Cat No:
CHAN10670
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Description
York Bowen has a distinguished reputation as a composer and was considered to be one of Britain's finest pianists. In his day he was known as 'The English Rachmaninoff', and Saint-Saens described him as 'the most remarkable of the young British composers'. The works of York Bowen tend to display a blend of romanticism and strong individuality, and although his influences include the likes of Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Grieg, and Tchaikovsky, his music is also strongly defined by textures and harmonies that are uniquely 'Bowen'. This recording presents the only two surviving symphonies by Bowen: Symphony No. 1 and Symphony No. 2, which are performed here by the BBC Philharmonic under the exclusive Chandos artist Sir Andrew Davis. Symphony No. 1 was written in 1902 when Bowen was an eighteen-year-old composition student at the Royal Academy of Music. The work is laid out in only three movements (unusual for the time), and requires a relatively modest orchestra. It is a deeply impressive achievement - the beauty and lyricism of the second movement and its myriad of orchestral colourations, together with a unique and often surprising sense of well-being in the finale, demonstrate that here is a genuinely symphonic composer who was not content just to copy established models and appease his professors. At least one movement of this symphony was performed during Bowen's time at the academy, but this recording may well be the first time that the work has been performed in its entirety. When Bowen composed his Symphony No. 2 just seven years after completing his first, much had happened in the world of modern music, not least in instrumental terms with the acceptance of large orchestras as standard. As a result this work is much larger in scale than his first symphony, and performed with significantly larger instrumental forces too. The finale in particular is spectacular in the way it develops from the tiniest semi-tonal seed into a fiery and almost unstoppable flood of 'Bowen-esque' inventiveness. This symphony is the work of an assured composer who was completely certain in his music's sense of direction and in the positive and life-affirming nature of his compositions. -
Tracklisting
- 1. Allegro Assai
- 2. Larghetto
- 3. Finale. Allegro Con Brio
- 4. Moderato - Allegro
- 5. Lento
- 6. Allegro Scherzando, Ma Moderato
- 7. Finale. Grave - Allegro Molto, Con Fuoco
Disc 1
Side 1
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William Walton: Cello Concerto; Symphony No.1; Scapino
Jonathan Aasgaard; Sinfonia of London; John Wilson
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Latin Connections
Sara Dowling; Aquarelle Guitar Quartet
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Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3 'The Fi...
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Halle Choir; John Storgards
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Various: Czech String Music
Janacek:Martinu:Haas
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DOWN PEACOCK ALLEY
Palm Court Theatre Order
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Chopin: Imogen Cooper
Imogen Cooper
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BACH, STOKOWSKI - STOKOWSKI TRANSCRIPTIONS
Sydney So:Pikler
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Fantasia - Works for Trumpet & Organ
Matilda Lloyd; Richard Gowers
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Augustin Braud: Contremouvement
Vladimir Gligoric
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concertos KV 459 & 271
Uto Ughi
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Time is breathing
Umberto Cafagna; Leonardo Lospalluti; Mauro Squillante; Orchestra Dell'Accademia Mandolinistica Pug
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Henry Purcell: A Choice Collection of Lessons for th...
Sviatoslav Richter
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Max Reger: 4 Sonaten, Op. 42
Stefano Grondona
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Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Songs from exile
Stefano Cascioli
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Manuel Maria Ponce: Variations sur "Folias de Espana...
Stefano Cascioli
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Baltic Prayer
Stefano Cascioli
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