Divine Art will be adding another exceptionally talented composer to its roster soon. To be recorded later this year, the new album is a celebration of the chamber music of Devon-born composer Ian Stephens, who has made a name for himself with acclaimed works for choir, orchestra, brass band and small ensemble. A cellist himself, his deep love […]

Divine Art’s new-music label, Métier, is to release a new album of solos, duos and a trio by the Macedonian-born composer, violinist and educator Mihailo Trandafilovski — all written for close friends and long-term collaborators: Peter Sheppard Skærved (violin), Neil Heyde (cello), Roger Heaton and Linda Merrick (clarinets), Hugh Millington and Saki Kato (guitars), Roderick Chadwick (piano), and Mihailo himself. The recording will be issued on CD and in all digital formats in November […]

Divine Art’s new-music division, Métier, is to release an album of music for flute by Irish composer John Buckley. All will be premiere recordings, to be made under the composer’s supervision with engineer Chris Corrigan, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Chris has produced several previous albums for Divine Art and Métier, labels that are developing a strong relationship with the first-class […]

The irrepressible violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved is busy preparing quite a number of recordings, of both modern and ancient music, solo and with his Kreutzer Quartet. Next in line from the Athene label is a fascinating and historically informative collection of music from the cultural centre of Modena, around 1690.  The album contains eight pieces from the collection […]

English harpsichordist Gilbert Rowland is preparing the third volume in his ongoing series presenting the complete Suites for Harpsichord by Johann Jakob Froberger.  The album is to be recorded at Holy Trinity Church, Weston, Hertfordshire on 11-14 July 2022, with engineer John Taylor who produced all of Gilbert’s previous Divine Art and Athene recordings. The first two volumes […]

New signings to the Métier New Music division of Divine Art include composer Dorone Paris and saxophonist Noam Dorembus, both Israelis, though Dorone Paris has been resident in Ireland ten years. They have collaborated on the recording of three modernist/experimental works for saxophone, to be released as a lower-price ‘mini-album’ CD, and digital /streaming options, under the title COAL. The recording, just […]

Following the January 2022 release of the critically acclaimed album of his cello and piano music (DDA 25217), Manchester-based British composer Robin Stevens is currently recording a programme of his chamber music for mixed ensembles, entitled Chasing Shadows. The major work on the disc is Robin’s four-movement Clarinet Quintet, featuring Hallé Orchestra clarinettist Rosa Campos. This piece embraces, in a […]

Sir John Manduell was a pivotal figure in British music, known for his fluent creative thinking, for his own compositions and for his devotion towards the teaching of music.  As the founding Principal of the Royal Northern College of Music he led the college into being a world-leading institution, and is regarded as a most vital inspiration […]

2022 sees the centenary of the death of the Yorkshire composer William Baines (1899-1922). He wrote in the region of 150 pieces in many genres in his brief and parochial life, but it is the piano with which he is most associated. As Gramophone magazine commented on an earlier album of piano music, “The name William Baines may be […]

We mark the passing of composer Nigel Butterley. The Australian composer, teacher, broadcaster, and pianist died in February 2022 at the age of 86. Never reaching fame internationally he was however a highly respected figure in Australian musical circles. He has created a vast body of music and also championed the work of other contemporary Australian […]

Among today’s most gifted pianists, few attract such intense praise and acclamation as Burkard Schliessmann. While not yet perhaps a household name internationally, his concerts and recordings continually receive the most glowing reviews and media attention. In the last few months alone he has been the subject of special features several times in Fanfare (USA) and International Piano (most recently, […]

The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for approximately 260 square miles across the southeast of England, from the Itchen Valley in Hampshire to Beachy Head in the East. This is a beautiful and justly famous landscape that has inspired poets, writers, visual artists and musicians for centuries. A new album […]

George Crumb (1929-2022) was one of the most individual, explorative composers of the 20th century. He died at his home in Media, PA on 6 February 2022. The composer said “Music can be defined as a series of proportions in the service of a divine impulse”. A philosophy which is shared by composers from Bach […]

Divine Art Records is delighted to announce the new album from Andrew Brownell, one of the labels’ latest signings. Titled “Shades of Night” the album is a potpourri of exquisite gems with Romantic overtones though the music ranges from the baroque to the present day. The pianist explains the ethos of the album: “Since the invention of […]

English harpsichordist Gilbert Rowland is preparing the third volume in his ongoing series presenting the complete Suites for Harpsichord by Johann Jakob Froberger. The album is to be recorded at Holy Trinity Church, Weston, Hertfordshire on 11-14 July 2022, with engineer John Taylor who produced all of Gilbert’s previous Divine Art and Athene recordings. The […]

Composer John Casken has won the inaugural 2020 Tippett Medal for The Shackled King, a drama for bass, mezzo-soprano and ensemble based on Shakespeare’s King Lear. The Tippett Medal is a new prize for composition awarded by the Royal Musical Association. Casken said: “To receive the 2020 Tippett Medal is a huge honour. Tippett was […]

Trio de l’Île’s debut release, Babadjanian, Chebotaryan & Piazzolla: Piano Trios, was named a 2021 Recording of the Year by MusicWeb International critic David Barker! When favourite versions of two favourite works are supplanted by performances in the same recording, you know it has to be something special. The Babadjanian trio is given a reading […]

English pianist Roderick Chadwick is having an incredibly busy time in various recording locations and in January he will be recording the second volume of a series which presents Messiaen’s Catalogue d’Oiseaux coupled with works which are linked either in style or subject matter. This follows the well-received issue in October 2020 of the first volume, entitled ‘La Mer […]

Acclaimed and prolific violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved is in full flow with six recording projects underway including contemporary music, ancient works continuing his ‘Great Violins’ series for Divine Art, and more. On this new album he presents the brilliant set of six sonatas for piano and violin D.301-306 by Mozart, with the equally talented and critically praised pianist Daniel-Ben […]

The following comes from fellow Divine Art composer John Turner: Gordon Crosse was born in Bury, Lancashire, where his father worked for the Midland Bank, on 1st December 1937. Though plagued by illness for much of his life (see Crosse’s own notes, appended to this article) his father was a talented amateur pianist, organist and […]