Stravinsky's 1940 Symphony in C, and 1946 Symphony in Three Movements, coupled with the Divertimento (symphonic suite from Le Baiser de la Fée ("The Fairy Kiss"), the very short "Greeting Prelude" and the Circus Polka. Stravinsky wrote little symphonic music, and this disc includes his major such works all completed after his permanent settlement in the US in 1938. The Symphony in C was dedicated to the Chicago Symphony and the Symphony in Three Movements commissioned by the New York Philharmonic. The Divertimento is, for example, an orchestral work extracted from a ballet score, and the Circus Polka was a commission via George Balanchine from the Barnum & Bailey Circus for a dance for elephants (apparently performed in a circus band and organ version for fifty elephants and fifty dancers!). The Greeting Prelude was an eightieth birthday tribute to Pierre Monteux from the Boston Symphony in 1955. BBC Philharmonic, Sir Andrew Davis. CD released November 2022.

Part of my preparation ahead of a concert I am attending. Mozart's (unfinished) mass probably written in celebration of his marriage to Constanze and visit to Salzburg in 1783. Glorious uplifting music. This recording includes the sections completed by Mozart himself, as well as those parts for which sketches by Mozart enabled completion by Franz Beyer in 1989. The mass is coupled with the Exsultate, jubilate, K165. There is also a bonus track is a less well-known later version of Exsultate, jubilate, with a slightly different text and with flutes replacing the oboes of the original. Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Olivia Vermeulen (alto), Makoto Sakurada (tenor), Christian Immler (bass). Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki. CD released December 2016.

This is really good. Dani Howard (b. 1993), young British composer, won the Royal Philharmonic Society award for her Trombone Concerto in 2021 written for Peter Moore. She has over forty works commissioned from a number of orchestras, and is Composer in Residence with the London Chamber Orchestra. This CD showcases not only the concerto, but four other shorter orchestral works - Argentum, Ellipsis, Coalescence, and Arches. Very approachable and enjoyable music. She has also written two chamber operas - Robin Hood (2019) and the Yellow Wallpaper (2023), which I will seek out. Peter Moore (trombone), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Michael Seal, Pablo Urbina. CD released March 2024.

Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) wrote a huge amount of music - opera, orchestral, chamber - but sadly he is largely now only known for his church and choral works. He was particularly proud of his two string quintets, played particularly finely on this CD from 2020. This disc also includes his Three Intermezzi arranged for cello and piano. It is music of it's time, heavily influenced by Brahms. Members of the Dante and Endellion Quartets, Benjamin Frith (piano). CD released November 2020.

John Towner Williams in now 92, and best known for his wonderful film music, including Spielberg films, Harry Potter, Lincoln, Saving Private Ryan, and many many more. Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra for fourteen years, he is also an accomplished concert hall composer, with a symphony, and numerous concertos to his name. He has written two Violin Concertos. This disc with renowned American Violinist Janes Ehnes features the first, inspired and eventually dedicated to Williams' suddenly deceased wife. It is coupled with Leonard Bernstein's Serenade, or "Serenade, after Plato's Symposium", for solo violin, strings and percussion, completed in 1954. It is inspired by Plato's Symposium, a dialogue of related statements in praise of love. James Ehnes (violin), Saint Louis Symphony, Stéphane Denève. CD released April 2024.

In his twenties, Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), was apparently a noted composer of miniature pieces for chamber ensemble and voice, although not all were well received by the critics. This recent CD consists of several well known including Le Gendarme (1920), Le Bestiaire (1919), Cocardes (1919) and Quatre poemes de max Jacob (1921). Many were later transcribed for the piano. The title piece, Le Gendarme Incompris (The misunderstood Gendarme), dates from 1920 and consists of a one-act play written by Jean Cocteau and Raymond Radiguet and set to music by Poulenc. Manchester Camerata, John Andrews. CD released April 2024.