Moeran: In the Mountain Country Benjamin Frith

• 1Overture for a Masque09:27
• 2In the Mountain Country06:24
• 3Rhapsody No. 1 in F Major11:26
• 4Rhapsody No. 2 in E Major12:17
• 5Rhapsody in F-Sharp Major17:32
• Total Runtime57:06

Info for Moeran: In the Mountain Country

Ernest John Moeran’s Rhapsodies occupy a significant place among his orchestral compositions. Each is marked by melodic exuberance, inventive scoring and formal mastery. Moeran’s gift for imbuing his music with folkloric tunes that are actually his own is especially evident in the First Rhapsody and in his first orchestral work, In the Mountain Country. First performed in 1943, the Rhapsody in F sharp major for piano and orchestra is unashamedly popular in style, with an appealing tunefulness.

„If any orchestra can be said to know these works, then it would have to be the Ulster ensemble… JoAnn Falletta does an equally fine job with it, offering spirited and vigorous renditions.. This isn’t music, after all, that offers much opportunity for huge interpretive variation, but that’s just an indication of how directly expressive and unfussy it is. With excellent sonics, the result is an extremely enjoyable release that deserves wide circulation.“ (David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com)

„I was bowled over by the sound quality of this disc. The playing by the Ulster Orchestra under JoAnn Falletta is sympathetic and committed. The liner-notes by Paul Conway give the listener all the information that is needed to appreciate these delightful works. Benjamin Frith excels himself in the Third Rhapsody. If someone only wishes to own one version of these works, or wants to discover what they sound like, then this is the best version to go for.“ (John France, MusicWeb International)

Benjamin Frith, piano (on tack 5)
Ulster Orchestra
JoAnn Falletta, conductor

Recorded at Ulster Hall, Belfast, UK, on 17th and 18th September, 2012
Produced and edited by Tim Handley
Engineered by Phil Rowlands

Benjamin Frith
was encouraged by his teacher, Dame Fanny Waterman, to pursue a musical career after winning the Dudley National Concerto Competition aged fourteen. Since then he has been a first prizewinner in the Rubinstein Piano Masters Competition where he was also awarded the special prize for chamber music, and was awarded top prize in the Busoni International Piano Competition. With acclaim for his American and Edinburgh Festival debuts, he established himself as an international concert artist, and has given recitals and concerto performances throughout Europe, Northern America, India, Kazakhstan and the Far East. He has appeared with many of the world’s finest orchestras including the Berlin Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, Halle, the BBC orchestras, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, and the Royal Philharmonic, and with such conductors as Zubin Mehta, Antoni Wit, Tamas Vasary, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Matthias Bamert, Moshe Atzmon, Gianandrea Noseda and Sir Mark Elder. His diverse repertoire ranges from Scarlatti to James Macmillan and includes over fifty concertos, and much praise has been bestowed on his recordings. Frith’s enjoyment of chamber music has been fulfilled through his performances and recordings as pianist in the Gould Piano Trio and the formation of his own Piano Quartet.

Booklet for Moeran: In the Mountain Country