NEWS August 2010
News Archive Naomi Wright | E,F | Kate and Mike Westbrook | Julian Hellaby | Northern Star People | British Piano | Pilibavicius | The British Quartet | British Piano Concert | Camden Reeve |
New CD British Quartets Volume 3 - compositions by Bourgeois, Beck and Kimpton, available for sale on our albums page
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British Quartets Volume 3 New World Quartet, leader Andy Long
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ASC Records are proud to announce their latest release: British Quartets Volume 3, ASC CD122. Derek Bourgeois was born in Kingston on Thames in 1941. He graduated from Cambridge University with a first class honours degree in music, and a subsequent Doctorate. He spent two years at the Royal College of Music where he studied composition with Herbert Howells and conducting with Sir Adrian Boult. He has composed fifty-six symphonies, fifteen concertos, several other extended orchestral works, seven major works for chorus and orchestra, two operas and a musical. As well as a considerable quantity of chamber, vocal and instrumental music, he has composed twelve extended works for Brass Band and six symphonies for Symphonic Wind Orchestra. He has also written a considerable amount of music for tel-evision productions. From 1970 to 1984 he was a Lecturer in Music at Bristol University. He was the con-ductor of the Sun Life Band from 1980 until 1983, and during the same period was Chairman of the Composers’ Guild of Great Britain, and a member of the Music Advisory Panel of the Arts Council. In September 1984 he gave up his university post to become the Musical Director of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. In 1988 he founded the National Youth Chamber Orchestra of Great Britain which held its first course in the summer of 1989. In 1990 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Bristol Philharmonic Orchestra. He left the National Youth Orchestra in August 1993 to become the Director of Music of St Paul's Girls' School in London. He retired to Mallorca in July 2002. In autumn 2008 he moved to New York State, USA and is now married to Norma, who was born in the Philippines, educated in Hawaii and worked as Administrator to the Vassar College Department of History for nearly forty years. He returned to England in 2009 and now lives in Wool, Dorset. String Quartet No 1 in D "My first String Quartet was written during my last year as an undergraduate at Cambridge Uiniversity and was part of my portfolio of compositions submitted for my finals degree. The first performance was given by four undergraduate colleagues, Simon Standage, David Beck, Richard Bruce Wilson and Basil Howitt. The performance took place in a Magdalene College Summer Concert in 1961.The Quartet is in four movements. The first movement has a slow introduction in which the main theme is announced in a contrapuntal workout before a sonata form allegro. The scherzo is fast and frenetic with a strong allusion to the popular tune "Afrog he would a-wooing go". The slow movement has a chaconne-like rhythmic ackground and concerns itself mainly with exploiting rich harmonies. The finale is a rondo with a very strong rhythmic background. It has a central fugal section." David Beck (b. Mansfield, 1941) was raised in Kent. The Harvey Grammar School in Folkestone lacked a strong musical tradition, but he attended the Kent Junior Music School in Maidstone on Saturday morn-ings. Following the award of a Minor Music Scholarship to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, at the age of 16 his early efforts at composition earned him a place in the National Youth Orchestra as a “General Musician”. Whilst receiving compositional advice there from Herbert Howells he worked his way up from Tubular Bell to the Viola section. After completion of his Mus. B in Composition & Performance he toiled as a professional violinist in Manchester. He was at various times a member of the Hallé, the Manchester Camerata and the BBC Northern, (later Philharmonic) Orchestras. Upon his retirement composition came to the fore. He is now a member of the North West Composers Association. David Beck embarked on the composition of his String Quartet No. 2 in 2007 with entry to a competition in mind. During the time that work progressed it transpired that his age disqualified him from par-ticipation; nevertheless he went on to finish the 4-movement piece. The many arcane technical devices calculated to impress adjudicators need not trouble the listener; however it is helpful to know that the note sequence DB(flat)EC from the composer’s name make a significant contribution. An angry reaction to the many alarmist media warnings of a systemic meltdown of our hallowed national institutions (a year before the bank crises) is to blame for the largely pessimistic and anxious tone of most of this music. The Press were making the future seem bleak for all and especially so for the aged. Nevertheless, the composer sought to inject some wry humour into this grim scenario, in particular in the third movement, which is largely pizzicato. Whilst the final movement seems to promise consolation, this proves to be short-lived. Geoffrey Kimpton was born in Lincoln in 1927. Some of his most enduring musical impressions came from the great singers and instrumentalists who perfromed there during the war. Other fine musicians in the forces visited his home including an ex Halle violinist who taught him for a while, then recommended lessons with the great Yorkshire teacher Arthur Kaye. Geoffrey aldo studied harmony and counterpoint with cathedral organist Dr. Gordon Slater. He studied composition at the Guildhall School of music and later spent two years at the Vienna Academy. From 1955-60 he was a member of the CBSO and then joined the Northern Orchestra. He has concentrated on teaching and composition since 1967. String Quartet No 1 (The Scottish) The opening adagio is quiet, chromatic and contrapuntal and owes something to the influence of Bartok - especially his Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste. The Allegro risoluto is based on the opening melody but is now strong and viforous, with the character of a lively Scottish dance. The theme is further developed. The second (slow) movement is based on an expressive Scottish lament, but contrasted to this is a slow march. The lament returns at the end of the movement. The Scherzo is a lively movement with a somewhat grotesque contrast in the middle. The fourth movement is a set of varaitions on another beautiful Scottish melody, ‘In Praise of South Mist.’ Cantabile sections alternate with lively dances. NEW WORLD STRING QUARTET
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