Saint-Saëns Duos For Harmonium and Piano
With Miloš Milivojević (accordion)
The rise in popularity of the harmonium in the second half of the nineteenth century brought with it a large repertoire of chamber music, especially in France, where the instrument had been developed and refined. The combination of harmonium with piano was an especially popular one. The accordion, taking the role of the harmonium on these recordings, produces sound in a near identical way. It is the performers’ hope that the subtle shift from the 19th century French harmonium to a modern classical accordion will enable these delightful pieces to be performed more often and to gain the widest possible audience.
Reinecke Piano Concertos
A prolific composer, respected and influential in his lifetime—the Romantic Piano Concerto again turns up trumps with three concertos by Carl Reinecke.
Rachmaninoff Symphony No.2 for two pianos
With Hiro Takenouchi (piano)
As long ago as the eighteenth century, composers were arranging orchestral works for two pianos or piano duet, making them more domestically accessible and exposing their compositions to a wider audience. Four-hand piano versions abound of symphonies by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Haydn and more. Since Rachmaninoff focused mainly on the piano, we were surprised to be unable to find a two-piano arrangement by the composer himself of his Symphony No. 2, particularly since he arranged his own first and third symphonies for four hands. Our objective in creating this new arrangement was to remain as faithful to the original as practically possible. We set out to embrace not only the capabilities of the two pianos but also their limitations we wanted to create a true piano work, rather than a less-than-satisfactory imitation of the orchestral version. Of course, our motivation was also to be able to enjoy playing this magnificent masterpiece which we had cherished for as long as we could remember! Simon Callaghan & Hiroaki Takenouchi
Husum Piano Rarities 2021
Another amazing collection from the Rarities of Piano Music Festival in the North German city of Husum.
The full set of Holbrooke's Nocturnes Op.121 can be heard on Simon's Lyrita album, SRCD395.
Busch & Clarke Complete Piano Music
William Busch first mentions Rebecca Clarke in his diaries on 26 October 1927: “Went to a Gordon Byron concert – Brosa, Rebecca Clarke and John Slater, violin, viola and flute respectively – and heard new and old works – nothing particular. Then to CMC at the Court House. The Brosa Quartet played the String Quartets by Bax, Honegger and Hindemith.” There are 22 more references to Clarke until 1937. Busch performed Clarke’s music in August 1932, when he wrote “Broadcast from London Regional – I read Rebecca Clarke’s piece from the Manuscript.” They certainly talked a lot about music, and Bush played through her piano pieces as she composed them. On 30 August 1932 – William gave the first performance of Clarke’s Cortege, then his own ‘Gigue’.
Parish Alvars works for two pianos
With Clíodna Shanahan (piano)
The story of Elias Parish Alvars (1808-49) is a journey from obscurity, ascending to something of an international celebrity. He was dubbed ‘the Franz Liszt of the harp’ by none other than Hector Berlioz (1803-69), who was repeatedly spellbound by concerts Alvars gave in Germany. This sorcerer of the harp (and equally phenomenal pianist) received patronage from the aristocracy and royalty of Europe throughout his short-lived career.
Vaughan Williams Complete Works for Violin & Piano
As part of Vaughan Williams’s 150th anniversary celebrations, RVW150, this album gives listeners full insight into the composer’s works for violin and piano, played by Midori Komachi and Simon Callaghan, who have performed and researched the music of 20th century British composers to critical acclaim. Accompanying their performance is a CD booklet with photos specially taken with the artists at Leith Hill Place, Vaughan Williams’s childhood home. Additionally, based on extensive research in the manuscript archives, Komachi's liner notes in this booklet illustrate how these pieces encompass the composer's complete musical development.
With a particular connection to Leith Hill Place, Romance provided the inspiration and venue for a music video, filmed by Komachi and Callaghan, which this will be released along with the album.
The CD is available in both English and Japanese versions.
