Cooke / Williams Oboe Sonatas CD

In the process of making this release of unrecorded or neglected works for oboe and piano, intriguing connections began to surface between three composers. In 1973, the year I was born, the organist Richard Elfyn Jones gave the premiere of Arnold Cooke's Organ Sonata No.1 in the presence of the composer, in Cardiff University's Concert Hall, and 46 years later in 2019, I premiered Richard Elfyn Jones' Oboe Sonata in his presence. At Cardiff University while I was an undergraduate, I studied Harmony and Counterpoint with Richard Elfyn Jones, and performed the Oboe Sonata written by Cooke's teacher, Hindemith, in my Final Recital, in the same hall, standing next to that same pipe organ which 46 years earlier was used to premiere Cooke's Sonata. (Catherine Tanner Williams) This recording of Arnold Cooke's two lyrical Oboe Sonatas is the first for many years, having previously been recorded by it's dedicatees. The album also features three world premiere recordings: The Viva Altea! Sonata for Oboe and Piano, and oboist Catherine Tanner Williams' own works: Luminous and Darkness Falling.