The Piano Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams Mark Bebbington & Rebeca Omordia

• Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958):
• 1 The Lake in the Mountains 05:34
• 2 Introduction and Fugue 17:22
• 3 6 Schübler Chorales, Op. 5: 6 Schubler Chorales, BWV 645-650: Ach bleib' bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 649 (arr. R. Vaughan Williams for piano) 05:49
• 4 Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (arr. M. Jacobson for 2 pianos) 12:29
• 5 Hymn Tune Prelude on Song 13 by Orlando Gibbons 04:44
• 6 Fantasia on Greensleeves (arr. for piano duet) 03:53
• 7 A Little Piano Book: Valse Lente 01:31
• 8 A Little Piano Book: Nocturne 01:38
• 9 A Little Piano Book: Canon 01:04
• 10 A Little Piano Book: Two-Part Invention in F 01:14
• 11 A Little Piano Book: Two-Part Invention in E-Flat 00:57
• 12 A Little Piano Book: Two-Part Invention in G 00:52
• 13 Suite of 6 Short Pieces: No. 1. Prelude 01:39
• 14 Suite of 6 Short Pieces: No. 2. Slow dance 01:44
• 15 Suite of 6 Short Pieces: No. 3. Quick dance 02:10
• 16 Suite of 6 Short Pieces: No. 4. Slow air 03:07
• 17 Suite of 6 Short Pieces: No. 5. Rondo 02:38
• 18 Suite of 6 Short Pieces: No. 6. Pezzo ostinato 02:21
• Total Runtime 01:10:46

Info zu The Piano Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams

The premiere recording on this recording is the Introduction and Fugue for two pianos written in 1947, which RVW dedicated to the famous two-piano team Phyllis Sellick and Cyril Smith. Bebbington says: “Vaughan Williams wrote the Introduction and Fugue concurrently with the Sixth Symphony – a work which shocked the musical world with its undisguised brutality and modernism, and this piano work belongs to the same musical aesthetic.

After his ‘hop across the Atlantic’ for his all-Gershwin disc (MusicWeb International “Recording of the Month”), Mark Bebbington returns to the English fare for which he is best-known, with the Complete Vaughan Williams Piano Music. This SOMM release contains world premiere recordings, notably the Introduction and Fugue. In this work, and in the Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, both written for two-pianos, Bebbington is joined by the gifted young Romanian-Nigerian pianist Rebeca Omordia.

The Tallis Fantasia in its original string version is an evergreen English work, repeatedly topping Classic FM’s listener surveys of favourite pieces. Of its two-piano version, Bebbington says: In transcribing the Fantasia for two pianos Vaughan Williams has created a work with leaner textures and clearer polyphony.

„Among Vaughan Williams’s compositional outpourings, only one piece readily comes to mind with a prominent piano part: the song cycle On Wenlock Edge. Thanks to this intriguing disc we realise there was more, the best of it for two players. Arrangements of his Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis and Fantasia on Greensleeves sound a pleasure to play in the dedicated hands of Mark Bebbington and Rebecca Omordia. The first recording of the two-piano Introduction and Fugue (as its title suggests, a homage to Bach) sounded slightly dogged on first hearing. Yet with repeated listening this substantial work grows more rich and lyrical, in unmistakable RVW vein. Fans as well as completists should try it.“ (The Guardian)

Mark Bebbington, piano
Rebeca Omordia, piano

Mark Bebbington
The critical plaudits which have greeted Mark Bebbington’s performances and recordings have singled him out as a British pianist of the rarest refinement and maturity. Now internationally recognised as a champion of British music, Mark has given concert and CD premieres of major British composers, including Vaughan Williams, Arnold Bax, John Ireland, Elgar and William Alywyn. Mark has recorded extensively for Somm label; over thirty CDs to date and his most recent – three British Piano Concertos with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and a solo recording of William Alwyn’s piano works – were released in autumn 2015 and have met with rapturous acclaim.

