A rare example in the modern world of father and son composers of similar distinction, both Lennox Berkeley and Michael Berkeley have in turn reached a position of prominence and influence in British musical life. They are represented on this disc by works showing their craftsmanship in tailoring works to particular performers and occasions, without compromising their individual language and vision.

Lennox Berkeley’s two-piano Concerto, written in one of the most fertile periods of his career, is a highly effective showpiece for its soloists, which nevertheless avoids the obvious in terms of form and treatment. Lennox Berkeley wrote his Concerto for two pianos in 1948 in response to a commission from the Henry Wood Concert Society. The medium of the double Concerto was a comparatively unusual one, though there were significant precedents in works by Berkeley’s idol Mozart, and also Brahms and Poulenc. Berkeley himself said in a programme note that his intention was ‘to contrast the sound of two pianofortes with that of the orchestra, avoiding thereby the familiar textures of the ordinary one-pianoforte concerto. The soloists, therefore, are nearly always used as a unit, and not as individuals.’

Michael Berkeley’s Gregorian Variations for large orchestra was completed in 1982, with the premise ‘to make it accessible to a lay audience at first hearing’. He chose to base it on the Gregorian plainchant he had absorbed as a boy chorister in Westminster Cathedral. Despite its title, the work does not consist of variations on a single theme, but is a continuous fantasia based on a number of different chant melodies. In the years after the Gregorian Variations, Michael Berkeley’s style has undergone considerable development, with results that are apparent in the Concerto for Orchestra of 2004/5. The music is more consistent, without stylistic references: it is much more chromatic and less obviously tonal or modal, though key-centres remain as points of anchorage beneath the surface.

This final volume concludes one of Britain’s most important recording projects in recent years, and the complete series provides an important document of Twentieth Century British music. A collector’s dream.

Premiere recordings of Gregorian Variations and Concerto for Orchestra ‘Seascapes’ and the only available recording of Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra.

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Condition	Description
New	Brand new item, only ever sourced from the official UK distributor. Usually seal-wrapped, although a minority of labels do not use seal-wrap.
Used - Mint	Used item in excellent condition. Not usually seal-wrapped.
Used - Good	Used item with some minor signs of wear and tear. Never seal-wrapped.
Used - Acceptable	Used item with obvious scuffs or cosmetic damage to the case or booklet. Never seal-wrapped.

Condition	Description
New	Brand new item, only ever sourced from the official UK distributor. Usually seal-wrapped, although a minority of labels do not use seal-wrap.
Used - Mint	Used item in excellent condition. Not usually seal-wrapped.
Used - Good	Used item with some minor signs of wear and tear. Never seal-wrapped.
Used - Acceptable	Used item with obvious scuffs or cosmetic damage to the case or booklet. Never seal-wrapped.

The Berkeley Edition: Volume 6

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Contents

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Works

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