Ernest John Moeran - Concerto for Violin and Orchestra • Rhapsody in F sharp for Piano and Orchestra • Rhapsody No. 2

London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult, conductor (Rhapsody No. 2)
John Georgiadis, violin, London Symphony Orchestra, Vernon Handley, conductor (Violin Concerto)
John McCabe, piano, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Nicholas Braithwaite, conductor (Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra)

Label: Lyrita
Copyright: 2007 Lyrita Recorded Edition, England
Catalogue number: SRCD.248
UPC/EAN: 5020926024824
Format: CD
Analogue / Digital recording: ADD
Number of discs: 1
Total playing time: 71.38
Price: £ 14.99 (+ postage & packing)

Track 1: No Recording information available
Tracks 2 - 4: Recorded at Kingsway Hall, 28 September 1976, Producer: James Walker, Engineer: Kenneth Wilkinson
Track 5: Recorded at Walthamstow, 28 August 1975

Ernest John Moeran (1894-1950), still the least-known significant English composer of his generation, composed in his prime three large-scale works with orchestra, a symphony (1937), a violin concerto (1942) and a cello concerto (1945). Part of Moeran’s neglect may perhaps be attributed to his derivative musical style. Yet the positive individuality of Moeran’s music, which grew in strength as he became older and is finally shorn of all props in the masterly cello concerto, overrides these derivations in nearly all his works. He is a composer with something to say and an unwavering judgment about the way in which it must be said.

"Lyrita's recording team were completely on song for the event with the sweetest but not necessarily the most succulent of string tone and with forward and fruity brass. As for the third rhapsody it is classic Moeran though by no means as profound as the Symphony or the Concerto. There is about it an agreeable 1940s blend of Rachmaninov and Irishry ... A fine coupling including some classic Moeran in enduringly rewarding performances and recordings ..." Rob Barnett, www.musicweb-international.com Click here to read the full review

"This is how I, and one suspects many, learned the Moeran Concerto. Georgiadis and Handley trod a sweetly affectionate path balancing reticence and folkloric dynamism whilst exercising fine judgement. The LSO was on excellent form for its soloist-leader providing him with vibrant and well balanced support. Handley’s shaping of cantilena is often magical and Georgiadis explores the crest of the work’s lyrical and furtive heart with considerable sensitivity. He is noticeably successful at heart-stopping pianissimos and at his deft interplay with orchestral principals. Handley too, abetted by the Lyrita engineering team, brings out the bold bass writing and those moments of percussion dash. It all adds up to a distinctive and distinguished reading, one that still excites admiration ..." Jonathan Woolf, www.musicweb-international.com Click here to read the full review