Rodney Newton: Orchestral Music, Volume One
The English musician Rodney Newton (b.1945) earned his living as an orchestral timpanist and percussionist, becoming known primarily for his works for brass bands. Until now his substantial output for orchestra has remained completely unknown. This first recording of two early symphonies reveals a composer with a natural sense of melody, drama and colour, and a strong feeling for landscape, in the tradition of such earlier British symphonists as Vaughan Williams and Arnold. The tone poem Distant Nebulae, inspired by Charles Ives’ The Unanswered Question, reflects the vastness of the heavens in music of understated beauty and elegance.
Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra
Andrea Šestaková, violin (Track 2)
David Llavata, trumpet (Track 8)
Paul Mann, conductor
Listen To This Recording:
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Symphony No. 1 (1967–69)
- I Lento – Allegro – Meno mosso – Allegro assai
- II Lento ma con moto
- III Allegro con brio
- I Metamorphoses: Lento – Allegro energico
- II Elegy: Lento
- III Scherzo malevolo: Allegro vivo – Andante – Tempo primo – Moderato
- IV Passacaglia, Variations and Epilogue: L’istesso tempo – Poco piu mosso – Tempo Primo – Adagio – Largo
- Distant Nebulae
Symphony No. 4 (1975)
Distant Nebulae (1979)
FIRST RECORDINGS
MusicWeb International :
they [Málaga Philharmonic] play excellently under guest conductor Paul Mann, and the top-flight recording copes well with the extremes of dynamic encountered in the Symphony No. 4. […]
Well, galactic or not, this is a splendid CD that deserves to succeed on many fronts.’
—Jim Westhead, MusicWeb International