Gustav Holst Imogen Holst English Chamber Orchestra - Imogen Holst conducts Gustav Holst (15 tracks) +Album Reviews

Search - Gustav Holst, Imogen Holst, English Chamber Orchestra :: Imogen Holst conducts Gustav Holst

Gustav Holst, Imogen Holst, English Chamber Orchestra
Imogen Holst conducts Gustav Holst
Genres: Special Interest, Classical

Track Listings (15) - Disc #1
1. Songs (2) Without Words for chamber orchestra, Op. 22, H. 88: Country Song
2. Songs (2) Without Words for chamber orchestra, Op. 22, H. 88: Marching Song
3. A Fugal Concerto, for flute, oboe & string orchestra, Op. 40/2, H. 152: I. Moderato
4. A Fugal Concerto, for flute, oboe & string orchestra, Op. 40/2, H. 152: II. Adagio
5. A Fugal Concerto, for flute, oboe & string orchestra, Op. 40/2, H. 152: III. Allegro
6. The Golden Goose, choral ballet, Op. 45/1, H. 163
7. Nocturne, for string quartet (from a Moorside Suite)
8. Double Concerto, for 2 violins & orchestra, Op. 49, H. 175: I. Scherzo
9. Double Concerto, for 2 violins & orchestra, Op. 49, H. 175: II. Lament
10. Double Concerto, for 2 violins & orchestra, Op. 49, H. 175: III. Variations on a Ground
11. Lyric Movement, for viola & chamber orchestra, H. 191
12. Brook Green Suite, for strings, H. 190: I. Prelude
13. Brook Green Suite, for strings, H. 190: II. Air
14. Brook Green Suite, for strings, H. 190: III. Dance
15. Capriccio (Jazz-Band Piece), for orchestra, H. 185 (edited by I. Holst)

Larger Image

CD Details

All Artists: Gustav Holst, Imogen Holst, English Chamber Orchestra
Title: Imogen Holst conducts Gustav Holst
Members Wishing: 2
Total Copies: 0
Label: Lyrita
Original Release Date: 1/1/2007
Re-Release Date: 2/13/2007
Genres: Special Interest, Classical
Styles: Marches, Ballets & Dances, Ballets, Chamber Music, Forms & Genres, Concertos, Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music, Historical Periods, Modern, 20th, & 21st Century, Symphonies
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 5020926022325

Synopsis

Album Description

"Another splendid trawl through the treasurable Lyrita back catalogue." -- GRAMOPHONE English composer Gustav Holst (1874-1934) is universally loved for his popular orchestral suite The Planets, but much of his other estimable orchestral music is seldom heard. Imogen Holst (1907-1984), the composer's daughter, was a fine musician herself, an excellent conductor and naturally a persuasive exponent of her father's works.

CD Reviews

Another classic from the Lyrita catalog

jsa | San Diego, CA United States | 06/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Here's another wonderful Lyrita disc, this one filled with some of the better known works by Gustav Holst, conducted by the composer's daughter, Imogen. The nine works included here range from extroverted (e.g., Brook Green Suite, The Golden Goose, Capriccio) to contemplative (Nocturne, Lyric Movement) & all bear the unmistakable Holstian stamp. The earliest pieces date from 1906 (Two Songs Without Words), of which Imogen Holst, in her informative liner notes, comments that "These were the earliest orchestral pieces my father wrote after the folk-song revival had altered his whole way of thinking and had freed him from his long years of Wagner worship." It is instructive that these pieces were dedicated to Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Now one may ask, how the heck does Imogen Holst qualify to conduct this music other than by virtue of being her father's daughter? The answer is that she was a musical scholar & composer herself, & also served for many years as an assistant to Benjamin Britten. That she was a more than competent conductor & had a special affinity for her father's music, to which she dedicated the final two decades of her life, is amply evident on this outstanding disc.

I was fortunate to have purchased this music on vinyl over thirty years ago from the Musical Heritage Society, which licensed material from Lyrita for release in the United States. I loved these recordings then & love them even more now, especially as they are available in excellent remastered stereo sound. My only regret is that Lyrita did not include Imogen Holst's great recording of St. Paul's Suite on this disc (of course, impossible as the disc is already crammed with over 75 minutes of music). Perhaps it will show up on a later compilation?

These are historic readings that should be collected along with "Boult Conducts Holst," another classic Lyrita reissue. Buy them both!"