We are delighted to share that ‘A Celebration of Paul Reade’ will be available to stream and download on 17th March on Signum Classics. The single ‘I. Prelude: Andante Pastorale Suite from the Victorian Garden Kitchen’ is released today, 2nd March.

Paul Reade was a prolific and highly respected composer whose work spanned many genres.  Air-Edel was delighted to represent him for many years until his untimely death in 1997.  We are thrilled that his work, particularly ‘The Victorian Kitchen Garden Suite’, for which he won an Ivor Novello Award, is being brought to both new and old audiences.

“For more than three decades, the music of Paul Reade inspired and delighted huge numbers of children and adults – but most of them never knew who wrote the music. The wonderful improvisations from the pianist on ‘Play School’ (BBC Television), or the creator of colourful, highly imaginative music for children’s animations including ‘Ludwig’, ‘Crystal Tipps and Alistair’ and ’The Flumps’ – all this was from a source that only a few could name. Paul’s considerable skills as a composer extended to writing superb dance music for Birmingham Royal Ballet, and in this genre his name was better known, but to this day he has not received the recognition that a composer of so much fine music really deserves. The music featured on this new Signum recording was mostly composed for live concert performance – even the music for BBC Television’s ‘A Victorian Kitchen Garden’ was re-worked into a concert suite. This new album brings to the fore some of the more substantial music written by Paul Reade, revealing his astonishing ability to create beautiful images in his compositions. His music deserves to be better known and appreciated, and this new recording goes a long way towards helping to achieve that.” – Laurence Perkins