Hyperion’s Romantic Violin Concerto series reaches its tenth volume, and turns to two composers based in England, and works by them which have lain hidden for decades. This disc provides a fascinating glimpse of musical history and the shifting fashions of the age which made fame such a fleeting thing for so many composers.

Frederic Cliffe had a brief but dazzling career as a composer – his Opus 1 was enthusiastically acclaimed, and he continued to write music for performers, including Clara Butt at the peak of her fame. But he disappeared as quickly as he had arrived, and his reputation rests on only six works, including the Violin Concerto in D minor. It was performed by the Budapest-born violinist Tivadar Nachéz, and the finale in particular contains much music in a Hungarian idiom.

Baron Frédéric d’Erlanger was a banker, born in Paris but with a German father and American mother, who moved to London in his teens. He was naturalized British, and for a long time resident in London, where he was involved in promoting music and was later a trustee of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He was also a composer, and although his catalogue of works is not huge, throughout his life there was a steady stream of first performances by the most celebrated artists and orchestras of the day. Many record collectors will have come across him as the composer of the ballet music ‘Les cent baisers’, recorded by Dorati and the London Symphony Orchestra after its success when danced at Covent Garden in 1935.

Hyperion is delighted to welcome back as soloist the popular virtuoso Philippe Graffin, whose earlier outing in this series met with great critical success.

Praise for Volume 1: Saint-Saëns CDA67074 (BBC Music Magazine CD of the Month):
‘Hyperion holds a trump card in Philippe Graffin, whose elegant, emotionally charged playing is strongly reminiscent of the young Menuhin (he has a similar sort of sound) and whose understanding of the idiom seems to me second to none – certainly among modern players’ - Gramophone

‘The delightful surprise here is the Second Concerto, full of youthful exuberance. Philippe Graffin, with rich, firm tone, gives performances full of temperament, warmly supported by Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish’ - The Guardian

‘All are beautifully crafted, irresistibly violinistic and catchily tuneful. Graffin is a real stylist, a player in the Franco-Belgian tradition with exquisitely sweet and focused tone and enviable bravura in the technical high jinks Saint-Saëns demands of his soloist. A delectable issue’ - The Sunday Times