Following Madeleine Mitchell's outstandingly successful previous Naxos album, no.2 in the Classical Charts and Guardian CD of the Week, this deeply personal collection includes 8 world premiere recordings in an appealing range of styles. Violinist Madeleine Mitchell has inspired new works from a variety of composers, many of whom share connections of various kinds. ‘Conversations’ sit at the heart of an album in which four pianist composers* join Mitchell to perform their works. The music encompasses Alan Rawsthorne’s quicksilver 1958 Violin Sonata, heard here in a BBC broadcast to honour Mitchell’s two-decade partnership with the late Andrew Ball, to Thea Musgrave’s vivid Colloquy. The sequence of atmospheric, communicative pieces from contemporary composers explores natural phenomena, songs of freedom, telephonic frustration and a pas de deux love duet.
Music by: Richard Blackford Worlds Apart, *Howard Blake The Ice Princess and the Snowman, *Martin Butler Barcarolles,
*Wendy Hiscocks Caprice
& Dry White Fire, Joseph Horovitz Dybbuk Melody,
Douglas Knehans Mist Waves,
Kevin Malone Your Call is Important to Us, Thea Musgrave Colloquy, Alan Rawsthorne Violin Sonata, *Errollyn Wallen Sojourner Truth.
With pianists Andrew Ball, Nigel Clayton and Ian Pace. Supported by the Royal College of Music, Vaughan Williams Foundation, Rawsthorne Trust, City University of London and many of the composers gifting their pieces/services.
Videos: Mitchell and Wallen https://youtu.be/0psZ1NtT97g Mitchell and Blake https://youtu.be/ZG14HuHum3Q
Pre-order link: https://naxosdirect.co.uk/items/violin-conversations-604482 Free postage UK