Katherine Bryan, Paul Silverthorne, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Paul Mann - Robin Stevens: Orchestral Music, Vol. 3 (2026) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Mourning into Dancing: I. Introduction. Allegro con spirito, drammatico
02. Mourning into Dancing: II. Lament. Adagio lamentoso
03. Mourning into Dancing: III. Processional. Adagio con moto
04. Mourning into Dancing: IV. Scherzo. Allegro con spirito, ma non troppo
05. Mourning into Dancing: V. Jig and Chorale. Allegro vivo
06. Concert Rondo for Solo Flute & Small Orchestra
07. Viola Concerto: I. Adagio con moto - Risoluto. Allegro non troppo
08. Viola Concerto: II. Scherzo. Allegro moderato
09. Viola Concerto: III. Poco adagio
10. Viola Concerto: IV. Finale. Allegro molto - Poco meno mosso

The compositional career of Robin Stevens (1958–2026), Welsh-born and Manchester-based, was divided into two periods, separated by a period of illness. The first produced mainly chamber music and works for the church that employed him; restored to health (briefly, as it transpired), he found an appetite for larger forms, writing three substantial concertos and a number of other orchestral works. The tone-poem Mourning into Dancing was his first for large orchestra, but he handles the medium with virtuosic assurance, generating a wildly exciting showpiece, a kaleidoscope of colour and rhythm. Stevens never lived to complete the symphony he had in mind, but his expansive, four-movement Viola Concerto is symphonic in outline, with the viola soloist both initiating and commenting on the action – rather like a distant cousin of Berlioz’s Harold en Italie. The more modest Concert Rondo for flute and small orchestra provides light relief between these two mighty scores.

Katherine Bryan, flute
Paul Silverthorne, viola
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Paul Mann, conductor