The Thurston Connection: English Music for Clarinet and Piano

l Molto moderato
ll Vivace

Roger Fiske (1910-1987): Sonata
l Andante con moto e rubato
ll Variations
lll Allegro molto

Iain Hamilton (1922-2000): Three Nocturnes Op.6
l Adagio mistico
ll Allegro diabolico
lll Lento tranquillo

Hugh Wood (b.1932): Paraphrase on Bird of Paradise Op.26

This BMS CD features a recital of music for clarinet and piano of which a major portion of works included is directly linked with the career of the renowned English clarinettist Frederick Thurston (1901-1953). Included on the disc are première recordings of two works dedicated to Thurston: the Clarinet Sonata by Roger Fiske, and Iain Hamilton’s Three Nocturnes; and also featured is a performance of Arnold Bax’s popular Clarinet Sonata in a newly prepared revision by Nicholas Cox, who is currently Principal Clarinettist in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. The two remaining works on the programme, by Hugh Wood and Richard Rodney Bennett, were written for Nicholas Cox, who gave the first performance of each. A 20-page booklet with extensive notes by Nicholas Cox and Malcolm MacDonald, accompanies the disc.

“…Cox’s tone is variegated and warmly communicative, and his articulation excellent…an excellent recording, then, well engineered, and with a booklet that offers everything a listener needs to appreciate a well balanced selection of works,” BMS News

“…It’s an incredibly attractive piece… a well-balanced disc, offering the opportunity to hear much music unrecorded elsewhere… it deserves every success,” International Record Review

“…Cox’s readings are deeply sympathetic…a virtuoso display of agility and control…” Gramophone