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3 of 13 tracks have a preview · 7 works · 69:08

Violin Sonata No. 1Lennox Berkeley 3 movements17:14
1. 1 Lento ma non troppo – Allegro 7:12
2. 2 Adagio – Allegro – Adagio 5:46
3. 3 Allegro con brio 4:16
4 Introduction and Allegro Op. 24 Lennox Berkeley Lento – Allegro 6:07
5 Theme and Variations Op. 33 No. 1 Lennox Berkeley 8:49
Sonatina for Violin and Piano Op. 17Lennox Berkeley 3 movements13:33
1. 6 Moderato 4:35
2. 7 Lento 3:28
3. 8 Theme and Variations – Allegretto 5:30
9 Elegy Op. 33 No. 2 Lennox Berkeley 3:44
10 Toccata Op. 33 No. 3 Lennox Berkeley 2:04
Violin Sonata No. 2 Op. 1Lennox Berkeley 3 movements17:37
1. 11 Allegro risoluto 7:07
2. 12 Andante 5:57
3. 13 Rondo – Allegro moderato 4:33

He admired Mozart, Chopin, Ravel and the neo-classical Stravinsky; formed close friendships with Benjamin Britten, Ravel and Poulenc; mixed with W. H. Auden, Diaghilev, Cocteau, Segovia and Les Six; and taught a generation of British composers including David Bedford, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Brian Ferneyhough, Professor Peter Dickinson and Sir John Tavener.

Born into an aristocratic family, Berkeley studied French, Old French and Philology at Merton College, Oxford, graduating with a BA in 1926. That same year he met Ravel, who – on seeing some of Berkeley’s scores – advised him to study with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Berkeley moved there and was based in Paris until 1932. Largely self-taught until then, he flourished under Boulanger’s rigorous tutelage.

During World War II he worked on orchestral programmes at the BBC in London. From 1946 to 1968 he was professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music. In the 1970s and 80s he received honorary status from universities and professional bodies, and many honours, including a knighthood in 1974.

This complete survey of his music for violin and piano, and for solo violin, includes the long-lost Violin Sonata No. 1 (1931), the Introduction and Allegro Op. 24, the Theme and Variations, Elegy and Toccata Op. 33, the Sonatina Op. 17, and Violin Sonata No. 2 Op. 1. Edwin Paling and Arabella Teniswood-Harvey give the first commercial recording of several of these works.

Reviews

Real discoveries here, including Sonata No. 1 – lost for 48 years. The Sonatina and Elegy reveal Berkeley’s unique charisma. Edwin Paling led the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for over 30 years, while Arabella Teniswood-Harvey is at the University of Tasmania: a fine duo in revelatory performances 25 years after the composer’s death.

— Peter Dickinson, Gramophone (Critics’ Choice 2014)

Here is chamber music that is both cultured and approachable. Berkeley’s chamber music for violin and piano is beautifully crafted and bound to engage with the listener. ★★★½

— Brett Allen-Bayes, Limelight

Here are two unknown British violin and piano sonatas on one CD in an amazing rescue operation since Berkeley regularly dismissed his own early music: written in his later twenties, these works again prove him wrong … The Sonatina is a classic – Berkeley played the piano part himself and it’s the only commercial recording he made (Dutton CDLX 7232). These players relish the diversity of the charming variations in the finale. The Elegy is a lovely melody, and in the solo violin pieces Berkeley avoids the aridity which often blights unaccompanied writing. These vivid performances by Paley [sic] and Teniswood-Harvey are outstanding and make the best possible case for a full revival of their discoveries. A revelatory CD, well recorded and documented too.

— Peter Dickinson, Gramophone

Artists

Arabella Teniswood-Harvey

piano

Arabella Teniswood-Harvey is a Tasmanian-born pianist who studied in Melbourne and, in 1999, was awarded a full scholarship to the Australian National Academy of Music’s inaugural Advanced Performance Program.

Lennox Berkeley

composer

Lennox Berkeley wrote music of French clarity and English reserve: lucid textures, shapely melody and a concise, tonal idiom that later absorbed serial colour without abandoning a centre. His chamber and piano works favour craft and charm over display.

Edwin Paling

violin

Edwin was born in Nottingham, England. After studying violin with Sidney Griller at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Edwin began his professional career playing with the Orchestra of the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden (London), the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Sub-Principal First Violin), then the BBC Midland Light Orchestra (Deputy Leader).

Digital booklet

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

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$25.00 AUD

Compact disc

Buywell Music Australian Music Centre

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Apple Music

Also available to download from the iTunes Store.

Performers

Arabella Teniswood-Harvey · piano · tracks 1–3, 6–13
Edwin Paling · violin

Technical credits

Producer Michael Kieran Harvey
Rosalin Lazaroff
Recording Engineer Vaughan McAlley
Editing Engineer Vaughan McAlley
Mastering Engineer Martin Wright
Venue Move Records Studio
Credit Alison Lazaroff-Somssich

Details

List price: $25.00 AUD
Total playing time: 69 minutes 8 seconds
Release date: 2013
Category: Classical
Genre: Modernist Classical
Catalogue: MD 3361
EAN: 9314574336122

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