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York Bowen: The Complete 78rpm Recordings

£13.60

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Label: APR

Cat No: APR6007

Barcode: 5024709160075

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 2

Release Date: 27th October 2008

Artists

York Bowen (piano)

Artists

York Bowen (piano)

About

In recent years, York Bowen has enjoyed a spectacular revival as a composer, but until now his talents as pianist (barring a late recording of his own music for Lyrita) have not been heard since the days of 78s. At the height of his success, in the first decades of the 20th century, Bowen was as much known as a pianist as he was as a composer and frequently performed at the Proms amongst other things.

His first recording, a very rare disc on the Marathon label, was released in 1915, but the bulk of his work was done for Vocalion; after they went bankrupt in 1927 he appears to have made no further 78s.

Pride of place must go to Bowen’s Beethoven 4th Piano Concerto. This was the very first recording of the work and its neglect has been due to the fact that it was one of the last recordings to be made under the old acoustic process which was superseded the year the work was issued. Bowen’s pianism is extremely fluent and he plays his own cadenzas.

Through all the featured works we hear a pianist who plays in the ‘grand manner’ and that, and his preference for romantic repertoire, reveal him as somewhat atypical of the English pianist of his time. Perhaps his nickname ‘the English Rachmaninov’ did indeed hit the nail on the head.

Contents:
Compact Disc 1 (62.00)
- Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.4 in G major Op.58 (recorded 1925)
with Aeolian Orchestra conducted by Stanley Chapple
- Bach: Partita No.2 in C minor BWV826 Capriccio (recorded 1923?)
- Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.13 in E flat major Op.27 No.1: Andante (recorded 1923?)
- Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.24 in F sharp major Op.78 (recorded 1927)
- Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien Op.26: Allegro (recorded 1926)
- Liszt: Années de pèlerinage, première année – Suisse S160: Eglogue (recorded 1925)
- Moscheles: Etude Op.70 No.5 (recorded 1925)
- Cochrane: Le Ruisseau (recorded 1925)
- Brahms: Capriccio in B minor Op.76 No.2 (recorded 1925)
- Mendelssohn: Scherzo in E minor Op.16 No.2 (released January 1915)
- Schutt: Etude Mignonne in D major Op.16 No.1 (released January 1915)

Compact Disc 2 (58.00)
Chopin:
- Ballade No.3 in A flat major Op.47 (recorded 1925)
- Scherzo No.2 in B flat minor Op.31 (recorded 1926)
- Waltz in A flat major Op.34 No.1 (recorded 1926)
- Polonaise in C sharp minor Op.26 No.1 (recorded 1926)
- Etude in E minor Op.25 No.5 (recorded 1927)
- Twenty-Four Preludes Op.28: Nos.23, 20, 3 (recorded 1927)
Rachmaninov:
- Prelude Op.23 No.5 G minor (recorded 1926)
- Polichinelle Op.3 No.4 (recorded 1925)
Debussy:
- Estampes: Jardins sous la pluie (recorded 1925)
- Arabesque No.2 in G major (recorded 1926)
Gardiner: Five Pieces: III. London Bridge; V. Gavotte (recorded 1926)
Bowen:
- Suite No.2 Op.30: Finale ‘A Romp’ (recorded 1925)
- The Way to Polden, An Ambling Tune, Op.76 (recorded 1925)
- Arabesque Op.20 No.1 (recorded 1925)
- Fragments from Hans Andersen Op.58 Thumbalina; The Windmill (recorded 1926) (with spoken introductions)