Born in 1906 in West Yorkshire in England, Arnold Cooke read history at Cambridge, though he was then already aspiring to a career in music. His subsequent study with Paul Hindemith in Berlin proved to be a critical influence, as evident in the striking similarities between Hindemith’s Clarinet Sonata in B (1938) and Cooke’s Sonata, written in 1959. I first discovered the music of Cooke on a ultra-rare cd on Titanic Records called "Something Old, Something New" which i bought for a Hovhaness work, indeed perhaps the rarest Hovhaness piece that's been recorded- The "Sextet for Recorder, String Quartet, and Harpsichord". The Cooke work on the disc is wonderful, his "Concerto for Recorder & String Orchestra". It really impressed me and soon I was hungry to find every Arnold Cooke recording that I could. I will post it tonight when I have the time.
Arnold Cooke's studies with Paul Hindemith are evident in many of his compositions (although more lyrical usually than Hindemith) which for me is a real plus. He is, needless to say, an original voice and deserves much more recognition (although he is here presented on Naxos...a very good sign). As I bought this digitally rather recently and haven't played it enough, perhaps twice-I have impressions, all very positive however I do not like to talk about compositions until I have more of a true feeling for them..
Tonight I will be posting (at least) Cooke's Recorder Concerto and his Clarinet Concerto. Enjoy..
Arnold_Cooke_Three_String_Sonatas_Tz.zip
http://www32.zippyshare.com/v/40163551/file.html
1 comment:
Please, can you re-upload the link? Thanks so much!
Post a Comment