As for the Stanford concertos....? Well they certainly will not scare the horses They are works of Stanford's youth, very much in the Mendelssohn and Schumann tradition. Evidently the composer had no great interest in attempting to dust them off during his lifetime. He went on to write far better and more interesting music. Do they deserve a cd recording? Well obviously some people think so.....but I can think of more deserving causes! Not a cd I am likely to play often but my sense of "duty" to the cause of British music etc etc.
I am glad I did not buy the Stanford CD. I appreciate that many love Stanford's music. Schumann I love. Stanford in Schumann mode is not for me.
So far as the annoyance of many at the SACD Bonus Track on the Ina Boyle CD not being accessible for most, I am just glad that Dutton - albeit with some crowdfunding support - issued such a fine CD by a relatively obscure composer. Having worked, until very early retirement, for 28 years in commercial private legal practice, and spent time listening to owners of businesses and company finance directors complaining of their struggles to cope in financially challenging times, I would not feel confident in criticising companies, like Dutton, who issue such an enterprising release like the Ina Boyle CD (packed with a lot of music) which, I presume, may be may be loss making or of limited profitability, on a point that, for me, is a relatively minor disappointment.
