George Lloyd: Aubade (1971) - Score For Two Pianos

Description

As a violinist, Lloyd was drawn to stringed instruments rather than the keyboard. His wife, Nancy had a very different attitude to the piano, however. Having been brought up listening to records of Alfred Cortot, among other great pianists, she had developed a genuine passion for the instrument. She was always urging her husband to write a piano concerto, but it was not until the early 1960s that those years of persuasion paid off and Lloyd wrote Scapegoat, the first of his series of four piano concertos. Now the composer had overcome his previous aversion to the keyboard, as he put it, 'Suddenly, everything I thought of, I thought in terms of the piano'. From this dramatic change of heart emerged several works for solo piano. Aubade, a fantasy for two pianos, was written during the summer of 1971, for John Odgon and Brenda Lucas. It is in one continuous movement, divided into sections, linked by an introductory theme. The titles of the eight sections are: Introduction; Dance of the Charcoal Burners; The March of the Tin Soldiers; Love Duet; Waltz; Bells, Monks and Lutherans; Moths; Finale. As Edward Seckerson observed of Aubade, 'It's a fun piece, easy on the listener, demanding for the soloists'.