Kate Loder piano works on Toccata

[Sharkkb8]

A few years ago, Giles posted biographical and composition-list info on Kate Loder, here:

http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,4180.msg44482.html#msg44482

Toccata has apparently released a cd of piano works, two 12-piece Studies and others.  Any insight on these works, from the cognoscenti?

Presto page here (including sound bytes):

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Toccata%2BClassics/TOCC0321

[Mark Thomas]

I wouldn't count myself amongst the cognoscenti, but I found this a very pleasant, if undemanding listen. Loder dresses up about half the twenty four studies (split into two sets) as melodious Mendelssohnian "songs without words", but the remainder are drier practice exercises. Amongst the former, though, there are a couple of effective and affecting numbers, particularly the last piece in the first set, which is a little beauty. The remaining five works are also quite short (the longest is four minutes), but all showcase both Loder's strong melodic gift and her debt to Mendelssohn. It's all as decorous as one might expect from a Victorian lady - the two mazurkas will set no pulses racing. Ian Hobson plays with an appropriate reserve which suits this unambitious music very well. We don't always want to be bombarded by barnstorming fireworks, and this collection is ideal listening for those calm reflective moments, although listening to the whole disc in one sitting would be a mistake - one might well nod off.