Susan Gritton Sings Britten, Finzi, Delius

“Gritton's performance [of Les illuminations) is lustrous and joyous, a precociously talented young man's music brilliantly presented.” --The Guardian, 15th April 2010 ****

“...there is much to admire in [Gritton's] delicate, considered vocalism, as well as in her refined musicianship...With the BBC string players on sterling form, Finzi's haunting blend of lyricism and astringency, the bite of his harmonic scrunches and the fluid interplay of his lines...all come over.” --BBC Music Magazine, June 2010 ***

“The pleasures here are many...right from the outset one can hardly fail to be struck by the exquisite (but never self-aware) sheen of the BBC SO's response. Edward Gardner directs with the utmost sensitivity...Susan Gritton, too, sings with heartfelt empathy, radiance and intelligence, and her alliance with Gardner certainly distills the necessary tingle-factor.” --Gramophone Magazine, July 2010

One of Britain’s leading lyric sopranos, Susan Gritton here performs a unique programme of works by three English composers, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Edward Gardner, ENO’s Musical Director.

The quintessence of Finzi, Dies natalis sets texts by the seventeenth-century poet Thomas Traherne, which reflect the joy and wonder of a newborn child’s innocent perspective on the world. The richly textured, resourceful string writing and the long melodic lines are hallmarks of Finzi’s style. The subtle inflections of the word-setting and lyricism have attracted many leading vocalists both in concert and on disc. Although particularly associated with the tenor voice, Dies natalis was premiered, and is increasingly performed by, sopranos.

This premiere recording of the version of Delius’s A Late Lark for soprano voice is currently the only available recording of the work. A setting of W.E. Henley’s poem ‘I.M. Margaritæ Sorori’, it offers a lovely lyrical reflection of the serene acceptance of death and is especially poignant as it was one of Delius’s last works. Eric Fenby, Delius’s friend and amanuensis, recalls that one day after he had read the poem through to Delius, ‘and had finished playing his setting, [Delius] said, “Yes, that is how I want to go.”’

Susan Gritton, who also appears on Chandos’ Grammy Award© winning Paul Bunyan, here includes the Quatre Chansons françaises, the most significant work of Britten’s juvenilia. The songs, to texts by Verlaine and Hugo, were composed between June and August 1928 when Britten was a mere fourteen, and demonstrate the flair for instrumental colour that was to become the hallmark of the mature composer. The album is completed by the later song cycle Les Illuminations, which offers a further development in his exploration of the orchestral song cycle, a genre that he was to make very much his own during his career.

Szymanowski & Britten: Violin Concertos

“…Zimmermann… seems more at home in the Second Concerto, where the ecstatic element is leavened with the folk-influence that Szymanowski adopted later in his life - think Bartók rather than Scriabin. …in the Britten… Zimmermann is again responsive to the music's changing moods, and expresses them with an enormously varied tonal palette, and in the scherzo, with considerable virtuosity. Manfred Honeck steers his orchestra expertly, and the Swedish recording has bite.” --BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2009 ****

“…Zimmermann plays with flawless technique, ravishing pose and subtle range of colour. These are readings of strong personality, gutsy temperament and full-throated ardour. The captivating First Concerto is as passionate, sensuous and poetic as one could wish... The Britten is scarcely less impressive...” --Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2009

“Zimmermann makes light of the difficulties, throwing off the fiendish cadenzas (by Pawel Kochanski, the dedicatee of both works) with effortless ease. It is good to see a German fiddler championing Britten’s youthful work (1939-40), played here with the Swedish Radio SO under Manfred Honeck. Zimmermann’s sweet, intense tone is especially compelling in the concluding Passacaglia — prophetic of Britten’s mature style.” --Sunday Times, 19th July 2009 ****

“The performances are close on definitive. Soloist Frank Peter Zimmermann has the remarkable ability to adapt his tone to each work: he attains a unique level of tragic anguish in the Britten, but the craggy sound he deploys there contrasts sharply with the syrupy decadence he brings to Szymanowski's First and the heavyweight lyricism with which he plays the Second. The orchestral contributions are outstanding, too: the Warsaw Philharmonic under Antoni Wit are match-less in Szymanowski; for the Britten, Manfred Honeck conducts the Swedish Radio Symphony with a searching intensity that matches Zimmermann's own.” --The Guardian, 14th August 2009

“Benjamin Britten's violin concerto has never been among his most approachable works, but Zimmermann's cool, lyrical, crystal-clear style suits it perfectly, especially in the final Passacaglia, which gradually acquires a huge, desolate power. [In the two Szymanowsky concertos], Zimmermann perhaps lacks some rhapsodic warmth, but the gloriously exotic sounds of the First Concerto are magnificently realised, and the more folk-inspired Second blossoms idiomatically.” --The Observer, 26th July 2009