British Piano Concertos
Simon Callaghan, Martyn Brabbins and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales team up for this new recording which draws on the lighter side of musical life in repertoire which cannot fail to provoke a smile!
Smaller concertos for piano and modest orchestral forces were a feature of British composition in the first half of the 20th century, often written for a special occasion. As is often the case with first performances of contemporary music, these works were typically destined to vanish into oblivion thereafter, and this new recording seeks to re-establish their place in the repertoire as exciting and vibrant pieces which will bring joy and intrigue to the listener.
Indeed, while searching for enticing music to record with a smaller numbers of players, Simon Callaghan was thrilled to uncover this treasury: short concertos written for entertainment, perhaps for a single occasion, but of a quality that makes them deserve to be heard in the years to come.
The listener will travel through the innocent pastiche of Bush’s tribute to Arne, Rubbra’s student essay, the ‘Blues’ of Benjamin, the serial language of Searle, the intense drama of Maconchy, and the bold humour of film composer, Addison. It is all great fun, and has never been recorded - apart from the Benjamin which was recorded just once, back in 1959. Enjoy!
*2 nominations received for MusicWeb International Recording of the Year 2022 (read more here)
Origins
It was an utter delight to collaborate with violinist, Coco Tomita on her début album!
Kaleidoscope Sky
I was delighted to be invited as guest pianist by the London Piano Trio, for this exciting disc of contemporary works by Arnold Rosner and Carson Cooman, on Convivium.
“The chamber music on this album is unified with a focus on string scorings and a connection between me and the late Arnold Rosner, a friend and colleague whose works it has been a privilege to be involved in curating. From the deeply dark intensity of Rosner’s 6th quartet to the luminous passion of my piano trio, I hope that the wide variety of emotional moods explored in this collection of pieces may provide for an enriching listening experience.”
Schubert Works for piano duet
With Adrian Farmer
A special recording, born as a natural 'lockdown project' for me and my dear friend Adrian Farmer, in whose home I lived for quite some time during covid-19! I feel very lucky to have made several new albums during this time and the opportunity to record these two masterpieces was wonderful!
Holbrooke Late Piano Works
The music on this album dates from the composer’s later years, and are largely based on themes from his earlier successes. The inspiration for Holbrooke’s music was almost always literary; hence, the large number of symphonic poems and pieces with literary titles or subtitles in his work list.
The 8 Nocturnes, Op. 121 employ material from some of Holbrooke’s most successful and popular earlier works. The music critic Ernest Newman, in an often quoted appreciation of the composer written in 1902, wrote that “…Holbrooke can do quite easily and unconsciously what [Richard] Strauss has only done half a dozen times in his career – he can write a big, heartfelt melody that searches us to the very bone…”, and these Nocturnes display Josef’s gift for lyricism. The two Fantasie-Sonatas, Opp. 124 & 128 respectively, are important and substantial works from Holbrooke’s later years. The first is closely based on the opening movement of the Dramatic Choral Symphony ‘Homage to E.A. Poe’, Op. 48 (1902-1907), but skilfully adapted for pianistic effectiveness. The second Fantasie-Sonata, ‘Destiny’, does not recycle earlier material: it is an entirely original composition of two movements. Based on the slow movement of the fine Horn Trio, Op. 28 (1902), Cambrian Ballade No. 4 Op. 104 Maentrog commences in the lilting character of a berceuse. A more animated central section leads to an ardent reprise of the opening theme and a coda like a sudden shower of rain. It is tempting to think that in this composition the composer looked back wistfully to a period when his creative fires burned brightly and his talents were recognized by the musical world.
[Gareth Vaughan]
Christmas Dawn
A special digital-only release for Christmas 2020
Richard Blackford, composer writes,
Christmas Dawn is a simple, hymn-like tune presented first softly, with a simple chordal accompaniment. As it gains momentum, with more expansive piano figuration the tune develops and extends. A contrasting middle section with staccato quavers heralds the return of the theme in a full, joyful iteration, before closing softly again. I sent the score to my publisher and they suggested that the pianist Simon Callaghan record Christmas Dawn with an accompanying video, as a celebratory lockdown project at Wyastone Recording Studio that might cheer people up, given the uncertainties of Christmas this year. I hope the music and the video will give pleasure at a time when Christmas cheer is much needed.
