EDWIN YORK BOWEN (1884-1961)

 

The complete 78rpm Recordings

 

CD1 (62.00)

1-3. BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No 4 in G major Op. 58 recorded 1925 Aeolian Orchestra / Stanley Chapple

4. BACH Partita No 2 in C minor BWV826 Capriccio recorded 1923?

5. BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 13 in E flat major Op. 27 No. 1: Andante recorded 1923?

6-7. BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 24 in F sharp major Op. 78 recorded 1927

8. SCHUMANN Faschingsschwank aus Wien Op. 26: Allegro recorded 1926

9. LISZT Années de pèlerinage, première année – Suisse S160: Eglogue recorded 1925

10. MOSCHELES Etude Op. 70 No. 5 recorded 1925

11. COCHRANE Le Ruisseau recorded 1925

12. BRAHMS Capriccio in B minor Op. 76 No. 2 recorded 1925

13. MENDELSSOHN Scherzo in E minor Op. 16 No. 2 released January 1915

14. SCHÜTT Etude Mignonne in D major Op. 16 No. 1 released January 1915

 

CD2 (58.00)

1. CHOPIN Ballade No. 3 in A flat major Op. 47 recorded1925

2. Scherzo No 2 in B flat minor Op. 31 recorded 1926

3. Waltz in A flat major Op. 34 No. 1 recorded 1926

4. Polonaise in C sharp minor Op. 26 No. 1 recorded 1926

5. Etude in E minor Op. 25 No. 5 recorded 1927

6-8. Twenty-Four Preludes Op. 28: Nos. 23; 20; 3 recorded 1927

9. RACHMANINOV Prelude Op. 23 No. 5 G minor recorded 1926

10. Polichinelle Op. 3 No. 4 recorded 1925

11. DEBUSSY Estampes: Jardins sous la pluie recorded 1925

12. Arabesque No. 2 in G major recorded 1926

13-14. GARDINER Five Pieces: III. London Bridge; V. Gavotte recorded 1926

15. BOWEN Suite No. 2 Op. 30: Finale ‘A Romp’ recorded 1925

16. BOWEN The Way to Polden, An Ambling Tune, Op. 76 recorded 1925

17. BOWEN Arabesque Op. 20 No. 1 recorded 1925

18. BOWEN Fragments from Hans Andersen Op. 58 Thumbalina; The Windmill recorded 1926 (with spoken introductions)

 

In recent years York Bowen, the composer, has enjoyed a spectacular revival, 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 pianist as 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.

 

Total duration: 120 mins

 

APR 2cds APR6007