The Orchestral Music of Christopher Gunning
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Energetic and lyrical music from this British composer of film scores and concert works.

Christopher Gunning was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, but spent his childhood in London. He studied composition, piano and percussion at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where his teachers included Edmund Rubbra and Richard Rodney Bennett. For most of his professional life he has composed film and television scores. He currently divides his time between composing for films and television, conducting engagements, and composing his own concert works, the most recent of which was a Saxophone Concerto for John Harle. The composer writes: "I had wanted to write a piano concerto for several years before finally getting to grips with it in 2001. So much contemporary piano music seems to ignore that which I like best - the instrument's ability to sing - and I was interested in doing something which explores the lyrical as well as the percussive qualities of the piano. Storm composed early in 2003 has slow outer sections; apart from those it is pretty noisy and dramatic. It is scored for a large symphony orchestra, and I wrote it shortly after spending some time at the seaside and feeling totally exhilarated by the wind and waves of a violent storm. Symphony No. 1, composed in 2002, continues a process begun a few years previously with my Saxophone Concerto, which was my first concert piece following many years of working in films and TV. It was then that I discovered a penchant for single movement forms which move through many changing emotional moods; I think of them as novels or journeys."
Contents:
Christopher Gunning, composer
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Christopher Gunning, conductor, Olga Dudnik, piano

Christopher Gunning, composer
Storm!
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Christopher Gunning, conductor

Christopher Gunning, composer
Symphony No. 1
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Christopher Gunning, conductor


Review:
"An exhilharating disc, and one which will not disappoint." (MusicWeb International)

"Given Gunning's accomplished musicianship and easily approachable language, thrilling performances by pianist Olga Dudnik, ....and Albany's vivid, voluptuous sonics, this will serve as an admirable introduction to his concert music." (American Record Guide)