The Pleyel Ensemble

Benedict Holland (Violin) Harvey Davies (Piano) and Susie Mészáros (Viola)

Sonatas 1 & 2 for Violin and Piano, Solo Violin Sonata and the Duo for Violin and Viola

Arnold Cooke (1906 - 2005) was born in Yorkshire and eventually moved to Kent, living a stone’s throw from the home of MPR, amongst Kentish oast houses, hop gardens and apple orchards. Cooke studied firstly at Cambridge University with EJ Dent (Professor of Music, Cambridge University) moving to Berlin to study with Hindemith. He went on to teach at the Royal Manchester College of Music and moved to London, shortly after which came wartime service in the Royal Navy after which he took a post at Trinity College of Music in London. His music is always attractive but carefully crafted and displays a fascinating mixture between English and German styles. The Sonata no. 2 for Violin and Piano is the only work here to have been recorded previously (only once). The CD was recorded in the excellent acoustic of the Carole Nash Room at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and features superb musical performances, the first of four CDs already recorded.