Avril Coleridge-Taylor: Piano Concerto & Orchestral Works Samantha Ege, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra & John Andrews

• Avril Coleridge-Taylor (1903 - 1988): Piano Concerto in F Minor:
• 1 Coleridge-Taylor: Piano Concerto in F Minor: I. Allegro maestoso 11:39
• 2 Coleridge-Taylor: Piano Concerto in F Minor: II. Adagio 05:57
• 3 Coleridge-Taylor: Piano Concerto in F Minor: III. Allegro deciso 10:20
• Comet Prelude:
• 4 Coleridge-Taylor: Comet Prelude 10:37
• Sussex Landscape:
• 5 Coleridge-Taylor: Sussex Landscape: I. Largo 05:53
• 6 Coleridge-Taylor: Sussex Landscape: II. Lento e molto tranquillo 03:08
• 7 Coleridge-Taylor: Sussex Landscape: III. Largo - Maestoso 02:27
• To April:
• 8 Coleridge-Taylor: To April 07:12
• From the Hills:
• 9 Coleridge-Taylor: From the Hills 08:32
• Valse Caprice:
• 10 Coleridge-Taylor: Valse Caprice 04:05
• In Memoriam - To the R.A.F.:
• 11 Coleridge-Taylor: In Memoriam - To the R.A.F. 04:26
• In Memoriam:
• 12 Coleridge-Taylor: In Memoriam 02:14
• Total Runtime 01:16:30

Info for Avril Coleridge-Taylor: Piano Concerto & Orchestral Works

This landmark recording is the first album devoted entirely to the music of Avril Coleridge-Taylor (1903–1998). A composer, conductor, pianist and singer of remarkable versatility, she long remained in the shadow of her father, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

Here, at last, her artistry takes centre stage. Featuring world-premiere recordings of some of her most significant orchestral works, the album reveals a distinctive musical voice – eloquent, assured, and deeply personal.

Together, these performances stand as a powerful testament to her creativity and resilience, illuminating the experiences of a woman of colour in twentieth-century Britain.

Samantha Ege, piano
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
John Andrews, conductor

Samantha Ege
is a pianist, author, and music historian. She is best known for her award- winning work on the African American composer Florence Price and critically acclaimed recordings of under-represented composers.

Samantha’s first book South Side Impresarios: How Race Women Transformed Chicago’s Classical Music Scene (2024) was hailed by BBC Music Magazine as ‘a powerful corrective to the ‘Great Man’ theory of history.’

As a pianist, Samantha made her Barbican debut in 2021 with a ‘vivid, revelatory recital’ (iNews) in which she gave the UK premiere of Vítězslava Kaprálová’s Sonata Appassionata. She has performed across the UK, Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia. She has also played with orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic, Oxford Philharmonic, Oakland Symphony, Arkansas Symphony, New Haven Symphony, and Yale Philharmonia.

Samantha’s debut album was the 2018 Four Women: Music for Solo Piano by Price, Bilsland, Kaprálová, and Bonds (’Ege is our trusted guide’ – BBC Music Magazine). Her second was the 2021 Fantasie Nègre: The Piano Music of Florence Price (’Triumphs indeed’ – New York Times). Samantha’s sixth album signals her growing interest in the stories closer to home. It anticipates Samantha’s modern premiere of Avril Coleridge-Taylor’s Piano Concerto with St Paul’s Sinfonia and John Andrews (15 May 2026), as well as a new recording of British-inspired piano concertos (Resonus), which features commissions by Shirley J. Thompson and Camila Cortina Bello alongside music by Ethel Bilsland that has not been heard in over a century.

John Andrews
With a special affinity for Italian bel canto and English baroque, John Andrews has conducted over forty operas with companies including Garsington Opera, Opera Holland Park, English Touring Opera, Opera de Baugé and the Volkstheater Rostock in Germany. An exponent of neglected English music, he has recorded works by Sir Arthur Sullivan including The Light of the World and Haddon Hall, The Mountebanks (Gilbert/ Cellier) and The Judgement of Paris (Arne) for Dutton Epoch, and Sherwood’s Double Concerto and Cowen’s Fifth Symphony for EM Records. He is Principal Guest Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra, and Conductor-in-Association with the English Symphony Orchestra.

John Andrews' first recording for Resonus Classics - Malcolm Arnold's The Dancing Master with the BBC Concert Orchestra - won a BBC Music Magazine Award in 2021 in the opera category.

Booklet for Avril Coleridge-Taylor: Piano Concerto & Orchestral Works