Coleridge-Taylor: Piano Quintet & Clarinet Quintet

Featuring

Ian Brown
Malin Broman
Marianne Thorsen
Lawrence Power
Paul Watkins
Richard Hosford

Benjamin Nabarro
Nash Ensemble
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Coleridge-Taylor openly admired Dvořák, who was in turn a devotee of Schubert, and the influence of both composers is apparent in his early works.

Composer Biography

Coleridge-Taylor's talent for composition was recognized early, and he studied seriously under Charles Villiers Stanford, quickly winning multiple composition scholarships.

Composition History

The Clarinet Quintet was composed as a challenge from Charles Villiers Stanford, who believed no one could write a clarinet quintet without Brahms's influence.

Composer Biography

Sir Edward Elgar championed Coleridge-Taylor's career, recommending him for a commission for the Gloucester Three Choirs Festival in 1898.

Cultural Impact

From 1896, Coleridge-Taylor's African heritage increasingly impacted his music, inspired by the 'Fisk Jubilee Singers' and the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Cultural Impact

Coleridge-Taylor's Hiawatha's Wedding Feast brought him overnight fame throughout the English-speaking world and led to numerous commissions.

Composer Biography

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, born in London in 1875, was of mixed race, with his father, Dr. Daniel Hughes Taylor, returning to Sierra Leone before his birth.