Delius: Piano Concerto, Paris, Spring Idyll & Brigg Fair Howard Shelley, Royal Scottish National Orchestra & Sir Andrew Davis

• Frederick Delius (1862 - 1934): Brigg Fair, RT VI/16:
• 1 Delius: Brigg Fair, RT VI/16: Theme - Variations I - VI 04:03
• 2 Delius: Brigg Fair, RT VI/16: Interlude - Variations VII - X 05:23
• 3 Delius: Brigg Fair, RT VI/16: Variations XI - XII - Transition 02:31
• 4 Delius: Brigg Fair, RT VI/16: Variations XIII - XVII - Coda 04:12
• Piano Concerto in C Minor, RT VII/4:
• 5 Delius: Piano Concerto in C Minor, RT VII/4: I. Allegro ma non troppo 11:09
• 6 Delius: Piano Concerto in C Minor, RT VII/4: II. Largo 06:57
• 7 Delius: Piano Concerto in C Minor, RT VII/4: III. Maestoso con moto moderato 12:06
• Idylle de printemps:
• 8 Delius: Idylle de printemps 10:28
• Paris. Song of a Great City:
• 9 Delius: Paris. Song of a Great City: I. Adagio 03:45
• 10 Delius: Paris. Song of a Great City: II. Vivace 04:17
• 11 Delius: Paris. Song of a Great City: III. Molto adagio 04:19
• 12 Delius: Paris. Song of a Great City: IV. Adagio molto 06:22
• Total Runtime 01:15:32

Info for Delius: Piano Concerto, Paris, Spring Idyll & Brigg Fair

Of the works performed here by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under the prominent Delius interpreter Sir Andrew Davis, the first three (Paris, the Piano Concerto, and Idylle de printemps) offer a fascinating insight into the early years of the development of Delius as a composer, when he was slowly and painstakingly honing his craft, and assuming the characteristic personal voice that is evident in more mature works such as Brigg Fair.

Paris, sub-titled ‘The Song of a Great City’, is strongly inspired by the composer’s many years of living and working in Paris. With large-scale orchestral forces, Delius paints opulent pictures of a city that he obviously loved. The slow opening portrays the still darkness falling over Paris; then the music changes pace and takes us through the teeming and intoxicating nightlife of the city, with impressions of exuberant dance music coming from the many cafés and music-halls. The opening material returns, culminating in the sounds of the awakening streets.

Until recently Delius’s Piano Concerto has been know exclusively in its final, one-movement form, which was first performed in London in 1907. The version recorded here, however, represents the composer’s earlier thoughts, from 1897. Performed by Howard Shelley, the work is brimming with full-bodied romanticism while showing the influences of Grieg and Liszt throughout.

The airy mood of Idylle de printemps points to later depictions of nature in Delius’s music, as in Brigg Fair, which Delius categorised as ‘An English Rhapsody’. Cecil Gray, the Scottish music critic and composer, described the opening of Brigg Fair as ‘evoking the atmosphere of an early summer morning in the English countryside’. The work is based on a folk-tune which came to light in a competition instigated by Percy Grainger in 1905 to find ‘the best unpublished old Lincolnshire folk song or plough song’. Grainger was immediately taken with the folk-tune, and having arranged it himself for solo tenor and chorus, he approached Delius to write orchestral variations on it – urging him on as the only composer worthy of the task. Delius was soon persuaded, and Brigg Fair became one of his best-loved works.

“Sir Andrew Davis proves himself an instinctive Delian in the way he delineates the shifting moods and colours of Paris and Brigg Fair: these must be among the best current accounts of both works There’s splendid playing throughout from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.” (Calum MacDonald, BBC Music)

“Brigg Fair, subtle and sensitive, is enhanced by the spacious acoustic running through the CD, and Davis gives arguably the best performance on disc of Paris, generating passion and excitement in the climaxes" (Andrew Clark, Financial Times)

Howard Shelley, piano
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Sir Andrew Davis, conductor

Howard Sehelly
As pianist, conductor and recording artist Howard Shelley has enjoyed a distinguished career since his highly acclaimed London debut in 1971, performing regularly with renowned orchestras at major venues around the world. He has been closely associated with the music of Rachmaninov and has performed and recorded complete and award-winning cycles of that composer’s solo piano works, concertos and songs. In the last five years he has performed complete cycles of the piano concertos of both Mozart and Beethoven in London with the London Mozart Players. Most of his current work is in the combined role of conductor and soloist. This is reflected also in his discography which now exceeds 160 CDs, all highly praised. He has appeared in several television documentaries, including ‘Mother Goose’, a documentary on Ravel which won a Gold Medal at the New York Festivals Awards.

As conductor he has worked with all the major London orchestras and many other orchestras in the UK and abroad including the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, City of Mexico Philharmonic, Munich Symphony, St Gallen Symphony and Nuremberg Symphony. He has toured to Australia for over thirty consecutive years, and performs now as both conductor and soloist with the Melbourne Symphony, Adelaide Symphony and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra – with the latter he has recorded seventeen volumes (and rising) for Hyperion’s Romantic Piano series. His long association with the London Mozart Players has been recognised by the title of Conductor Laureate. In 1994 HRH The Prince of Wales conferred on him an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Music and in 2009 he was awarded an OBE for services to classical music.

Booklet for Delius: Piano Concerto, Paris, Spring Idyll & Brigg Fair