“[Britten's] Violin Concerto is given a forceful account by Zimmerman and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Zimmermann does particular justice to the shimmering, perfumed colours of [Szymanowski's Violin Concerto] No 1.” --The Telegraph, 11th August 2009 ***

Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra , Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Etc

The Occasional Overture was written for the opening of the BBC Third Programme in 1946. It is a rumbustious piece that might almost have been written by Malcolm Arnold rather than Britten. The other works are more familiar and often recorded, but all three performances here under Steuart Bedford are of the highest calibre, with superb playing from the strings of the ECO in the Frank Bridge Variations and Prelude and Fugue, and the LSO on top form in the other two works. Excellent recording too…this is a genuine Naxos bargain. --Penguin Guide, January 2009 ***

"There's really no more that need be said: this is Britten at his best, in every respect, and a first-rate bargain to boot." --ClassicsToday.com, July 2005

"These performances of the Frank Bridge Variations and the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Steuart Bedford (taken from the old Collins Classics catalog) stand among the very few that compare to the composer's own classic Decca recordings, and they feature better sonics. In the Variations, Bedford finds the right balance between accuracy and emotion, delivering (for example) an aptly loony Aria Italiana, a gracious Wiener Walzer, and a grim Funeral March while keeping the string playing sharply focused and admirably precise. He also achieves a fine clarity of texture in the final fugue, which can come off sounding merely muddy in less capable hands.

Clarity also is a feature of The Young Person's Guide, in the sense that Bedford finds plenty of color in this delightful score and makes sure that we hear all of it. Once again the concluding fugue is outstanding, as physically exciting as any on disc, but the individual contributions of the various LSO soloists and sections are also excellent (especially the brass). Both the Occasional Overture and the Prelude and Fugue for 18-part String Orchestra come off equally well and make an excellent bonus. There's really no more that need be said: this is Britten at his best, in every respect, and a first-rate bargain to boot."

Shostakovich & Britten: Cello Concerto No.1, Symphony for Cello and Orchestra

“both these virile, confrontational works benefit from [Moser's] terrific energy and impetuous attack. He slices into the Shostakovich at speed...His ringing, acrobatic cadenza and urgent Allegro make this an exciting performance, the equal of any. The WDR Symphony Orchestra have two vital ingredients to bring to the Britten Cello Symphony: fabulous horns and lively timpani.” --BBC Music Magazine, July 2012 *****

“[Moser is] a truthful guide, hitting timings very close to the composer's own, and keeps a judicious balance between discipline and feeling. In the long cadenza he typically finds time for thoughtful expression, not just a display of technical skills. The darker resonance that envelops this performance comes largely from the more mellow orchestral playing” --Gramophone Magazine, April 2012

“Moser's formidable technique surmounts every obstacle with apparent ease...but conductor Pietari Inkinen is seldom convincing...Moser's reading of the Shostakovich cello concerto is again tautly argued and concise, with classy orchestral support and an especially good solo horn player” --International Record Review, June 2012

Beethoven · Briten: Violin Concertos

“Janine Jansen has a rare ability to communicate her thought and feelings about the music while appearing to play in a simple, straightforward manner. The small variations of colour, pressure and emphasis that bring this about transmit a sensation of intense inner life. Whereas others may bring a warmer, more sensuous tone to the Beethoven Concerto... this account turns out to be as absorbing and satisfying as any recent recording.

The Britten is very well recorded, too. ...Jansen shows the work's more uncomfortable, angular side. The irregular rhythms and sharp contrasts of the central Vivace are... sharply delineated and, towards the end of the concluding Passacaglia, Jansen builds to a painful degree of intensity and desperation.” --The Gramophone

“I was completely won over… by Jansen's Britten. Passionately intense in the opening movement, suitably malevolent throughout the Prokofiev-inspired Scherzo and heart-achingly poignant in the closing bars of the Passacaglia…” --BBC Music Magazine

“Thanks to this brilliant recording, Britten’s concerto emerges with its stature much enhanced...[Jansen] rises to its technical challenges, conveys its passionate intensity without exaggeration and plumbs its moods of innocence, restlessness and despair.” --Financial Times ***

“Her playing is sensationally good, in the Romantic tradition, and she proves an intense, impassioned advocate for Britten’s still neglected work.” --The Sunday Times ****

MP3 320 · 161 MB  bmc0112