(scores in alphabetical order)
BLYTHSWOOD (1996) 10' LISTEN
BLYTHSWOOD (1996) 10' LISTEN
viola and piano
1st perf: Su Zhen (vla), Simon Lepper (pf), Harlow Old Town Hall, Harlow, Essex (1999 Harlow Viola Festival), 20 February 1999.
Pub. S&B. Copies available for purchase, ref H398
. . . these three pieces could stand individually or would make a welcome addition to a recital programme in their entirety.
Leonie Anderson, ESTA News and Views
Rhian Samuel’s three pieces . . . are lyrical, full of movement and atmospheric. . . . these pieces need technical command and imagination but they are all approachable and allow the performer to see beyond the notes and communicate the expressive nature of the music.
Jennifer Peterson, Music Teacher Magazine, Spring 2000
Brief as they are, their expressive range is wide, with the first ending in a whisper and the last building to a huge climax, powerfully caught by the artists here.
Edward Greenfield, Gramophone, April, 2014
[Rhian Samuel] in contrast, exploits the viola's capacity for sparseness and eloquence in Blythswood, written as she watched seascapes and mountains while resident in the remote Scottish Highlands.
Fiona Maddocks, Observer, 9 Feb, 2014
violin and piano
1st perf.: Madeleine Mitchell (vln), Nigel Foster (pf), Powis Hall, Bangor University, 4 Sept, 2019.
Pub. Tŷ Cerdd, 2019
1st perf.: Madeleine Mitchell (vln), Nigel Foster (pf), Powis Hall, Bangor University, 4 Sept, 2019.
Pub. Tŷ Cerdd, 2019
FIVE MINIATURES (2001) 11'
piano quintet
I. Tides -- II. Surreptitious Waltz – III. Pines by Moonlight --
IV. Distant Hymn -- V. Motoring
1st perf: Franke Piano Quintet with students from Benenden School, Cranbrook, Kent, 29 April 2001.
Pub. S&B. Score and parts available for purchase, ref Y182
MIST ON THE HILLS (2011) 9½'
ONE CHARMING NIGHT (1998) 6'
PRELUDES AND DANCES (1997) 13'
RONDO PIZZICATO (1984) string quartet
LAST DANCE, THE (2009) 17'
string quartet
1st perf: Darwin Bicentennial Quartet (Edward McCullagh, Takuma Yamaguchi, vlns; Lesley Larkum, vla; Miguel Calvo, vc), Bridewell Hall, London, 11 July 2009.
Pub. S&B. Score and parts available for purchase, ref Y262
accordion and string quartet
I. Settling – II. Lingering -- III. Swirling
1st perf: Milos Milivojevic (accordion), Juritz Quartet (David Juritz, Naomi Thomas, vlns; Martin Kegelmann, vla; Rosie Biss, vc, The Tabernacle, Machynlleth, 22 August 2011 (Machynlleth Festival).
Pub. S&B. Score and parts available for purchase, ref Y279
This work is also available in a version for two accordions. Please contact the composer for details.
MOVING IMAGES (2018) 14'
violin and piano
Commissioned by Carol Nixon
Commissioned by Carol Nixon
1st perf (forthcoming): Elena Urioste (vln), Tom Poster (pf), Great Hall, Aberystwyth University Arts Centre, 9 October 2021.
Pub. Tŷ Cerdd (forthcoming)
ONE CHARMING NIGHT (1998) 6'
violin and piano
Commissioned by Joji Hattori
1st perf: Joji Hattori (vln), Joseph Seiger (pf), Wigmore Hall, London, 29 October 1998.
Pub. S&B. Copies available for purchase, ref H423
Tonally rich and quixotic Edward Lewis, Classical Source, January 2007
PHANTASY TRIO (2010) 7½’
violin, cello and piano
1st perf: The Inari Ensemble (Clare Hammond, pf; Jenna Sherry, vln; Richard Birchall, vc), St Mary’s Church, Cossington, Somerset, 2 April 2011.
Pub S&B. Score and parts available for purchase, ref Y273
In five continuous movements offering considerable contrast, brilliantly played throughout by the Inari Ensemble . . . Samuel justifiably declared here warm appreciation of the performance, a verdict whole-heartedly endorsed by the enthusiastic audience
. County Gazette (Somerset), 19 April, 2011
string quartet
Commissioned by the 1997 Lower Machen Festival with funds from the Arts Council of Wales
1st perf: Emperor Quartet, St Michael’s Church, Lower Machen, 25 June 1997.
