JOHN PICKARD (b. 1963)

The Flight of Icarus

 

The Flight of Icarus (1990)

The Spindle of Necessity for trombone, percussion and strings (1998)

Channel Firing (1993)

 

Christian Lindberg (trombone)

Norrköping Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins

 

British composer John Pickard has been widely praised for his architectural sense and bold handling of an extended tonal idiom. He is best known for a series of powerful orchestral works, of which The Flight of Icarus has met with particular acclaim. After its première at the PROMS The Times critic wrote: “Pickard's score remains airborne over its 20-minute span rather more proficiently than Icarus, leading the ear and imagination with impressive resourcefulness.”

 

All three works on this disc are built around extra-musical images, suggesting an individual sound-world for each piece, as well as a narrative structure. Greek legend provides the subject matter for The Flight of Icarus, and The Spindle of Necessity, a concerto for trombone strings and percussion. Channel Firing, a dark and intense elegy, was inspired by a poem by Thomas Hardy, written shortly before the outbreak of the Great War.

 

These memorable scores are performed by the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra under the distinguished conductor Martyn Brabbins, making his first recording for BIS. The capable soloist in The Spindle of Necessity is Christian Lindberg. “The best thing that's ever happened to the trombone.” Andrew McGregor, bbc.co.uk

 

BIS BISCD1578