YORK BOWEN: The Romantic Piano Concerto Vol. 46 – Piano Concerto No. 3 in G minor (Fantasia) Op. 23; Piano Concerto No. 4 in A minor Op. 88 – Danny Driver, p. / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins – Hyperion

by | Nov 10, 2008 | Classical CD Reviews | 0 comments

YORK BOWEN: The Romantic Piano Concerto Vol. 46 – Piano Concerto No. 3 in G minor (Fantasia) Op. 23; Piano Concerto No. 4 in A minor Op. 88 – Danny Driver, p. / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins – Hyperion CDA67659, 60:49 Performance***** Recording **** [Distr. by Harmonia mundi]:

York Bowen (1884-1961) had a talent for playing and composition which was recognised early by his parents. Admitted to the Royal College of Music in 1898 on the Erard Scholarship, he had lessons from Tobais Matthay and Frederick Corder. In addition to becoming a fine pianist, he was also an accomplished player of the organ, viola and horn.

He had early success with his writing; his tone poem “The Lament of Tasso” was performed at the Proms in 1903 under Sir Henry Wood, and his “Concert Fantasia” under Richter in 1906 to much acclaim. Appointed professor of piano at the Academy in 1909, he remained there for 50 years. After the First World War, his music slowly went out of fashion, though he continued to give recitals up until his death in 1961. His recordings fit onto three CDs, all released within the last few months. A 2CD set from APR, beautifully remastered by Ward Marston, has all the recordings from the 78rpm era, and Lyrita has reissued on CD the very fine LP he made of his own music a few years before his death. Bowen performed the Fourth Piano Concerto at the Proms in 1959; one wonders whether a recording of this lurks in the vaults of the BBC.

The Third Piano Concerto dates from 1907 and contains all the exuberance of youth. Written in Fantasia form, it is in three defined sections, not separately tracked; critics at the time felt that it ought to be called a Fantasia rather than a Piano Concerto but received it enthusiastically. After a horn reveille and flourishes from the piano, the first section fires up into life, con spirito, the middle andante grazioso delightful in its delicacy and with a lento nodding towards Debussy. Brass introduce the final section, repeating themes heard earlier, and the allegro con fuoco leads the piece to a big and triumphant end. All in all, this is a delightful Edwardian eighteen minutes of highly accessible and enjoyable music, superbly played by Danny Driver, and sensitively accompanied by Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish SO.

The Fourth Piano Concerto was written after a gap of more than twenty years during which Bowen wrote a good deal of music, and is altogether a much more mature and substantial work. While his early works were highly praised by Saint-Saens, this later concerto was most highly thought of by Sorabji. First performed in 1937 under Sir Adrian Boult and the BBC SO, this concerto is unashamedly Romantic in the way Rachmaninov’s are. Danny Driver plays the demanding piano part with aplomb; the big gestures in the first movement alternate with writing of sublime delicacy, which Glen Ballard in his excellent essay in the booklet describes as evoking Debussy’s La Cathédrale engloutie, together with a more bucolic allegretto.

The second movement in arch form has after a brief introduction some broad themes, with dreamy interludes, coupled with delightful solo work from the orchestra, especially the solo viola passages. The energetic last movement, full of passagework Driver plays so cleanly, has a quieter more peaceful second subject; the movement builds to a fine cadenza, and after a repeat of the opening themes, the movement’s mood changes dramatically as it goes into an epilogue of peace and tranquillity.

Danny Driver, whose recording of Bowen’s Sonatas from Hyperion are due for release in the near future and eagerly anticipated, is fully in sympathy with the two concertos, and makes an especially good case for more performances of the Fourth. The orchestral contribution is largely excellent, too, though the strings have a couple of moments sounding a little undernourished above the stave. The recording quality is up the usual standard Hyperion has achieved in this long and substantial series of Romantic Piano Concerto recordings; the piano is set in a believable acoustic and is of a believable size, the orchestral details all there to be heard.

After a period when Bowen’s works have been largely forgotten, it is such a pleasure to welcome this addition to the catalogue from Hyperion who have done so much in recent years to resurrect interest in this fine British composer.

— Peter Joelson

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