Scenes from Childhood

Scenes from Childhood is a fascinating, engaging and sometimes surprising collection of music – instrumental, orchestral and vocal – that was written either as an evocation of childhood or with young performers in mind. As the title suggests, Robert Schumann is in there, as are many of the world’s most widely heard composers, but in a programme that extends chronologically from Couperin, Bach and Handel to Ernesto Lecuona, Alexandre Tansman, and Jean Françaix. It includes the digital premiere of a lovely piece by Federico Mompou (in a performance by the composer himself). Scenes from Childhood is clearly much more than mere child’s play!