alwyn (7 November 1905 – 11 September 1985) was an English composer, conductor, and music teacher. Alwyn studied flute and composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and for a time was a flautist with the London Symphony Orchestra. Alwyn served as professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music from 1926 to 1955. As a composer, his output was varied and large, including five symphonies, four operas, several concertos, more than seventy film scores, and many string quartets. Aside from being a musician, Alwyn was also a distinguished polyglot, poet, and artist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Alwyn

***

David Lloyd-Jones (born 19 November 1934 in London) is a British conductor. Lloyd-Jones studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, and started his career in 1959 as a répétiteur at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In 1978, Lloyd-Jones founded and became the first Music Director of Opera North, forming its orchestra, the English Northern Philharmonia (now the Orchestra of Opera North), of which he became Artistic Director. In the recording studio, Lloyd-Jones has specialised in British and Russian music, often for Hyperion and Naxos. He is also an editor and translator, especially of Russian operas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lloyd-Jones_(conductor)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!