Favourite Orchestral Classics

Sixteen composers drawn from three centuries of memorable music range from the brilliant heraldic flourish of Charpentier’s Te Deum Prelude (made internationally popular as the signature tune of the European Broadcasting Union) to Stravinsky’s agenda-changing The Firebird, with its beautiful Lullaby.

There is yearning romance in Prokofiev’s ‘The Young Juliet’ and Mascagni’s Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana, thrilling fantasy in Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream Scherzo, ecstatic energy in Khachaturian’s Sabre Dance (Gayane), infectious high spirits in Copland’s Hoe-Down (Rodeo) and the sylvan beauty of On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring by Delius. Other highlights include unforgettable classic moments from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (the delightful ‘Le Caprice de Nanette’), Bizet (the lilting Minuet from L’Arlésienne with its novel use of saxophone), Bach (the sublime Sheep May Safely Graze) and Puccini (Suor Angelica’s melody-rich Intermezzo).

Completing the wide-ranging recital are Grieg’s festive Wedding Day at Troldhaugen and evocative Norwegian Rustic March, the haunting scene-setting introduction to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, and Debussy’s vividly impressionistic En bateau.

Iain Sutherland’s previous SOMM releases include the “impressive… fully recommended” (Musical Opinion) Bernstein: Broadway to Hollywood (Ariadne 5002) and In London Town (SOMMCD 0117) with its “sparkling performances of some of the cream of light music” (MusicWeb International). His two volumes of Great Classic Film Music (Ariadne 5006/5009) received wide acclaim, Classical Music Daily declaring Sutherland makes “the music sound even more exciting than it was thought to be”.