NB 2.30pm start

Pavlova Winds
Jeremy Salter flute, Wendy Marks oboe, Barbara Stuart clarinet, Jenny Morgan horn, Simon Payne bassoon
with Malcolm Pearce piano

Paul Reade (1943-97) Cinderella

A musical fairy-tale arranged for piano and winds by Jan Willem Nelleke. Words by Michael Cole

Perhaps best-known for his work for television and ballet, Reade had an active career in composition. It was in the late sixties that Reade moved to BBC TV, where he worked as a pianist and songwriter for the children’s programme Playschool. His extensive work in children’s television early in his career enabled him to develop and perfect his style of composing. Reade composed works for children throughout his career, and composed notable works such as Cinderella (1980), and The Midas Touch (1982), both of which were broadcast on Radio 3.  Reade’s credits for television include the series The Victorian Kitchen Garden, Jane Eyre, The Flumps, and Antiques Roadshow..

His Cinderella for narrator and orchestra has been arranged for piano and winds by Jan Willem Nelleke, the Dutch composer and pianist (whose wife Phillipa Davies was married to Paul Reade).

Jim Parker (1934-2023) Mississippi Five

Jim Parker was a prolific British composer known for his film and television music, including themes for Midsomer Murders and Foyle’s War. His Mississippi Five is an inventive, 1920s-style suite for wind quintet that pays tribute to jazz greats of the era. The composition uses free cadenzas and tempo manipulations, allowing for virtuosic solos for all players.

The suite consists of five distinct movements, each referencing a specific aspect or artist from early jazz history:

• King Oliver Steps Out:A tribute to the cornetist and bandleader King Oliver, a key figure in New Orleans jazz and a mentor to Louis Armstrong.
• Blues for Johnny Dodds:A movement dedicated to the influential jazz clarinetist Johnny Dodds, known for his deep, expressive sound in blues and early jazz recordings.
• The River Queen:This movement evokes the atmosphere of a steamboat, likely referencing the riverboats that carried jazz music up and down the Mississippi River.
• Le Tombeau de Bessie Smith:Titled “The Tomb of Bessie Smith,” this piece is a solemn homage to the legendary “Empress of the Blues,” whose powerful vocals defined the genre.
• Les Animaux:French for “The Animals,” this movement’s specific inspiration is less documented in the provided notes but likely captures a playful or character-based scene, fitting the descriptive nature of the other movements.