In addition, Mark has completed his John Ireland and Frank Bridge solo piano series: seven CDs earning him consecutive sets of 5***** in BBC Music Magazine, a Gramophone Magazine ‘Editor’s Choice’, and an International Record Review ‘Outstanding’ accolade, prompting International Piano Magazine to write: “Bebbington’s revivals of British piano music are second to none; he could well be dubbed the concert pianists’ Richard Hickox. Bebbington has almost single-handedly demonstrated that 20th-century British piano scores have an exciting role to play in the concert hall and recording studio”.

Over recent seasons Mark has toured extensively throughout Central and Northern Europe (both as recitalist and as soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras), as well as the Far East and North Africa. Within the UK, he has appeared in concertos with the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras, the London Mozart Players, Orchestra of the Swan and BBC Concert Orchestra. He has featured both as soloist and recitalist on BBC Television and Radio and regularly on major European Television and Radio networks.

Mark studied at the Royal College of Music where he was a recipient of numerous awards and prizes, including a Leverhulme Scholarship, a Winston Churchill Fellowship and the Ivan Sutton Recording Prize – the latter awarded to the one outstanding graduate of the combined London Music Conservatoires. He later studied in Italy and Paris with the legendary Aldo Ciccolini.

Mark’s programming demonstrates a commitment to the music of our time and he regularly includes contemporary composers as diverse as Takemitsu, Julian Anderson, John McCabe, David Matthews, Pierre Boulez and Elliot Carter in his recital series.

Projects for 2016/17 include continuing releases for the Somm label of both twentieth- century British piano music and further concerto recordings with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; appearances in major concert series and festivals both in the UK and throughout Europe; London concerto performances with the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic and Flanders Symphony Orchestras; a two-week European tour with the Czech National Orchestra, a two-week tour of Israel with the Israel Camerata, concerto debuts with the Buffalo and San Antonio Symphony Orchestras.

In October last year, Mark made a highly successful Carnegie Hall debut with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra.

Rebeca Omordia
Born in Romania to a Romanian mother and a Nigerian (Igbo) father, Rebeca Omordia graduated from the National Music University in Bucharest in 2006. She was awarded full scholarships to study at Birmingham Conservatoire and later at Trinity College of Music in London.

Delius Prize won in 2009 opened the collaboration with the world renowned cellist Julian Lloyd Webber. They formed a 2-year partnership touring the UK together, performing in renowned venues including at the Wigmore Hall and Kings Place in London, at Highgrove for the Prince’s Trust and several live broadcasts for BBC Radio 3.

Described by Birmingham Post as 'a pianist willing to take risks', Rebeca Omordia has performed intensively as a soloist and with orchestras in prestigious venues in Europe and in the United States including Birmingham Town Hall, White Hall in Helsinki, Romanian Athaeneum and Radio Hall in Bucharest. Live performances include BBC Radio 3, Romanian National Radio and Romanian National Cultural Channel. In 2015 the John Ireland Trust sponsored her 'John Ireland' Tour of UK and Romania which included highly acclaimed performances of the composer's Piano Sonata, Legend for Piano and Orchestra, several outstanding miniatures and the Cello Sonata.

Rebeca is a great advocate of Nigerian classical music. In 2013 she formed a partnership with his Excellency Nigeria High Commissioner in London to promote Nigerian classical music to the UK audience. She performed piano works by Nigerian composers at the 2015 Bradfield Festival in the UK, at the 2013 African and African - American Music Festival in St Louis, USA and for the African Union’s 50th Anniversary Concert in London.

Rebeca has made a name for herself as a vibrant and exciting virtuoso who is demand throughout the UK and abroad. She has worked and performed with world renowned artists including Amy Dickson, Raphael Wallfisch, Răzvan Suma, Jiaxin Lloyd Webber and Mark Bebbington.

On 24th June 2016, Rebeca received Honorary Membership Award (HonBC) from Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham City University.

"I’ve been working with the brilliant young pianist, Rebeca Omordia. She is half Romanian, half Nigerian – and it’s a powerful combination! ... Rebeca’s technique knows no bounds but, more importantly, she plays with a depth of insight and understanding which is all too rare today." (Julian Lloyd Webber)

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