In a concert devoted to the songs of Stephen Dodgson “Bow-wow” was the last word. Bow they did, and rightly so, and “wow!” is my response. Stephen Dodgson’s music was completely new to me, and I want to know more about this unique and evocative music.
Stephen Dodgson's Suffolk opera is finally on disc in a performance which does the work full justice ... This is a piece full of delightful textures. He is also careful about text, so much of the opera is in arioso-like recitative, ensuring we can follow yet the textures Dodgson creates mean that we enjoy the result ... Throughout, Dodgson links his scenes with atmospheric orchestral interludes which greatly add to the interest of the opera, and Perkins gets fine performances of these from the members of Perpetuo.
Stephen Dodgson's 4-act opera Margaret Catchpole today! With Stephen Dodgson's evocative music and vivid characterisation, we are immersed in the internal battle between Margaret's own good character and values, and her heartfelt loyalty to Will Laud, a smuggler – the man she loves.
This series of chamber music discs from Toccata Classics has been quite a treat. The Magnard Ensemble has recorded another excellent disc. It highlights the skill and expertise of Stephen Dodgson the composer. The variety of music on this disc, with its complex and varied combinations, has shown the Magnard Ensemble at their very best. Excellent playing and another varied program serve to show what a vastly underrepresented composer Dodgson was.
This collection of Dodgson's chamber music for winds, spanning the years 1958 to 2004, displays an arresting sense for unusual timbral blending, as well an elegant and precise Neoclassical construction that honors Stravinsky.
Announcing the new release of the second instalment of the Toccata recordings of Stephen Dodgson's music for winds, performed by the Magnard Ensemble, combining Dodgson's sense of fun and an occasional spiky vivacity with hints of Baroque formality but also a particularly English strain of lyricism.
The Outcry Ensemble, English Voices and Pegasus choir perform Stephen Dodgson’s full-scale Te Deum alongside Walton’s viola concerto and Belshazzar’s Feast in a truly memorable and epic concert at St John’s Smith Square. Directed by James Henshaw and comprised of young, exceptionally skilled professionals poised to become the next generation of global orchestral leaders, The Outcry Ensemble brings together vibrant energy and captivating performances. Their repertoire programming strikes a balance between cherished classical works and new compositions commissioned from emerging composers. Programme Walton – Viola Concerto Dodgson – Te Deum Walton – Belshazzar’s Feast
Baritone Jon Stainsby, clarinettist Jernej Albreht and string orchestra Concordium present Stephen Dodgson’s vividly autumnal and darkly quirky cantata Last of the Leaves alongside Gerald Finzi’s clarinet concerto and Leoš Janáček’ Suite for Strings, under the baton of Lucy Goddard. Last of the Leaves sets four poems by Austin Dobson, Ernest Rhys, G.K. Chesterton and Harold Monro with prevailing themes of mortality intertwined with or depicted by nature and country life. Programme Janáček – Suite for Strings Dodgson – Last of the Leaves – Cantata for Bass, Clarinet & Strings The Rose and the Gardener (Austin Dobson) The Leaf Burners (Ernest Rhys) The Donkey (G.K. Chesterton) At a Country Dance in Provence[...]
The Magnard Ensemble and a cast of soloists perform Stephen Dodgson’s short chamber opera Cadilly alongside his Sonata for Wind Quintet at Conway Hall. Cadilly, based on one of the Tales from the Fens by W. H. Barrett, tells the story of a beautiful woman and ‘willing maid’ who is loved by the scholars, their tutors and the townsmen alike but jailed for ‘immoral behaviour’! A vibrant and comic piece. Programme Dodgson – Sonata Gipps – The Lady of the Lambs Vaughan Williams – Ten Blake Songs for Soprano and Oboe Arnold – Three Shanties Dodgson – Cadilly Pre-concert talk – 5.30pm Concert – 6.30pm Tickets will be available via[...]