In the current (March) issue of Gramophone, Philip Clark writes about how Harrison Birtwistle's '40-minute slab of pure orchestral muscle', Earth Dances, triggered a series of fresh, inventive works from a new wave of British composers in 1986.

To tie-in with the article, NMC Recordings have produced a sampler of recordings from their back catalogue, which Gramophone's readers can download for free from NMC's website.

The sampler contains works that Philip Clark discusses in his article, including: Birtwistle's The Mask of Orpheus and Secret Theatre, Jonathan Harvey's Ricercare una melodia for oboe, Benedict Mason's Lighthouses of England & Wales and Michael Finnissy's Red Earth.

For further information, and to download this free sampler, visit: nmcrec.co.uk