Description
20th
Century British Works for clarinet and piano by Bax, Horovitz, Butler and
Ireland.
Biographies
Nadia pursues a versatile career as a
freelance orchestral and chamber clarinettist, and theatre musician both in the
UK and abroad. Her playing has included the Halle, Royal Philharmonic and
Northern Ballet Theatre orchestras, and successful west end shows including
King & I, American in Paris, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Young
Frankenstein, with tours taking her as far afield as China, Beirut and the Seychelles.
In addition to her duo with Martin Butler, Nadia is a founder member of the
prizewinning London Myriad Ensemble. With these two ensembles, she has
performed on BBC Radio 3 and at venues such as the Purcell Room, St. Martin in
the Fields and 11 Downing Street. Nadia is also a passionate teacher and has
co-ordinated education projects in both the UK and in Kenya.
Martin is a composer, pianist and
Professor of Music at Sussex University. He studied with Anthony Gilbert at the
RNCM, Paul Lansky and Milton Babbitt at Princeton and with Luciano Berio. His
music is widely performed and broadcast both in the UK and abroad. He has
written for the BBC Proms, English National Opera (A Better Place, 2001),
London Sinfonietta, Schubert Ensemble, and the Cheltenham and Presteigne
festivals. In 1998-9 he was the first composer-in-residence at Princeton’s
Institute for Advanced Study. He is a co-director of Club Inégales and is
pianist with its innovative ensemble, Notes Inégales.
Reviews
Words from Joseph Horovitz –
February 2018:
“This
is a highly enjoyable recording! The two artists match technical excellence
with serious attention to various musical styles. I very much appreciate their
performance of my sonatina.”
British Music Society Review –
Jonathan Clinch – June 2018:
“At the
centre of this programme are two works which deserve a larger audience. ‘Barlow Dale: Four Characteristic Pieces’
(1977) take their inspiration from cats in a feline-detective book by Ruth
Siverns. They were written by Martin
Butler at the age of seventeen and receive their premiere recording here with
the composer at the piano. This quirky and energetic jazz-inspired soundworld
has an immediate appeal and works superbly alongside Joseph Horovitz’s
finely-wrought Sonatina.”
Clarinet & Saxophone Magazine
Review – Stephanie Reeve – Summer 2018:
“Wilson
easily brings out the four contrasting characters and projects the
light-hearted nature with technical assurance……… The Horovitz was fun and
playful with a lovely middle movement, while the Ireland had lyrical moments
and good virtuosic control.”
Gramophone Magazine Review – Guy
Rickards – April 2018:
“Inspired
by the fictional adventures of a feline detective – Barlow Dale, something of a
fusion of Sherlock Holmes, Poirot and Dr Finlay – the pieces depict the
eponymous hero, a slow-witted Police Inspector, the elegant (Siamese) secretary
Miss Honeyflower, and dastardly villain Asiam Rex. It is all light-hearted fun
but how nice to see such a trifle still acknowledged and performed by its
creator in this premiere recording four decades later.”
