The composer, pianist, and conductor Gerard Schurmann (1924 – 2020) was born in Kertosono, Java, which was then part of the Dutch East Indies. The family lived within earshot of the resident gamelan orchestras at the Sultan’s Palace, and hearing the pentatonic scales and intricate rhythms of this traditional Indonesian music made a lasting impression on the young Gerard. During the 1950s and 1960s, Schurmann was best known for his film scores, particularly The Long Arm (1956; CHAN 10979) and Horrors of the Black Museum (1959; CHAN 10979). Man in the Sky is a Concert Overture derived from Schurmann’s score for the eponymous film. The Piano Concerto was written for the great British pianist John Ogdon, who gave the première in November 1973. The work is laid out in two movements, the first rapid and virtuosic, the second broader and more contemplative. Romancing the Strings is a set of six short variations on an original theme which Schurmann wrote originally for a Disney feature that was eventually broadcast as Dr Syn – Alias the Scarecrow (CHAN 10979). The programme concludes with Gaudiana, a set of Symphonic Studies for orchestra inspired by the work of the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, which was first performed by the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya under Rumon Gamba in December 2005.
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