Search - Lennox Berkeley, Endymion Ensemble :: Lennox Berkeley: Concertino Op. 49; Introduction & Allegro Op. 24; Oboe Quartet Op. 70; Petite Suite; Sextet Op. 47

Here's music of fastidious refinement and graceful intelligence from a figure whose reputation has been unfairly eclipsed since his death in 1989. Born in 1903, Sir Lennox Berkeley was a gifted pupil of the redoubtable French pedagogue, Nadia Boulanger, who became a great friend of Benjamin Britten. His healthy output includes a wealth of fine chamber and instrumental music, admirably showcased here in these eloquent performances by the Endymion Ensemble, whose enterprising, chronologically broad program is framed by two highly appealing works from 1955. The CD kicks off with the Concertino for flute, violin, cello, and piano (dedicated to Carl Dolmetsch, and whose original instrumentation featured recorder and harpsichord instead of flute and piano), and proceedings conclude in delectably stylish fashion with the splendid Sextet Berkeley wrote for the Melos Ensemble. The 1927 Petite Suite for oboe and cello takes us back to Berkeley's student days and displays a Bachian economy and skill typical of its creator. The 1967 Oboe Quartet is another substantial, resourceful creation, well worth getting to know. All in all, a most valuable, excellently engineered compilation, which plugs many a gap in the current catalogue. --Andrew Achenbach