RECORDING OF THE MONTH     CHOPIN Waltzes and Impromptus Vladimir Feltsman £11 post free World-wide VIVALDI The four seasons London Mozart Players/Juritz £12 post free World-wide BEETHOVEN Symphonies 4 and 5 LSO/Yondani Butt £12 post free World-wide

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Lennox BERKELEY (1903-1989) A Centenary Tribute Sonatina for Piano Duet, Op. 39 (1954) [8’03]. Diversions, Op. 63 (1964) [17’54]. Sextet, Op. 47 (1955) [16’42]. Oboe Quartet, Op. 70)1967) [14’38]. Palm Court Waltz, Op. 81 No. 2 [3’17]. The Nash Ensemble (Gareth Hulse, oboe; Michael Collins, clarinet; Brian Wightman, bassoon; John Pigneguy, horn; Marcia Crayford, Ruth Crouch, violins; Roger Chase, viola; Christopher van Kampen, cello; Ian Brown, piano) with Kathryn Stott (piano) Rec. June 13th-14th, 1983, location unspecified. AAD HYPERION HELIOS CDH55135 [61’47]

Sir Lennox Berkeley’s Sonatina for Piano Duet exemplifies many of the strengths of this music. It is approachable and eminently very well-behaved in the best English fashion. It is given a superb performance by Ian Brown and Kathryn Stott (the latter recently encountered on an excellent BIS disc of Schulhoff’s piano music: BIS CD1249). Together, Brown and Stott project the smooth, unruffled exterior of the central Andante with the clean musicality they display elsewhere. Their interplay is a joy to hear. Moving on a decade compositionally, the Diversions for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn and string quartet, the composer’s Op. 63, was written for the 1964 Cheltenham Festival. If there is a link between Diversions and a Mozartian Divertimento it resides in the light-hearted nature of the resultant compositions. Perhaps the most interesting movement is the third (Lento), which is sparser in effect than the others (and also illuminated by Michael Collins’ lovely clarinet playing), itself leading to an angular, spiky finale. The Sextet of 1955 is scored for clarinet, horn and string quartet. Once again, the standard of performance is extremely high (the neo-classical, Stravinskian feel of the Allegro moderato is most affecting). Gareth Hulse’s playing of the solo part in the Oboe Quartet ranks with the best, although this piece does seem rather to outstay its welcome: perhaps the best movement is the final Andante, an example of pure English pastoral writing. The brief Palm Court Waltz for piano duet acts as a delightful ‘encore’. This is a disc that will yield many pleasures. Colin Clarke     Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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