The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra led by Rumon Gamba join the very welcome trend of recording Mel Bonis’s orchestral works, composed between 1891 and 1912. Their program features the three-part Les Femmes de Légende, the Suite en forme de valses, the Suite Orientale, Three Dances, Danse sacrée, and Les Gitanos. Soprano Elizabeth Watts is soloist for Noël de la Vierge …

Rumon Gamba directs the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra for this third instalment of his exploration of overtures from the British Isles. As in the case of the previous volumes, the recorded repertoire is rarely played, and the album includes three world premiere recordings: Daniel Jones’s Comedy Overture, Robin Orr’s The Prospect of Whitby, and Alan Bush’s Resolution. Other composers include Havergal …

Rumon Gamba and Oulu Sinfonia present a fascinating picture of Finnish orchestral music, their second program of works from their native land. The album takes its title from Selim Palmgren’s four-movement suite, written in 1904, offering richly atmospheric character pieces celebrating the changing seasons. Several works take inspiration from the natural world, such as Kurkikohtaus (Scene with Cranes) which Sibelius …

Rumon Gamba’s exploration of the music of Ruth Gipps continues with these world premiere recordings of the Fifth Symphony, Violin Concerto, and Leviathan. Composed in 1943 and conceived for her elder brother, Bryan, the Violin Concerto is large in scale and shows remarkable assurance of touch for a twenty-two-year-old composer. Leviathan, for double-bassoon and orchestra, dates from the late 1960s, …

For their third installment of orchestral works by Ruth Gipps, Rumon Gamba and the BBC Philharmonic center the 20th century composer’s Symphony No. 1 and Horn Concerto with soloist Martin Owen. Dated September 1942, the First Symphony is a direct reflection of the horrors of war. The work demonstrates Gipps’s personal voice and features some wonderful writing for winds. Gipps …