John McCabe

Designed to ease the transition between learning an instrument and playing 'real' music these dances by John McCabe have been given a grading between grades 5 and 6 ABRSM standard and cover a variety of styles. Played as a suite performance time is approximately 10 minutes.

April Sonatina is a work composed by John McCabe for Solo Violoncello in 2011/2. The piece lasts around 3 minutes and was dedicated to David Matthews on the occasion of his 70th birthday.

Fantasy On A Theme Of Liszt was written in 1967 for a Cheltenham Festival concert. The theme which lies behind the work is the opening tune of Liszt's Faust Symphony though this is never heard in its original form but is rather used as a thematic reservoir from which the music is derived. It is dedicated to the American composer and conductor Bernard Herrmann. John McCabe (1939-2015) was a British composer pianist and music administrator. He studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music (now the RNCM) and built a career as a virtuoso pianist. However he also wrote several hundred musical compositions ranging from large-scaleorchestral works to chamber music and solo instrumental pieces - it is said the only classical genre he did not write for was opera.

Commissioned by the Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts Limited with funds provided by the Arts Council of Wales for premiere in August 2012 by the Carducci String Quartet in St. Andrew?s Church Presteigne.Composer's Note.'Some years ago I noted down the opening theme of what I anticipated would be a relatively Classical string quartet ?Classical? in the sense of the forms adopted plus perhaps a predominantly lyrical tone of voice. The commission for this work from the Presteigne Festival for their 30th anniversary in 2012 gave me the opportunity of putting into practice this long-held idea. It isdedicated to the Festival and to the Carducci Quartet whose career as much-admired friends and colleagues I have greatly enjoyed.The only break with ?classical? tradition is that there are five movements instead of four with two Scherzi as the second and third though both these are very short and contrasting. I found myself listening to Haydn?s string quartets a lot before and during the composition of this work and I hope the spirit of his delight in writing for this medium is echoed in my own music. The opening movement is in sonata form unusually for me and lyricism is I hope the basis of it though there is a good deal of activity at times. The Scherzo light and marked by frequently-changing rhythms is followed by an equally short but ferocious Perpetuum mobile marked Wild und rasch (one of my favourite German tempo markings). The fourth movement is an intense Adagio in which a single phrase uttered strongly in unison is gradually transformed into gentle diatonic chords before the close intermingled with cadenzas for cello for viola and for the two violins together. The finale (a Rondo) resumes the classical tone of the first movement but apart from one dance-like episode it builds up a fair head of steam towards a final Presto which however ascends slows and quietens towards a gentle summer sky at dusk.'

For Clarinet and String Quartet.Published in 2011.Score.This work was commissioned by Linda Merrick and the Kreutzer Quartet to whom it is dedicated as a project involving commission performance recording and  educational and outreach work. It was supported by funds provided by the PRS for  Music Foundation RVW Trust The Holst Foundation the Royal Northern College of Music and the Ida Carroll Trust. The first performance was given at the Royal Northern  College of Music Manchester on June 15th 2011.

Meditation On A Norfolk Ballad by John McCabe for Tenor Recorder and String Quartet. Score and Parts.