Gramophone Video of the Day (4 December 2020)
Scala Radio Article (4 December 2020)
The Story of Babar
With Miriam Margolyes (narrator)
A delightful set of circumstances combined to produce the beloved masterpiece, Babar. The journey began in 1930 when Laurent and Mathieu, sons of French author and illustrator Jean de Brunhoff were told an enchanting bedtime story by their mother, Cécile. So moved were the young boys by the curious tale of the young elephant’s adventures, that they asked their father to create illustrations. The resulting book initiated a series that was to be the crowning achievement of Jean de Brunhoff’s short professional life, and that of his son Laurent, who added further volumes following his father’s death in 1937. The children have acknowledged that the story originated with Cécile de Brunhoff, who, feeling that her contribution was too small to be credited, requested that her name be removed from the publications.
In a heart-warmingly similar situation ten years later, Poulenc was spending time with the granddaughter of one of his cousins. Noting that she became bored with the music he was playing, Poulenc put Brunhoff’s Babar on the piano and began to improvise, to the great delight of the young girl. The musical ideas born that day were to simmer away at the back of Poulenc’s mind until he completed the work in 1945. It was premiered on French radio the following year.
Scala Radio Article (4 December 2020)
Dyson Piano Music
SOMM Recordings announces the first complete survey on disc of George Dyson’s music for solo piano including five premiere recordings performed by Simon Callaghan in a specially priced two-CD set.
Callaghan is joined by Clíodna Shanahan for the first recording of the two-piano version of Concerto Leggiero, a mature work originally composed for piano and string orchestra. Almost classical in its sense of economy, the two-piano arrangement boasts a remarkable lyricism.
Born in Halifax in 1833, Dyson studied with Charles Villiers Stanford and Hubert Parry before becoming one of the most prominent British composers and distinguished teachers of his generation. Best known for his choral work, his piano music spans his compositional career. Heard in its entirety, it provides valuable new insights into his development as a composer.
Other first recordings include the seven-year-old Dyson’s first work for piano, Untitled Piano Piece, the exam board commission for young pianists, Twelve Easy Pieces, and The Open Window and Six Lyrics, character pieces designed to encourage young pianists.
Among other works included are the Debussy-accented Primrose Mount, the dazzling set of fugues Bach’s Birthday and so-called ‘War Epigrams’, inspired by Dyson’s experiences on the Western Front before being invalided home
Dyson biographer Paul Spicer provides the authoritative booklet notes.
Entente Musicale
With Clare Howick (violin)
SOMM RECORDINGS is pleased to announce Entente Musicale, a celebration of Anglo-French music from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries that sees violinist Clare Howick and pianist Simon Callaghan return to the label following their well-received collection of British Violin Sonatas.
Coke Cello Sonatas
Thanks to the tireless advocacy of Simon Callaghan, the music of the Derbyshire-born Roger Sacheverell Coke has started to emerge from the obscurity in which it has languished since the composer’s death in 1972.
Despite showing considerable early promise, Coke remained an outsider in British musical life. Following studies at Eton (until 1931), he took private lessons with Mabel Lander (piano) and Alan Bush (composition) rather than attending university or music college. Coke credited Bush for helping him to find his musical voice, and cited Arnold Bax as a major influence, but his musical sympathies also extended to Bruckner, Mahler and Rachmaninov at a time when all three were deeply unfashionable among musical cognoscenti. His piano concertos nonetheless attracted widespread attention, with performances in Bath and Bournemouth, and BBC radio broadcasts of the second concerto in 1934 and the third concerto in 1939.
