LAN283 - Clifford Benson Piano Works

Buy this release

£12.00 + p&p
All major currencies accepted

buy cd | check out

2Checkout.com, Inc. is an authorised reseller of Landor Records Ltd

mp3 download (320 kbps)

Full release: £7.99
Individual tracks from £0.79

buy mp3s

Share with: Facebook | other

'In this series of brief miniatures and vignettes, the character of Benson is ever-present: the music and the music-making are utterly natural and unforced...both refreshing and invigorating.'
International Record Review

'A delightful tribute to an engaging and much-missed musician.'
Gramophone

View all reviews for this release.

Artists
Michael Dussek, piano
John Reid, piano (track 19)

Description
Classic Album Recommendation, Classic FM

Throughout his distinguished career, Clifford Benson formed long-lasting partnerships with prominent performers including clarinettist Dame Thea King, violinist Levon Chilingirian, flautist William Bennett, and also worked with singers including Ian Partridge and Stephen Varcoe.

Although he was internationally regarded as a performer, it is less well known that Clifford Benson was also a gifted composer and this recording, personally overseen and endorsed by Benson shortly before his tragic death from a brain tumour last year, presents a profusion of colours and moods and captures the spirit of this much-loved character.

Clifford Benson had intended to record the repertoire himself in his 60th birthday year, but the illness had caused him to lose the use of his right arm and so he turned to a trusted friend and colleague, the hugely respected pianist Michael Dussek.

From the poignant strains of ‘Romance d’amour’ and ‘Consolation’, to the witty jazz inflections of ‘Mozart Goes To Town’ and the compositional grand tour of ’18 Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’, which alludes to composers from Bach to Scott Joplin, it is clear that Clifford Benson was a master of the piano miniature and his music is likely to win him a new audience that never heard him perform live.

Booklet Notes

Click [here] to download booklet notes.

Track Listing

Clifford Benson (1946 - 2007)

(from Six Pieces)
1	Romance d'amour	1.48


(from Six Pieces)
2	Humoresque	2.20


(from Six Pieces)
3	Au revoie, Sylvie	1.46


(from Six Pieces)
4	Consolation	3.22


(from Six Pieces)
5	Petite Burlesque	1.31


(from Six Pieces)
6	Arabesque	1.29


(from Variations on Frère Jacques)
7	Theme	0.16


(from Variations on Frère Jacques)
8	Variation 1	0.17


(from Variations on Frère Jacques)
9	Variation 2	0.16


(from Variations on Frère Jacques)
10	Variation 3	0.19


(from Variations on Frère Jacques)
11	Variation 4	0.20


(from Variations on Frère Jacques)
12	Variation 5	0.14


(from Variations on Frère Jacques)
13	Variation 6	0.30


(from Variations on Frère Jacques)
14	Variation 7	0.23


(from Variations on Frère Jacques)
15	Variation 8	1.43


(from Three Pieces)
16	Rondo	2.05


(from Three Pieces)
17	Spanish Dance	1.24


(from Three Pieces)
18	Little March	2.56



19	Mozart Goes To Town (for piano duet)	6.04



20	Réflexions	3.47


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
21	Petite Prélude - Debussy	0.26


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
22	Tema	0.17


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
23	Variation 1: Overture - Rossini	0.19


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
24	Variation 2: Rhapsody	0.32


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
25	Variation 3: Intermezzo	0.28


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
26	Variation 4: Cantus Firmus No.1	0.39


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
27	Variation 5: March - Prokofiev	0.32


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
28	Variation 6: Romance - Elgar	0.36


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
29	Variation 7: Scherzetto	0.24


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
30	Variation 8: Scherzino	0.37


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
31	Variation 9: Cantus Firmus No.2	0.40


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
32	Variation 10: Valse - Chopin	0.47


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
33	Variation 11: Canon	0.16


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
34	Variation 12: Tango	1.36


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
35	Variation 13: Rag - Scott Joplin	0.55


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
36	Variation 14: Frère Jacques	0.44


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
37	Variation 15: Rondo - Mozart	0.43


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
38	Variation 16: Waltz - Brahms	1.05


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
39	Variation 17: Swingle	1.00


(from Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
40	Variation 18: Finale	2.08

	Total Timing	47.46

Other Recordings

chamber
LAN275: Grand Duo (Arada Guitar Duo)
LAN277: Someone To Watch Over Me (Pavão Quartet)
LAN284: Mediterranean (Arada Guitar Duo)

ensemble
LAN287: Górecki (Chamber Domaine)

orchestral
LAN282: Haydn Symphonies & Divertimenti (Sinfonia Classica)
LAN288: Veronika Ilinskaya, Piano (Veronika Ilinskaya)

solo instrumental
LAN274: Libor Novacek (Libor Novacek)
LAN278: Liszt (Libor Novacek)
LAN281: Moments Musicaux (Evelina Puzaite)
LAN285: Brahms (Libor Novacek)
LAN286: Ilona Timchenko, piano (Ilona Timchenko)
LAN289: James Barralet, cello (James Barralet)
LAN290: Liszt Suisse (Libor Novacek)

song
LAN279: The Curlew (Andrew Kennedy)
LAN280: Byrdland (Lawrence Zazzo)