"BRUSHER"
Acoustic guitar music, inspired by the Hampshire countryside ..
There is something in the English nature which makes us venerate, the unusual and the eccentric, be it event, custom, tradition or person. Brusher Mills, was a classic example of the 'person' category. He had tapped into the physic of his generation, he had become a celebrity. Prim young lady's and sporty young men, enjoyed his company, and listened in awe to his worldly wisdom and his country lore. They travelled to the New Forest to have their photos taken with him, or to take pictures of him, to inwardly sneer at this denizen of the greenwood, or to listen with respect during is 'Snake Catching Lessons'. Brusher was a showman and capitalised on the oddity of his chosen, and somewhat vague profession. A profession far removed from the growing materialism of the age in which he lived. These recordings of mainly acoustic guitar music, inspired by the Hampshire countryside, are dedicated to dear old 'Brusher'.
Johann Hummel (1778 - 1837)
The reputation of Hummel has been clouded by time. Born in Pressburg (the modern Bratislava) in 1778, he was a pupil of Mozart and enjoyed a successful career as a pianist and composer. Based on my divine theory, "Any fool can criticises, and most them do", the 'exburks' who find fault with Hummel, don't really matter much, so I have produced 4 CDs, which I think, modestly, are great.
John Field (1782 - 1837)
To the Irish pianist and composer John Field has been credited the invention of the Nocturne, a form later adopted and developed by Chopin. Field was born in Dublin in 1782, the son of a violinist, but moved with his family to London in 1793, perhaps taking violin lessons from Haydn's friend Salomon. He became an apprentice of Clementi, appearing in a series of important London concerts, and later touring widely. After concerts in Russia, he remained in St. Petersburg, where he became a fashionable teacher and performer, moving to Moscow in 1821. Illness brought him, in 1831, to London again, a visit followed by a continental tour and a final return to Moscow, where he died in 1837. Whilst several CDs are in production, one is finished, "Nocturnes", when I sit down and relax, I always play this CD.
Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813 - 1888)
Alkan, born Morhange in Paris in 1813, was among the most gifted piano virtuosi of his time. Much of his life, in particular from 1853 onwards, was spent in eccentric isolation. His remarkable abilities as a pianist, in later years only intermittently displayed, were coupled with an equally remarkable body of keyboard compositions, neglected until recent years. In addition to his musical interests, he maintained his classical and biblical studies, the latter reflecting the Jewish faith into which he had been born and to which he remained loyal throughout his life. This guy was a gifted, but misunderstood genius, who few valued during his life, so I had to research and produce as much of his excellent material as possible. Only one CD so far, but more in production.
