Arnold, Schönberger & Gipps: Horn Concertos Ben Goldscheider, Philharmonia Orchestra & Lee Reynolds

• Malcolm Arnold (1921 - 2006): Horn Concerto No. 2, Op. 58:
• 1 Arnold: Horn Concerto No. 2, Op. 58: I. Con energico 05:24
• 2 Arnold: Horn Concerto No. 2, Op. 58: II. Andante grazioso 05:24
• 3 Arnold: Horn Concerto No. 2, Op. 58: III. Vivace 03:54
• Christoph Schönberger (b. 1966): Horn Concerto in F Major:
• 4 Schönberger: Horn Concerto in F Major: I. Andante 10:50
• 5 Schönberger: Horn Concerto in F Major: II. Adagio non troppo 11:47
• 6 Schönberger: Horn Concerto in F Major: III. Rondo. Allegro moderato 07:33
• Ruth Gipps (1921 - 1999): Horn Concerto, Op. 58:
• 7 Gipps: Horn Concerto, Op. 58: I. Con moto 06:56
• 8 Gipps: Horn Concerto, Op. 58: II. Scherzo. Allegretto 04:13
• 9 Gipps: Horn Concerto, Op. 58: III. Finale. Allegro ritmico 06:10
• Total Runtime 01:02:11

Info zu Arnold, Schönberger & Gipps: Horn Concertos

This recording not only celebrates multiple centenaries of Malcolm Arnold, Ruth Gipps and Dennis Brain (the dedicatee of the Arnold concerto) who were all born in 1921 - but also three composers whose musical language and worlds bear striking similarities. Both Arnold and Gipps were writing at a time when the grain of musical fashion was going against them. It was composers such as Pierre Boulez, Luigi Nono and Karlheinz Stockhausen from the Darmstadt school who were the intellectual fashion of the time, the music much more experimental, serialist and philosophical in its makeup. In contrast to this, Arnold and Gipps were much more concerned with the listener, the stark reality being that the majority of the public could not love or appreciate music they did not understand. Their resulting musical language, whilst of course unique in their own right, places euphony higher on the priority list than that of the aforementioned composers. With the Horn Concerto in F by Christoph Schönberger, we have a similar situation for the 21st century. The composer describes his work as being in the neo-romantic style, the structure and harmony of the work traditional in nature with a definitively unique and modern aesthetic.

This recording sheds fresh light on works that are in dire need of more performances, as well as highlighting the wonderful potential of the horn as a solo instrument for the 21st century.

"This is a terrific disc, and in many ways a daring one, featuring two rarely performed concertos and a world premiere. You suspect that it was something of a passion project for Goldscheider who performs all three works with great style and devastating aplomb. Lee Reynolds and the [Philharmonia] orchestra follow in similar style, and that both Arnold and Gipps were imaginative orchestrators shows the orchestra off to their advantage." (Planet Hugill)

"Commanding, authoritative performances of three masterly horn concertos... He gives splendid, authoritative accounts of all three concertos. His tone is bewitching, especially in cantabile and legato, and he copes most skillfully with the technical challenges." (MusicWeb International)

"...Goldscheider knocks it off [Arnold Concerto] as if he were playing it in his sleep—except that the energy level of his reading clearly indicates that he was wide awake for this session! Lee Reynolds’ conducting is equally taut and energetic... he clearly has the drive and sparkle to make this music work. Seriously, this young man is destined for stardom on his instrument... "If you want my honest opinion, if Goldscheider were active during Brain’s lifetime, Dennis would have been a bit jealous." (The Art Music Lounge)

Ben Goldscheider, horn
Philharmonia Orchestra
Lee Reynolds, conductor

Ben Goldscheider
Nominated by the Barbican as an ECHO Rising Star, during the 2021/22 season Ben gives recitals at major concert halls including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Musikverein Vienna, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Kölner Philharmonie.

He makes his debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Edward Gardner at the Royal Festival Hall and with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo at the Barbican.

In 2022 he returns to the Pierre Boulez Saal to give a solo recital and to Wigmore Hall with Mahan Esfahani, Nicholas Daniel and Adam Walker.

Highlights over the last year have included the release by Three Worlds Records of Legacy: A Tribute to Dennis Brain. He returned to Wigmore Hall and made his debut at the Aldeburgh Festival.

Ben is a member of the Pierre Boulez Ensemble and principal horn of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. He was a prize-winner at the 2019 YCAT International Auditions and a BBC Young Musician Concerto Finalist in 2016.

Lee Reynolds
is a British-born conductor based in Germany, with a reputation for bringing intensity and exceptional detail to his performances. He has led numerous concerts, broadcasts and recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra, recorded Ravel L’Enfant et les Sortilèges with VOPERA and the London Philharmonic Orchestra (which won the Sky Arts Award for Opera), and made his debut recording with the Philharmonia with Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto. Other highlights include conducting Kurt Weill’s Street Scene at the Opéra de Monte Carlo, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin with Nederlandse Reisopera, four world premieres at Glyndebourne, performances with the New Russian State Symphony Orchestra, the Dublin Concert Orchestra, the Beethoven Academy Orchestra in Kraków, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Lee is the Associate Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.

Philharmonia Orchestra
Founded in 1945, the Philharmonia is a world-class symphony orchestra for the 21st century. Based in London at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, and with a thriving national and international touring schedule, the Philharmonia creates thrilling performances for a global audience.

Santtu-Matias Rouvali is the Orchestra’s sixth Principal Conductor, following in the footsteps of Otto Klemperer, Riccardo Muti, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Christoph von Dohnányi and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

The Philharmonia is a registered charity that relies on funding from a wide range of sources to deliver its programme and is proud to be generously supported by Arts Council England. It performs around 50 concerts a year at its Southbank Centre home. Under its key conductors, the Philharmonia has created a series of critically-acclaimed, visionary projects, distinctive for both their artistic scope and supporting live and digital content.

The Philharmonia is orchestra-in-residence at venues and festivals across England: Bedford Corn Exchange, De Montfort Hall in Leicester, The Marlowe in Canterbury, Anvil Arts in Basingstoke, the Three Choirs Festival in the West of England, and Garsington Opera. At the heart of the Orchestra’s residencies is an outreach and engagement programme that empowers people in every community to engage with, and participate in, orchestral music. Internationally, the Philharmonia is active across Europe, Asia and the USA.

The Philharmonia’s reputation in part derives from its extraordinary recording legacy, which in the last 10 years has been built on by its pioneering work with digital technology. VR experiences featuring music by Sibelius, Mahler and Beethoven, placing the viewer at the heart of the orchestra, have been presented at Southbank Centre and internationally.

Booklet für Arnold, Schönberger & Gipps: Horn Concertos