Stephen Brown: News

Shadow of a Leaf, a 10 song cycle sung as one movement.
7:30 PM, Friday, May 1, 2009, St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, Sidney, BC
7:30 PM, Sunday, May 3, 2009, Alix Goolden Hall, Victoria Conservatory of Music, Victoria, BC
Nancy Washeim - soprano, Masako Hockey - marimba

Piano Concerto
7:30 PM, Friday, May 1, 2009, St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, Sidney, BC
7:30 PM, Sunday, May 3, 2009, Alix Goolden Hall, Victoria Conservatory of Music, Victoria, BC
Robert Holliston - piano, Sidney Classical Orchestra, composer - conductor.

"Stephen Brown has written a cracking good piano concerto with lots of drive and invention." Robin Wood, Principal Emeritus, Victoria Conservatory of Music.

"Stephen Brown's piano concert is a powerful work with many remarkable moments. The emerging strong allegro from the shimmering vibrant opening of the first movement contrast with the warn string melody and impressionistic colours of the piano in the second movement. The almost barbarous duet between the piano and percussion in the third movement leaves the listener breathless as the piece rushes to an exhilarating climax." Janos Sandor, Permanent Guest Conductor - Hungarian State Opera, Music Director of the University of Victoria Orchestra and Chorus.

NOW ON SALE: Seconda Pratica, a CD of the 17 movement work Seconda Pratica

Seconda Pratica, for Eleanor, was commissioned by Ian Reid as a gift for his wife, Eleanor Reid, to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on December 27, 2008.

Seconda Pratica, a 17 movement work, is divided into three sections. The first two sections are similar. They begin with slow, lyrical arias, the Canticum and Divisio, which are followed by six two-voice inventions. Section three, consisting of three movements, begins as did section one and two, with a slow movement, a Praeludium, which is followed by a three-voice fugue. This section, and the work as a whole, ends with a fantasy, the Imaginatio, which incorporates a variation of the first aria, the Canticum from section one, and the Inventio in B Flat Major from section two. The key structure of the movements is interesting. Rather that using Bach's major-tonic minor system which ascends by steps in the 15 Inventions and Sinfonias, and the two books of 24 Preludes and Fugues, or the system used by Chopin and Shostakovich, major-relative minor, ascending by perfect fifths, Brown has chosen to combine these approaches. His system, for the inventions and the fugue, major-tonic minor, ascending by fifths, is also embellished by the tonic minor keys of the arias which proceed each section and the full circle return of C minor-C major in the Imaginatio which concludes the work.

Duration: 40:08


NOW ON SALE from this website
Seconda Pratica CD $15.00 + $3.00 shipping = $18.00

Or purchase from Sikora's Classical Records
432 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada
tel. 886.685.0625 (toll free)
http://www.sikorasclassical.com/

Or purchase or download at CDBaby
Seconda Pratica CD $15.00 + shipping
Seconda Pratica MP3 download $9.99