News

Greetings from the Stanhope family for 2006!

In what was otherwise a pretty drab 2005, I achieved something near the end of it that has taken me years of effort. I managed to persuade Novello and Co. to give back the copyright to my Folksongs for Band, Suite No. 2. I have now completed a revision of the work (something I have long wanted to do), and it will shortly be available from Southern Music along with everything else I have written for wind band. In its new form, I consider it to be the best of the three suites. Apart from some changes in scoring, making it more accessible for today's standard large ensembles, I have made a significant overhaul of the last movement, "Keel Row". It is tighter, more spectacular (especially in the final section) and better. I urge all band directors who have the original suite to upgrade to the new version! And for those who do not know it, but are interested in performing my music, I think it is one of a few works which will be considered my very best.

Tall Poppies are about to release another piano solo CD of mine, "A Virtuoso Recital". The main work is the second set of Rachmaninoff preludes. I include details in the CD section.

ABC Classics released yet another set of CDs of popular piano music some months ago, titled "the best ever piano music collection" (3 CD set). To my surprise, the first CD is entirely me, mostly salvaged tracks from an old EMI l.p. I made in the late 70's called "The Pleasant Piano". It includes my transcription of Victor Herbert's "March Of The Toys". Best played is probably the Myra Hess arrangem,ent of Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."