Scott: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra/ Symphony No. 1 Orchestral & Concertos Chandos

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Paul Watkins sounds superb and, as before,Martyn Brabbins is an admirable exponent.

Gramophone

This is in some ways the most revealing of the issues in Brabbin’s Cyril Scott series for Chandos, with works from opposite ends of his long career, the Symphony No 1 of 1899 and the Cello Concerto of 1937. The Symphony is more traditional than Scott’s later symphonies, with its clean-cut thematic material This was before Scott acquired a French flavour in his music, and the result is very attractive. The Cello Concerto, beautifully played with Paul Watkins as soloist, is in a conventional three movements, with the fast outer movements separated by a reflective Pastoral for unaccompanied cello, before the jolly, sparkling finale. A first-rate disc, very well recorded. The Penguin Guide - 1000 Greatest Classical Recordings 2011-12

If music is the food of love, love is certainly the food of music – in terms of the convincing performances here; I am sure Paul Watkins, Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Philharmonic fully enjoyed bringing these works to our attention. The sound quality is outstanding and this most worthwhile CD is strongly recommended.

International Record Review

Chandos brings more lost British music back to life with this instantly enjoyable, well-recorded disc. Scott’s First Symphony of 1899 is beguilingly tuneful. But the main prize is the 1937 Cello Concerto, never performed, it seems, before this studio recording. Watkins’s keening tone is a delight, and the BBC Philharmonic , under Martyn Brabbins, bask in Scotts iridescent harmonies. Prepare for long singing lines, oriental tinges, and a wistful, mystical haze. I love it.

The Times

Neither work has deserved such total obscurity… The Cello Concerto… has a large, rhapsodically meditative first movement succeeded by a very short ‘pastoral intermezzo’ and a lively, capering finale with some slightly grotesque elements. The Delian rhapsodising and chromatic harmony are kept in check by a fine sense of structural balance and the piece seems very effectively written for the solo instrument as well as beautifully and lushly scored. Paul Watkins is an eloquent soloist and Martyn Brabbins directs taut but sympathetic performances.

BBC Music Magazine

Cellist Paul Watkins, whose playing in Elgar’s Cello Concerto impressed me in a Proms concert recording… is just as wonderful here. Every note is clear, his tone is beautiful, and he never stops singing. The orchestral playing is exemplary in both works, as is the leadership of conductor Brabbins. The sound is up to Chandos standards, and Foreman’s notes do the job.

American Record Guide

The rediscovery of the music of Cyril Scott (1879-1970) continues with this premiere recording of hi cello concerto of 1937. Paul Watkins is the versatile soloist and Martyn Brabbins the authoritative conductor.

Sunday Telegraph

There’s a real discovery here, perhaps the best justification so far for Chandos’s decision to record all of Cyril Scott’s orchestral works. The Cello Concerto… Watkins is a wonderfully convincing soloist. And Martyn Brabbins makes a good case for the early, and understandably less individual, First Symphony.

The Guardian

Paul Watkins makes a good case for the concerto, responding to both its lyricism and its freshness. Martyn Brabbins inspires lithe and wholesome playing from the BBC Philharmonic here and in the inventive symphony.

The Telegraph

One of today’s most significant and exciting recording projects in recovering the English musical past is the series of Chandos releases devoted to the little-known music of Cyril Scott (1879-1970). Superbly conducted by Martyn Brabbins and co-produced and annotated by repertoire consultant Lewis Foreman, these recordings are uncovering repertoire splendours from an especially neglected corner of the 20th century.

Fanfare

Watkins billows through the broad melodic lines of the lyrical 1937 Cello Concerto, while Brabbins moulds deeply evocative accounts of the 1899 First Symphony.

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