Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 40 (1926)

While Gordon Jacobs composed a vast amount of music more than four hundred pieces -- he was particularly celebrated for his work for Viola and for woodwinds as well as for his books on music pedagogy. Jacob had an early success with his Viola Concerto of 1926 which was premiered at a Promenade concert and which was the beginning of a series of strong contributions to Viola repertoire. This Sonatina for Viola and Piano demonstrates his sensitive writing for the instrument. It works very well when performed on clarinet as well.While many composers of the 20th century rejected serialism atonality and other avant garde effects in favour of Romanticism Jacob was much morean adherent to the musical models of the classic and baroque eras while still encompassing modern harmonies. His work Music for a Festival for symphonic wind band and brass ensemble was used for the post-war Festival of Britain and he arranged the British national anthem for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Par SZYMANOWSKI KAROL. (VII) The Polish idiom appeared in Szymanowskis music in 1920, foreshadowing the beginning of a new period of creativity, later called nationalistic. Before this idiom was realised and such compositions typical of the Polish style as the ballet Harnasie, the Mazurkas, Stabat Mater, Fourth Symphony and Second Violin Concerto had been written, the change in musical thinking and the first experiments in the new language took place in songs. Symptoms of the new style manifested themselves fully in Slopiewnie, Op. 46 bis, composed in the summer of 1921 and published by Universal Edition. In these bizarre songs to bizarre words by Tuwim Szymanowski attempted to crystallize and generalize artistically some primaeval Polish, racial as he described them elements in music. The inspiring factor was undoubtedly the text by Julian Tuwim, abounding in new-coined words and imbued with its own music. It indicated the direction that artistic creativity was to take, and made the full corellation of the verbal and musical layers possible in, as Mieczyslaw Tomaszewski has stated, all the planse of co-operation phonic, structural, expressional and semantic. Based on A. Neuer Commentary to Complete Edition Volume C11 (VIII) Szymanowski did not yield to the temptation of easy over-stilization. Streching out to the deepest ethnic layers of his native musical culture, he made an attempt to mould and suitably fashion a Polish style of musical utterance. This tendency is apparent in the Three Lullabies, Op. 48, to words by Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz, composed in 1922 and published by Universal Edition in 1926. In the Lullabies we can find the confirmation of the fact that utterly new atmosphere which, according to the composer, Slopiewnie had introduced into his music, was not a once-for-all phenomemon. The elements of the new musical language, analised in connection with the earlier cycle, may here be regarded as assimilated. These are modalities in vocal melodies (Lullaby I) and cadences (Lullabies I and III), a bourdon effect with a tritone (Lullaby II). However these sometimes sligh and apparently unimportant details recur constatnly, an so acquire the nature of a definite compositional technique establishing a style based in an increasing degree on nationalistic elements. Based on Adam Neuer Commentary to Complete Edition Volume C11 (IX) The Childrens Rhymes, Op. 49, a cycle of twenty short songs by Kazimiera Illakowicz, composed in 1922-23, were a completely new creative experience for Szymanowski. He composed the Rhymes with his 11-year-old niece in mind. She was the daughter of Stanislawa Korwin-Szymanowska, who performed these songs for the first time in Warsaw on 25 February 1924. / Date parution : 2021-12-09/ Recueil / Chant et Piano

Brèves Rencontres by Jacques Castérède is a set of three pieces for Bb or C Trumpet and Piano. Written for the Paris Conservatoire contest the pieces are difficult (8° 9°) and last 8 minutes. The three pieces are: - Divertissement Allegro Brillante (tempo 120) - Pavane Andante Sost. (tempo 66) - Scherzo Allegro con spirito (tempo 112) Jacques Castérède (1926-2014) was a renowned composer and pianist. He has won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1953 and has composed numerous melodic pieces including ballets concertos symphonies ensemble andchamber music.

Frédéric Devreese est un des compositeurs les plus renommés de Belgique. Il doit sa notoriété internationale non seulement à sa musique pour le cinéma mais aussi à ses uvres pour orchestre et ses concerti pour piano. Depuis quelque temps Frédéric Devreese retranscrit pour les harmonies plusieurs de ses uvres pour orchestres. Ainsi il a composé une magnifique suite sur les temps forts de la musique quil a composée pour le célèbre film Benvenuta du cinéaste belge André Delvaux (1926-2002). La suite Benvenuta est la première dune série de transcriptions prestigieuses de Frédéric Devreese qui seront publiées chez BERIATO.