Liverpool Arts: Preview

North Wales International Music Festival

THE newly-promoted City of St Asaph, once again plays host to the North Wales Music Festival, which runs for eight days from September 22. It takes place in the cathedral, a few yards off the A55 and is an easy run from Merseyside on a summer’s evening.

It was founded by the composer William Mathias, who died 20 years ago, and concert-goers pass his grave on entering the cathedral. As usual there are starry names, including cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, The King’s Singers and the Chilingirian Quartet, who play Mozart, Haydn and Brahms. Pascal Rogé has piano music by Faure, Ravel, Debussy and Poulenc, and gives a masterclass and Paul Mealor and the Aberdeen University Choir have concerts and community events.

Royal harpist Hannah Stone gives a recital and premieres a new work by Karl Jenkins whose Armed Man will be sung. Red Priest bring theatrical baroque in a programme including Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales wind up proceedings on the final Saturday with Andrew Gourlay conducting Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony, the Mastersinger Prelude of Wagner and Daniel Jones’s Cello Concerto with soloist Paul Watkins.

The concert opens with the Anniversary Dances of William Mathias, whose daughter Rhiannon will give the address at Festival Eucharist on Sunday morning. Full details on 0800 411 8881.

Reviews

World Premiere Recordings of Vaughan Williams and William Mathias (Somm)

THE 2nd Piano Concerto of Mathias is one of his finest works and, here, has been recorded by Mark Bebbington and the Ulster Orchestra conducted by George Vass. It is coupled with his early 1st Concerto, and the Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra of Vaughan Williams. These are all world premiere recordings, and the programme notes are by Michael Kennedy and Rhiannon Mathias.

Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra / Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (Naxos)

MARIN ALSOP and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra present good accounts of Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra and his Music for Strings Percussion and Celesta on two CDs of major and minor Hungarian music. The Concerto used to be the kiss of death at the box office, but concert-goers now recognise an exciting orchestral showpiece. The Night Music in the string work is suitably eerie and likely to make the hairs on the neck rise.

While Bartok is a major voice in the world, the same can’t be said of his compatriot Eugene Zador. He spent much of his life in Hollywood as an orchestrator, but his Children’s Symphony, Five Contrasts, Hungarian Capriccio and Csardas Rhapsody, make pleasant listening.