The three cello sonatas featuring on this disc frame the years 1936 to 1941, a very productive period in Coke’s life in which he also composed his second symphony (dedicated to Rachmaninov), the third and fourth piano concertos, a set of 24 preludes for piano, the opera The Cenci, the second and third piano sonatas, the first violin sonata, the Poem for cello, piano and small orchestra, as well as several sets of songs and other smaller pieces. This output is all the more remarkable given that Coke was already showing signs of the mental illness that would have a major impact on his creativity in later years, regularly leading to his hospitalisation for several months at a time.
British Violin Sonatas
The story of British music for violin and piano is a fascinating one, but by no means as fully appreciated as it might be. It forms part of the broader genre of British chamber music, overshadowed by the breadth of orchestral, choral, and solo vocal music. Violinist Clare Howick and pianist Simon Callaghan pay tribute to the remarkable flourishing of British violin sonatas in the 20th century with a collection of music by six key figures of the modern chamber music renaissance in Britain.
Pick of the day (26 April 2020) on WFMT, Chicago's classical music station!
Recommended Recording in The Strad (June 2020)
Schumann & Poulenc
Les Soirées de Nazelles and Carnaval are not only two of my favourite pieces to perform, but as some of the finest examples of sets of miniatures, they also make excellent companions on disc. It is such a pleasure to be able to present them both here, alongside another set of character pieces by Schumann, his much-loved Kinderszenen. Making this recording has been a true labour of love.
The Deeper the Blue...
SOMM Recordings’ The Deeper the Blue offers an intriguing exploration of colour and timbre in music and a revealing investigation of the connections between four very different composers over a near-100-year period.
Taking its title from painter Wassily Kandinsky’s assertion that a deepening colour ultimately “turns into silent stillness and becomes white”, the recording illuminates the intimate relationship between student and teacher: Vaughan Williams and Maurice Ravel, Kenneth Hesketh with Henri Dutilleux and the influence on Dutilleux of Ravel.
Sherwood/Parry Works for Two Pianos
The two works by Sherwood presented on this disc were not published during the composer's lifetime and are recorded here for the first time, using texts prepared and edited by Hiroaki Takenouchi from manuscripts held by the Bodleian Library.
Nicodé Ein Liebesleben and other piano works
Felix Draeseke’s description of Nicodé as ‘more a moderate progressive than a cacophonist’—in contrast to his younger contemporary Richard Strauss—may have been intended as a compliment, but doesn’t begin to do justice to this profoundly enjoyable music, its several influences (most notably Schumann) never far away.
Tableaux de Provence
Dominic Childs and Simon Callaghan present an engaging recital of works either written by or inspired by women, and that were written with both piano and orchestral accompaniment in mind – the 1903 Rhapsodie by Claude Debussy sits alongside works by Fernande Decruck, Paule Maurice & François Borne.
Husum Piano Rarities 2018
Another amazing collection from the 32nd Rarities of Piano Music Festival in the North German city of Husum. A wide selection of interesting and often forgotten piano music played by some of the leading pianists of today.
Including Simon Callaghan's performance of short works by Nicodé, the full version of which can be heard on the Hyperion disc CDA68269.
Karel Bredenhorst: In Pieces
Classical short pieces in unique combinations with cello, piano and bandonéon
Duo Verzaro 2016
Karel Bredenhorst and I are very pleased to present our first CD, on the new Cervo Chamber Music label! It was a wonderful experience recording in Cervo and the fantastic acoustic of the Oratorio di Santa Caterina is captured on this disc in some of the finest works for cello and piano. The first ever CD recording in Cervo, undoubtedly the first of many!
Thea Musgrave: Phoenix Rising
It is my great pleasure to be involved in this disc, released to celebrate Thea Musgrave's 90th birthday in 2018! I really enjoyed working with Nathan Vale, Simon Wallfisch and Hiroaki Takenouchi in her 'Poets in Love', a fascinating cycle of 17 poems spanning many centuries and languages.
