The Polish composer Moritz Moszkowski (1854–1925) is best remembered for a handful of virtuoso piano pieces, but he also produced a substantial body of orchestral music, most of it unperformed for a century or more. This third volume presents his very first orchestral work, a strikingly assured Overture in D major, written when he was seventeen, and his last, a sombre, dignified and deeply felt Prelude and Fugue for strings, composed on the death of his mother in 1910. Between them comes Moszkowski’s First Orchestral Suite, from 1885, a joy from start to finish, with one delightful inspiration following another in a daisy-chain of dance-rhythms, memorable tunes and instrumental colour.

“a vividly narrative score, at times nearly “cinematic” before its time. ... Certain passages are highly evocative, such as Joan’s vision, which the composer entrusts to the solo violin and to the harp in the pastorale of the first part. ... one must appreciate its generously overflowing lyricism... Ian Hobson’s conducting avoids bombast; it breathes new life into the fresco by preserving its drama and cohesiveness and restoring its vibrant colors. A promising discovery, this is the first volume in a series of Moszkowski’s orchestral music.” – Didier Van Moere, Diapason découverte awards (TOCC0523: Orchestral Music Vol.1)

“Performances of winning verve and character... [The Troisième Suite] dances along so merrily that, while some might affect a sniffy resistance, it defies you not to be its friend.” – Gramophone, Dec. 2020 (TOCC0557: Orchestral Music Vol.2)

“He’s not a composer for whom depths are there to be plumbed. Rather, he’s a spinner of tunes and character, served up in ingratiating orchestrations that exist to please and titillate. It’s nearly a century since his death in 1925 – he died in destitution - and this series, affectionately played and directed, is doing much to bring his charming, uncomplicated orchestral music to wider notice.” – Musicweb, Oct 2020 (TOCC0557: Orchestral Music Vol.2)