performed by Delmé Quartet, available on iTunes or from Hyperion (cover image by Paul Morris) Robert Simpson’s fifth string quartet dates from 1974 and is the second of the three quartets (4-6) that make up a small set of quartets … Continue reading Simpson String Quartet no. 5
performed by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Vernon Handley, available on iTunes or Hyperion (cover image by Robson Hatsukami Morgan) (this piece is featured on a list of pieces I heartily recommend to music directors for inclusion on their season … Continue reading Simpson Symphony no. 4
performed by no one, at least not anymore (cover image by Ira Selendripity) This piece almost doesn’t exist. In preparing this stretch of pieces for the Editor’s Choice series, I knew it would be difficult to find a recording of Simpson’s violin … Continue reading Simpson Violin Concerto
performed by the Delmé Quartet, available digitally basically nowhere but the iTunes store or Hyperion (cover image by Serge Kutuzov) Ah, Robert Simpson, the real inspiration behind the Editor’s Choice series, and someone I discovered just by digging through forums … Continue reading Simpson String Quartet no. 4
performed by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Vernon Handley (Very unfortunately no YouTube today, but if you have even the slightest inkling of interest, go buy this album, on which also appears the fourth symphony. It’s superb.) (cover image by Abigail … Continue reading Simpson Symphony no. 2
performed by the Delmé Quartet (cover image by Cassie Boca) We will in due course get to the composer’s fourth, fifth, and sixth quartets, which are their own trilogy with a spiritual connection to Beethoven’s three Razumovsky quartets. This third … Continue reading Simpson String Quartet no. 3
performed by the Delmé Quartet (cover image by Larm Rmah) As the first and really core composer behind the new Editor’s Choice series, we’ll have a few articles on Simpson’s music, doing a bit of catching up with his earlier stuff since … Continue reading Simpson String Quartet no. 2
performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Vernon Handley, or below by the London Symphony Orchestra under Jascha Horenstein (this piece is featured on a list of pieces I heartily recommend to music directors for inclusion on their season programs. … Continue reading Simpson Symphony no. 3
performed by the Delmé Quartet (Sorry, no YouTube this week, but I’m going to be linking below to program notes from Hyperion, who sells physical and digital copies of this music here. It’s also available on iTunes.) I’m very glad … Continue reading Simpson String Quartet no. 1
performed by Richard Watkins, horn; Pauline Lowbury, violin; Christopher Green Armytage, piano (Sorry, no dice on YouTube for today’s piece, but if you want to preview it, you can do so at Hyperion’s page for the piece, whence comes much … Continue reading Simpson Trio for horn, violin and piano
Fugue for Thought 