Pub. S&B. Score and parts available for purchase, ref Y148
QUARTET: LIGHT AND WATER (2003) 15'
piano quartet
1st perf: Fidelio Piano Quartet, St John’s Church, Hampstead, London, 15 May 2004 (Hampstead and Highgate Festival)
Pub. S&B. Score and parts available for purchase, ref AC211
. . . The shifting, glittering interplay of piano and strings throughout the work, and an idiom of deceptive, challenging transparency, gave those repeated words {‘Light’, ‘Water’] a reality that lingers in my mind.
Paul Driver, The Sunday Times, 30 May 2004
Light and Water is definitely a piece that needs repeated hearing; having heard this excellent first outing in Hampstead’s St John’s Church, I hope to remake its acquaintance soon.
Guy Rickards, Tempo, Oct. 2004
Published in The String Quartet, IV, ed. G. Winters, London/Hamburg: N. Simrock, 1986
SALVE NOS (2020) c. 4'30" LISTEN
solo viola
Commissioned by Hiyoli Tagawa for the BIS CD, 'Songs of Solitude'
Pub. Tŷ Cerdd
Enfin, le Salve Nos de Rhian Samuel cristallise toutes ces idées à travers un style quasi improvisé, presque populaire parfois, mais qui exige de Togawa de grands contrastes et une grande maîtrise de son phrasé, de son vibrato, du timbre de son instrument. Set album est un réussite. . .
Marie Humbert, composher.com
Rhian Samuel (Salve Nos) ha[s] written engagingly characterful music that is nothing like your usual doleful elegy. Carlos Maria Solare, The Strad, 22 June, 2021
Le déchirant 'Salve Nos' de Samuel résonne comme un cri de désespoir.
Joel Chevassus, Audiophile Magazine, 25 April, 2021
SHARDS OF LIGHT (2005) 7'
solo violin
Commissioned by György Pauk for his students
1st perf: Chihiro Inda, Royal Academy of Music, London, 27 June 2006.
Pub. S&B. Copies available for purchase, ref Y228.
. . . a definite sympathy and understanding for what is possible in the production of colour and sound on the violin. Shards of Light is demanding but also intriguing and atmospheric.
Patricia Noall, ESTA News and Views, Winter 2006
Patricia Noall, ESTA News and Views, Winter 2006
A striking contrast of dynamics, range, tempos, and mixed meters, in combination with Samuel’s descriptive and articulate notes, makes Shards of Light an exciting but challenging addition to the solo repertoire. Graham Pellettieri, Strings, 2007
SONATA for violin and piano (2018) 13½’
Commissioned by Rhyl Music Club with funds from the PRS
in three movements
1st perf: Mary Hofman, violin, & Richard Ormrod, piano, Rhyl Music Club, 17 October, 2018. To be toured across Wales by the above performers in 2018-19.
string quartet with optional percussion
Commissioned by the Mavron Quartet in celebration of its 10th anniversary, with a ‘Women Make Music’ award from the PRS for Music Foundation
I. Twine (1) V. Foxtrot Gleam
II. Late Sun VI. Estuary by Moonlight
III. Glinting Stars VII. Twine (3)
IV. Twine (2)
1st perf: Mavron Quartet (Christiana Mavron, Katy Rowe, vlns; Niamh Ferris, vla; Lucy Simmonds, vc), 29 May 2012, St David’s Hall, Cardiff.
Pub. S&B. Score and parts available for purchase, ref Y298
TIME OUT OF TIME (2002) 12'
Little Suite for cello and piano
1st perf (nos. I–III): Mats Lidstrom (vc), Mark Glasser (pf), Greenwich Theatre, London, 27 May 2002; 1st complete perf: Beate Altenburg (vc), Jeremy Eskenazi (pf ), Royal Academy of Music, London, 9 Jan. 2003
Pub. S&B. Copies available for purchase, ref Y184
Time out of Time ... is an imaginative addition to the contemporary cello-and-piano repertoire.
Peter Palmer, Tempo Vol. 62, Issue 244, April 2008
TIME OUT OF TIME (2002) 12'
Little Suite for cello and piano arranged for viola and piano
I. Angels (i) – II. Mechanical Doll – III. ’Twixt Thee and Me --
IV. The Little Boat at its Moorings – V. Harmonium. – VI. Angels (ii)
Pub. S&B. Copies available for purchase, ref Y192
TIN SOLDIER (2002) 1½'
cello and piano
Commissioned by The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music
Published in Spectrum for Cello, ABRSM Publishing
In the whimsical Tin Solder by Rhian Samuel, the rhythms and pizzicati are great fun to play.
C.M., Stringendo (Journal of the Australian Strings Assoc.), Vol. 26, no.1, 2004
This is a descriptively fraught little piece that, despite some difficult rhythm and position work, will no doubt become a favourite with my younger students.
ESTA, Spring, 2004, 29, no 1