The English Music Festival, held each May in and around the picturesque Oxfordshire town of Dorchester-on-Thames, is a celebration of British music throughout the ages, with its principal focus on works of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

EM Records is the recording arm of the English Music Festival and, as such, fulfils the EMF’s aims of celebrating and preserving overlooked works by British composers.

Our first release contains two World Première recordings, together with an unjustly-neglected work. The Violin Sonatas by Arthur Bliss and Henry Walford Davies have languished in manuscript form for over one hundred years, and were performed at the 2010 English Music Festival to an enthralled audience by regular EMF artists Rupert Luck and Matthew Rickard. These works are presented alongside the opulent and darkly turbulent Violin Sonata by York Bowen. EM Records is delighted to present these passionate and heartfelt Sonatas as its first release.

Acclaimed by audiences and critics alike for the verve, commitment and intelligence of his interpretations, Rupert Luck read Music at Cambridge University before being awarded a postgraduate scholarship to continue his violin studies with the eminent teacher Simon Fischer, thereafter winning a Distinction for his degree of Master of Music. He appears as soloist and recitalist at major venues and festivals throughout Britain as well as in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, Switzerland and the USA; and his performances also include radio recordings for the BBC and for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation.

Matthew Rickard studied with Clive Williamson at the University of Surrey and with Michael Dussek as a postgraduate at the Royal Academy of Music, where he specialised in piano accompaniment, gaining a distinction for his final recital. Matthew is currently active as a freelance chamber musician and accompanist. He has performed live on BBC Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’ and has appeared at many venues throughout the UK and abroad. As an orchestral pianist and accompanist, Matthew has worked with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Moscow City Ballet, Thursford Christmas Spectacular, Guildford Opera Company, Hart Voices, Lloyds Choir, Rugby Philharmonic Choir, Royal Free Music Society and the Rushmoor Choir.