Philip Sawyers: Double Concerto for Violin & Cello, Remembrance for Strings, Concerto for Viola & Orchestra, Octet

“Adding to the appeal of the latest release, all four of the works are world premiere recordings. It's a move consistent with the forward-thinking sensibility of an orchestra and Artistic Director who seven years ago initiated their visionary '21st Century Symphony Project,' which was created to commission, premiere, and record nine new symphonies by leading composers… Though Sawyers writes music that has immediate appeal, it never panders. Immensely well-crafted, the material at times exudes a haunting character reminiscent of Bartok and late Mahler, especially during the music's most chromatic passages. Such echoes notwithstanding, the four settings locate themselves comfortably within the twentieth-century tradition without aping the style of any one composer or suggesting allegiance to a particular school. As an account of Sawyers' considerable gifts, the release offers plenty of satisfactions and testifies to the mutually flattering relationship he's developed with Woods and the ESO.” Ron Schepper, Textura [read complete review]

“In 2009, Philip Sawyers, born in 1951, was commissioned by the Sydenham Festival to write a cello concerto for Maja Bogdanovic. But it then became a double concerto for her and her husband, violinist Daniel Rowland. It opens with a colorful and richly nuanced Allegro moderato, organically developed on long melodic strands. The Andante that follows is wonderfully melodic, the finale contrasting and, though thoughtfully slowed several times, actually very upbeat and essentially serene… Then follows the contemplative, elegiac string work Remembrance, before the program continues with the Viola Concerto from 2020. It begins with an Allegro rich in motifs, but its light orchestration allows the viola’s sound to take center stage sonorously. In the central Andante, the viola engages in a kind of soliloquy, mostly framed only by some winds. The concluding Allegro also contains virtuosic passages, but also often remains very pensive. And at the end, one has the impression of having heard a formally as well as expressively strong work, which, like the other orchestral works, can be heard in an excellent performance. The Octet for clarinet, horn, bassoon, 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass from 2007 consists of a continuous movement in four sections: a very atmospheric, almost tender Adagio, a tipsy Allegro, a dreamily lyrical Andante and another very alert Allegro. And so one can only congratulate the publisher Nimbus for releasing this interesting CD.” www.pizzicato.lu

“To all of you classical music enthusiasts and collectors out there who bemoan the fact that there isn't much in the way of "good" new music to listen to these days, rejoice in the fact that all the works on this new disc are world premiere recordings, and are all in their own way highly impressive examples of "good" new music.” Jean-Yves Duperron, classicalmusicsentinel.com [read complete review]

"…Woods' performance, which deserves unanimous praise, highlights this brilliant bond between the two soloists and the musicians of the English String Orchestra, and the numerous contrasts between the flexible and fluid solos and the orchestral texture, delicate and mysterious. It is worth listening carefully to the Remembrance for Strings and enjoying its evocative motif, accompanied by a pale and soft orchestral timbre. It is a work of tonal language that evokes strong feelings of sadness…The last work on the album, Octet, with clear references to Schubert's work of the same name, consists of four sections without pauses: "Adagio", "Allegro", "Andante" and "Allegro". Some of the interesting aspects of this piece are the contrapuntal writing and interventions of very powerful horn and clarinet solos. Kenneth Woods, a free-spirited and independent conductor, exhibits with rigor and enthusiasm the expressive richness of his orchestra." Nuria Serra, Sonogram Magazine

"This is now the sixth volume of orchestral music by Philip Sawyers on the Nimbus Alliance label and the fifth conducted by Kenneth Woods.  I reviewed the first release back in October 2010 for this website here and ever since have been an enthusiastic admirer of Sawyers’ work. A brief career résumé is probably useful.  On completing his training on violin and composition at London’s Guildhall School, Sawyer spent the best part of a quarter century playing in the orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden.  Those years – 1973-97 – saw little time for composition.  In his own words on his website in 1997 he decided to “opt for a quieter life” and left the orchestra.  The quarter century since then has been far more productive in composition terms – the list of works and dates of composition can be read on the same website...." MusicWeb-International.com Full review here 

"This is now the sixth volume of orchestral music by Philip Sawyers on the Nimbus Alliance label and the fifth conducted by Kenneth Woods.  I reviewed the first release back in October 2010 and ever since have been an enthusiastic admirer of Sawyers’ work… In reviewing the Symphony No.3 recording by the same artists back in 2017 I noted; “this admiration and respect is clearly mutual and not limited to simply a professional relationship …. the close ties between performers and composer goes even further with the 3rd Symphony dedicated to conductor Kenneth Woods …. all of which points to the fact that this is a recording produced and released by a team wholly dedicated to the project – a level of commitment which is palpable throughout”.  This can be echoed again with this new release which underlines the sense that Sawyers has a group of performers around him who inspire him and in turn are passionately supportive of his work.  So the quality of the playing on this disc is never in doubt and indeed the evident conviction of the performers in these works has been a recurring feature of all the discs to date… The following work is the Remembrance for Strings which is firmly in the tradition of elegiac British works for string orchestra.  Its genesis was a commission from a friend to write a work marking the loss of the friend’s mother.  Apparently, she enjoyed Sawyers’ orchestral tone poem Valley of Vision hence Sawyers has included veiled references to that work…This is an immediately attractive and indeed impressive work with the string writing grateful and effective...All in all a genuinely attractive and ‘practical’ addition to the string orchestra repertoire…

Hearing this 2007 work alongside the more recent concerti does seem to underline the idea that Sawyers’ music is moving from a more dissonant knotty place to somewhere of greater clarity and expressive simplicity.  I have to say I enjoy hearing this sense of compositional evolution.  Certainly collectors who have enjoyed this series of discs will find the continuing journey rewarding and compelling.  The list of works on Sawyers’ website shows a further two, as yet unrecorded, symphonies so the hope and expectation must be for further discs of similar stature." Nick Barnard, MusicWeb international

"The Double Concerto for violin and cello is the second work that Philip Sawyers has composed for the prodigiously gifted Maja Bogdanovic´ (the first being the Cello Concerto of 2010 – 10/14). In the booklet, Sawyers notes that writing in the shadow of Brahms was ‘somewhat daunting’, but the (seemingly) effortless lyricism and warm Romanticism of his three movements belie this. Here is a vibrant, melodic work, beautifully laid out for the instruments from first bar to last, and Bogdanovic´ and violinist Daniel Rowland perform it with infectious enthusiasm. The 20th century saw the creation of some magnificent viola concertos: Walton’s, Hindemith’s, Bartók’s and Holmboe’s (7/13) among many. Sawyers’s is worthy of such company, relatively modest in dimensions but punching well above its weight, from the striding theme of the opening Allegro to the breezy scherzando finale. Separating them is a contemplative, grave Andante. Rowland, here on viola, plays it with total belief, his tone exquisite, his understanding with the orchestra absolute.

A memorial for a colleague’s mother, Remembrance for strings (2020 21) incorporates quotes from Sawyers’s tone poem The Valley of Vision (1/19) that she had been rather taken with; a nice touch, and Kenneth Woods and the English String Orchestra respond with sensitivity. The Octet (2007) is scored for the same ensemble as Schubert’s (in which company it was premiered). It packs much into its 15 minutes: tragedy, pathos, a skittish waltz and some lively Hindemithian counterpoint. It is superbly rendered by eight members of the English Symphony Orchestra. Nimbus lists the players in the booklet, mistakenly assigning principal bassoonist Rosemary Cow to second clarinet! Fortunately, their recording, made at Wyastone in 2021, is a model of clear, warm, precise sound. Strongly recommended." Gramophone