Adrian Leaper - The Best of Adrian Leaper (2024)
Artist: Adrian Leaper
Title: The Best of Adrian Leaper
Year Of Release: 2024
Label: Naxos
Genre: Classical
Quality: FLAC (tracks)
Total Time: 141:26 min
Total Size: 617 MB
WebSite: Album Preview
Tracklist:Title: The Best of Adrian Leaper
Year Of Release: 2024
Label: Naxos
Genre: Classical
Quality: FLAC (tracks)
Total Time: 141:26 min
Total Size: 617 MB
WebSite: Album Preview
01. Enigma Variations: Nimrod
02. 4 Characteristic Waltzes, Op. 22: No. 1. Valse bohémienne
03. Old English Suite: John Dowland: Lachrymae Pavan
04. The Yellow River Piano Concerto: II. Ode to the Yellow River
05. Henry VIII: No. 1, Morris Dance
06. Andante festivo, JS 34b (Version for string orchestra)
07. The Westminster Waltz
08. Symphony No. 6, FS 116, CNW 30 "Sinfonia semplice": III. Proposta Seria: Adagio
09. Sketch of a Dandy: Sketch of a Daddy
10. España
11. Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17, "Little Russian": III. Scherzo. Allegro molto vivace
12. No. 2, Last Spring
13. Petite suite de concert, Op. 77: III. Un Sonnet d'Amour
14. London Suite "London Everyday": III. Knightsbridge - In Town Tonight
15. The Planets, Op. 32: IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity
16. Boléro, M. 81 (Featured in "10")
17. Symphony No. 5, Op. 50, FS 97, CNW 29: IV. Andante un poco tranquillo - Allegro
18. Pomp and Circumstance, Op. 39: Military March No. 1 in D Major, Op. 39, "Pomp and Circumstance"
19. Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47: II. Adagio di molto
20. Where the Rainbow Ends Suite: No. 1a Rainbow Land (Version for orchestra)
21. Marche slav, Op. 31, TH 45: Marche slave (Slavonic March), Op. 31 [Live]
22. Lady Radnor's Suite: V. Slow Minuet
23. Robin Hood Suite: III. March of the Bowmen
24. Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39: III. Scherzo. Allegro
25. Serenade in E Minor, Op. 20: II. Larghetto
26. In a Persian Market
27. In memoriam, Third Scene
Adrian Leaper is a conductor internationally known more through recordings than personal appearances, although his career has taken him throughout Europe. Leaper has made more than 100 albums, mostly of large-scale romantic music and British light classics, predominantly for the Naxos/Marco Polo and ASV labels.
Born in the U.K. in 1953, Leaper studied at the Royal Academy of Music and served several seasons as co-principal horn in the Philharmonia Orchestra before switching exclusively to conducting. In 1986, after an international competition, Leaper was selected as assistant conductor of the Hallé Orchestra, a post he held for five years. It was during this period that he began recording, at first mainly with Czech and Slovak orchestras, for Naxos. Upon the expiration of his Hallé contract, Leaper entered a period of extensive guest conducting, making the rounds of European radio and provincial orchestras, as well as the leading orchestras of London. In 1994, he became director of the Orquesta Filharmónia de Gran Canaria, a position he held for seven years. With this ensemble, Leaper became more interested in Spanish repertory and made some 40 recordings. In September 2001, he shifted his activity to the RTVE Symphony Orchestra in Madrid, serving as music director.
Leaper's Nielsen symphony cycle on Naxos was generally well-received in the mid-'90s, and his recordings often find favor with critics for their sense of musical architecture and for Leaper's ability to make secondary orchestras play well. On the other hand, Leaper is sometimes faulted, though not generally by reserved British critics, for somewhat staid readings of passionate music by the likes of Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Sibelius. He continued to record for Naxos into the new century but also released albums on Arte Nova, ASV, and other labels. He has been an enthusiastic champion of British light music (his 1994 album of music by Edward German with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra rose to top classical chart levels in 2022) and of lesser-known repertory. In 2016, Leaper led the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in an album of music by José Luis Greco for Naxos' American Classics series. ~ James Reel & James Manheim
Born in the U.K. in 1953, Leaper studied at the Royal Academy of Music and served several seasons as co-principal horn in the Philharmonia Orchestra before switching exclusively to conducting. In 1986, after an international competition, Leaper was selected as assistant conductor of the Hallé Orchestra, a post he held for five years. It was during this period that he began recording, at first mainly with Czech and Slovak orchestras, for Naxos. Upon the expiration of his Hallé contract, Leaper entered a period of extensive guest conducting, making the rounds of European radio and provincial orchestras, as well as the leading orchestras of London. In 1994, he became director of the Orquesta Filharmónia de Gran Canaria, a position he held for seven years. With this ensemble, Leaper became more interested in Spanish repertory and made some 40 recordings. In September 2001, he shifted his activity to the RTVE Symphony Orchestra in Madrid, serving as music director.
Leaper's Nielsen symphony cycle on Naxos was generally well-received in the mid-'90s, and his recordings often find favor with critics for their sense of musical architecture and for Leaper's ability to make secondary orchestras play well. On the other hand, Leaper is sometimes faulted, though not generally by reserved British critics, for somewhat staid readings of passionate music by the likes of Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Sibelius. He continued to record for Naxos into the new century but also released albums on Arte Nova, ASV, and other labels. He has been an enthusiastic champion of British light music (his 1994 album of music by Edward German with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra rose to top classical chart levels in 2022) and of lesser-known repertory. In 2016, Leaper led the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in an album of music by José Luis Greco for Naxos' American Classics series. ~ James Reel & James Manheim
