Alan Rawsthorne (1905 - 1971), Bernard Stevens (1916 - 1983) - Piano Works
James Gibb, piano
Label: Lyrita
Rawsthorne: Recorded August 1958, Stevens: Recorded December 1959, The Music Room, Burnham, Buckinghamshire |
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Alan Rawsthorne (1905 - 1971) was one of the most distinctive British composers of his generation. His output has been celebrated chiefly for orchestral works, including three impressive symphonies, and a significant volume of chamber and instrumental music. He was also a fine pianist, winning a prize whilst he was a third year student at the Royal Manchester (now Royal Northern) College of Music and going on to study in Poland in the summer of 1930 with Busoni’s pupil Egon Petri. Though his most substantial and often performed keyboard works are those he wrote for piano and other instruments, such as the two piano concertos, the Quintet for piano and wind and Violin Sonata, he also produced a number of accomplished pieces for solo piano, most of which, including the three works featured on this disc, date from the first half of his career - a notable exception being the technically challenging Ballade of 1967, an impressive coda to his considerable achievements in the medium. |
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