Gradus ad Parnassum. Par COLERIDGE-TAYLOR SAMUEL / POSTER TOM (Ed.). Coleridge-Taylor wrote his Nonet in 1894, while still a teenage student at the Royal College of Music. At its premiere that same year, The Musical Times praised the ‘fresh and vigorous’ melodic material; it certainly feels like the work of a composer full of youthful exuberance, flexing his musical muscles and taking sheer deligh…

Par RAVEL MAURICE / NICHOLAS ELLIS MAURICE (ARR.). Pavane pour une infante défunte was originally written for solo piano and remains one Ravel’s most popular pieces. Written in 1899 while the French composer was studying at the Conservatoire de Paris under Gabriel Fauré, a small orchestra version was published in 1910 using woodwind, two horns, harp, and strings. In this arrangement - first perfor…

Par SCARLATTI DOMENICO / NICHOLAS ELLIS (Arr.). Best known for his dazzling output of over 500 keyboard sonatas, Scarlatti revelled in invention, wit, and surprise. The Sonata in D major, K.96, sometimes nicknamed La chasse (“The Hunt”), is a brilliant example: full of bright fanfares, quicksilver figuration, and rhythmic playfulness that delights as much today as it did in the 18th century. Trans…