Rheinberger & Scholz Concertos
Just what the Romantic Piano Concerto series does best: three works unlikely to be encountered in the concert hall, in performances by artists who wholeheartedly—and justifiably—believe in the music. The high expectations of this series are amply realised in volume seventy-six. Watch the trailer here.
Read programme notes here.
Specialist Classical Chart: Best position #2 on 05/07/2018. Weeks in chart: 5
Duo Verzaro 2017
My second CD with Karel Bredenhorst, recorded at the beautiful Oratorio di Santa Caterina in Cervo (Liguria) was released in December 2017.
Chopin & Liszt arranged by Saint-Saëns
Given the 'romantic' nature of these two sonatas, Saint-Saëns could have been forgiven for producing two-piano versions that treated the originals as bases for his own imaginings. In fact, as far as a fourth party can judge, he has been scrupulous in respecting the composers' intentions.
Coke Concertos
Simon Callaghan’s début concerto disc for Hyperion’s lauded Romantic Piano Concerto Series features the world premiere recordings of Roger Sacheverell Coke’s concertos with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins. Watch the trailer here.
The CD reached #3 in the Official Classical Charts (remaining in the Charts for 3 weeks), the Top 10 in the Classic FM Charts, and featured as November CD of the Month on Colchester Classics and MusicWeb International!
Watch the trailer here.
Read programme notes here.
Rarities of Piano Music 2016
The annual piano festival featuring rare repertoire started 30 years ago and the latest CD features a large selection of the works performed, all played by the leading pianists of today. All the previous years are available on the Danacord website.
English Piano Works
World première recordings of works by Thomas Best.
The only recording currently available of Parry’s Shulbrede Tunes, alongside William Sterndale Bennett's F minor Sonata.
Extensive programme notes by prominent English music scholar, Dr Peter Horton
The Music of Roger Sacheverell Coke
Little is known about Derbyshire pianist and composer R.S. Coke though he was clearly valued during his lifetime and there is an entry about him in Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Artists who admired his work include Eugene Goossens who conducted Coke's opera "The Cenci", Sir Henry Wood who conducted the composer's first symphony (broadcast on the BBC) and the Brosa Quartet who performed his chamber music. He was a friend of both Moiseiwitsch and Rachmaninov and dedicated his 2nd Symphony to Rachmaninov with his permission. Watch the trailer here.
Warp & Weft
Featuring works for two violins and piano, Warp and Weft brings together a fascinating variety of works written for this instrumentation by 20th and 21st Century British composers. It is a unique exploration, in which the two violins interweave lines to make a web of sound.
assurance...fine technical resources...unimpeachable support...
...velvet-gloved pianism of ravishing sensitivity
...first rate performances... a splendid disc...
An atmospheric disc with two interesting premieres...
Delius: Orchestral Music for Two Pianos Vol I
Our first volume of Delius’s orchestral music transcribed for two pianos provides us with a fresh and enjoyable slant on music which we most of us know and love. Hear an excerpt here.
Delius: Orchestral Music for Two Pianos Vol II
Following SOMM’s successful release in 2012 of Volume I of arrangements for two pianos of Delius’s orchestral music (SOMMCD 0112) SOMM has now released Volume II transcribed by largely the same composers and friends of Delius in the same enjoyable, interesting mix as before.
Colours of the Heart
Colours of the Heart is the début disc from emerging violinist Midori Komachi and Steinway Artist Simon Callaghan. Highly sought after for their performances of the Delius Violin Sonatas, these two award-winning artists based their album on the intriguing story of Delius and Gauguin.
Vivat Brahms!
Featuring James Barralet's new arrangement of Brahms’s 21 Hungarian Dances for cello and piano! There is no doubt that his compositional skill, coupled with his deep love and knowledge of the instrument have inspired him to make a wonderful transcription of these evergreens. Brahms had originally written the Dances for piano duet and also re-arranged them for solo piano.