Listen & tracks

15 works · 76:14

1 Souvenir for my wife Gioachino Rossini 3:05
2 Sonata in D major, K. 429 Domenico Scarlatti 6:07
3 Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 47 No. 2 Muzio Clementi 13:39
4 Jinker Ride Dorian Le Gallienne 1:29
5 Nocturne Dorian Le Gallienne 3:38
Six Preludes, Op. 11Raymond Hanson 6 movements14:27
1. 6 The little forest creatures stirring at daybreak 2:00
2. 7 Lonely distant mountains, sentinels of time 2:00
3. 8 Ancient granite hills 3:18
4. 9 The deep dark river 2:53
5. 10 A tempest 1:20
6. 11 Sunset after the rain 2:56
12 Idyll Emmanuel Chabrier 3:39
13 Pastourelle Francis Poulenc 2:07
14 Toccata Francis Poulenc 2:27
15 Duetto Felix Mendelssohn 2:52
16 Spinning song Felix Mendelssohn 2:19
17 The lover and the nightingale Enrique Granados 6:14
18 Gondoliera Franz Liszt 5:17
19 Sonetto 104 del Petrarca Franz Liszt 6:17
20 Canzonetta del Salvator Rosa Franz Liszt 2:37

Of special mention are pieces by Australian composers Dorian Le Gallienne and Raymond Hanson.

The early death of Dorian Le Gallienne in 1963 at the age of 48 robbed Australia of one of her leading composers. Although more conservative than some, his music shows sound melodic construction and fine craftsmanship. The reflective mood of his Nocturne contrasts with the lively Jinker Ride. A jinker is a small horse-drawn two-wheel cart, or sulky. The jolting rhythm of this little piece captures the spirit of the Australian bush, where these vehicles were used in earlier days.

Born in Sydney in 1913, Raymond Hanson’s ancestry dates back to free settlers who arrived in 1792. It is ironic that his compositions of the 1940s were thought too radical to be popular, which is hard to believe when we hear this music now. He was later criticised for being too conservative, suffering the fate of many a composer who failed to keep exactly in step with the times. The six preludes on this recording, written in 1940–41 during a visit to the Burragorang valley in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, depict the grandeur and ruggedness of the Australian scene as well as its contrasting softness and delicacy.

This generous programme also includes short works by Rossini, Scarlatti, Clementi, Chabrier, Poulenc, Mendelssohn, Granados and Liszt.

Artists

Murray Sharp

piano

Enrique Granados

composer

Enrique Granados was born in Lérida in 1867. He studied the piano and composition in Barcelona and then in Paris, returning to Barcelona in 1889, and won distinction as a pianist and popularity in Spain with his zarzuelas and piano music.

Franz Liszt

composer

Franz Liszt (1811–1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic era. His vast output reshaped piano technique, invented the symphonic poem and pushed harmony toward the twentieth century.

Felix Mendelssohn

composer

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847) was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. His works include symphonies, concertos, oratorios, piano music and chamber music.

Francis Poulenc

composer

Francis Poulenc's music swings from boulevard wit to peasant devotion. Perpetual-motion piano, chamber sonatas, horn élégies, Christmas and penitential motets, a Gloria, and songs that can flirt, mourn or protest sit side by side in the catalogue.

Gioachino Rossini

composer

Rossini's operas crackle with melodic invention and theatrical pace: comic peaks such as The Barber of Seville and La Cenerentola sit beside grand statements like Guillaume Tell, all driven by rhythmic snap and bright instrumental colour.

Domenico Scarlatti

composer

Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) was an Italian composer who spent much of his career at the Portuguese and Spanish courts. He is known almost exclusively for his 555 keyboard sonatas.

Emmanuel Chabrier

composer

Emmanuel Chabrier (1841–1894) was a French Romantic composer and pianist whose free-spirited musical language helped open the way for later French modernism.

Muzio Clementi

composer

Dorian Le Gallienne

composer

Dorian Le Gallienne's piano miniatures balance reflective lyricism with bush-born energy, while his Shakespeare songs sit in the lyrical-pastoral English tradition. The music is carefully made, with clear melodic construction.

Raymond Hanson

composer

Raymond Hanson's scores favour evolving melodic lines and purposeful piano textures. The violin works and piano preludes show a tonal language spiced with chromatic bite, jazz rhythm and a clear resistance to serial fashion.

Digital booklet

Digital booklet Notes, texts and credits — read online or download the PDF Download the PDF

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$20.00 AUD

Compact disc

Buywell Music Australian Music Centre

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Also available to download from the iTunes Store.

Performers

Murray Sharp · piano

Technical credits

Contributor Martin Wright
Producer Martin Wright
Venue Robert Blackwood Hall

Details

List price: $20.00 AUD
Total playing time: 76 minutes 14 seconds
Release date: 1989
Category: Classical
Genres: Romantic & Impressionist, Contemporary Classical
Catalogue: MD 3043
EAN: 9314574304329

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