For me a very important new album recently released on Deutsche Grammophon as I have arranged almost all of it. The only piece that didn’t need arranging was Copland’s ‘Rodeo’ as it was already written for strings. New suites for solo violin and strings by Kurt Weill, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and individual pieces by Copland, Duke Ellington, Cooke, Ward and Price – a unique tour through the different voices of American music.
I arranged the Kurt Weill Suite in 2014 for concert use and publication by Schott. It was originally written for full symphony orchestra and is now re-arranged for strings plus jazz guitar and drums. The Gershwin Suite for violin and strings followed in 2018 and jazz trio was added later. Then came the Bernstein West Side Story Suite in 2019, accepted by the Bernstein Estate and published by Boosey and Hawkes. It’s a thrill to have them all together on one album and my heartfelt thanks to Daniel for so many wonderful ideas and commissions.
Thrilled and honoured to be conducting this concert of opera and musicals with the BBC Concert orchestra. Bryn is joined by Mezzo Soprano Angharad Lyddon, violinist Jennifer Pike and the Welsh of the West End vocal group.
I’m very excited to be going back to Air Studios in November with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to record two new albums of music by Oliver Davis, having already conducted his albums Flight, Liberty, Dance, and Arcadia. Here below is a picture from a previous recording session at Abbey Road with Oliver and Kerenza Peacock in the middle and myself on the right.
Daniel Hope and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra play four Christmas songs that I arranged for Solo Violin and Strings released by Deutsche Grammophon.
From Daniel: Four of the most beautiful Christmas songs ever written, in brand new arrangements by Paul Bateman, one of the great arrangers of our time. I’m joined by our Zürcher Kammerorchester on a new digital EP (Extended Play).
I recently discovered an overture by my maternal grandfather Herbert T Child (1894-1963). Note his beautifully hand written score in ink which contained light pencil markings to suggest which instruments of the orchestra should be used. He clearly intended to orchestrate it and as far as we know he never did. I have therefore done so. It can be heard on my YouTube channel (Paul Bateman channel) or copy this link – https://youtu.be/MoDws6-Rh8U
Here below are some pictures of him and the title page of the original ink score. I was nine when he died but remember sitting next to him in an orchestra pit when he conducted an operetta. It’s nice to know where the musical genes came from!
10 years ago I conducted a new recording of John Jeffreys’ Violin Concerto (1951) with Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay and the Philharmonia Orchestra but the composer died two weeks before the recording and it was never released. It is now on YouTube and it includes a short video introduction by myself. It’s a very profoundly moving and beautiful piece. Please click this link: https://youtu.be/XDtel61odBw
During lockdown Daniel Hope has so far presented 60 episodes of [email protected], now [email protected] On Tour for the ARTE Channel. He regularly commissions new arrangements plus a reduction of The Carnival of the Animals for five players for social distancing. He is also recording a new album with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra that features many of my arrangements.
November 2020 – lockdown 2. [email protected] returned with a new series. “The Next Generation”. Arrangements for this series:
Some Enchanted Evening, You’ll Never Walk Alone, Edelweiss, It Might As Well Be Spring, A Fellow Needs a Girl
For Daniel with Max Mutzke and Marialy Pacheco – You, Unsere Nacht and Gitanerias and for the Airlettes, Stille Nacht and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
With Tam Ward – Fly Me To The Moon, My Way, It Was A Very Good Year and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
With Thomas Hampson – Panis Angelicus and White Christmas.
With the New Century Chamber Orchestra in San Francisco – Scène d’Amour from Vertigo (Bernard Herrmann), I Left My Heart in San Francisco. Reductions from full strings to Quintet: Five Copland Songs, Dvorak – Humoreske, Elgar – Salut d’Amour, Weill – September Song.
French Songs – La Mer, Chanson l’Auvergnat and Göttingen.
New arrangement of Elgar’s Nimrod for Daniel to record with Amarcord.
Christmas Songs fro violin and string quintet – Adeste Fideles, White Christmas, Maybe This Christmas, A Child is Born, Chestnuts Roasting.
