Alwyn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2, Overture to a Masque

On this CD:

1. Piano Concerto No. 1
Composed by William Alwyn
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra with Howard Shelley
Conducted by Richard Hickox

2. Piano Concerto No. 2
Composed by William Alwyn
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra with Howard Shelley
Conducted by Richard Hickox

3. Overture to a Masque for orchestra
Composed by William Alwyn
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra with Howard Shelley
Conducted by Richard Hickox

4. Elizabethan Dances for orchestra
Composed by William Alwyn
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra with Howard Shelley
Conducted by Richard Hickox

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
William Alwyn's early First Piano Concerto was written for his friend Clifford Curzon. It's a young man's music, brimming with large-scale ideas, some of which remind the listener that Alwyn went on to become a prolific composer of film scores. The Second Concerto is a mature work the composer abandoned after the premiere was derailed by the soloist's illness. This recording was its first performance, although Alwyn's widow had to fashion a replacement for the lost slow movement. It opens with an attention-getting burst of energetic power in the brass, gradually relaxing into a warm lyricism and progressing from there. Typical of Alwyn's music, it's brilliantly scored. Howard Shelley performs both concertos with all the requisite technical and tonal command to make them shine. Richard Hickox and the first-rate orchestra accompany him well, and they excel in the dancelike Overture to a Masque and the Elizabethan Dances, a lovely set of six dances bristling with spirit and easy on the ears. --Dan Davis

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No. 1: Allegro deciso/Adagio e tranquillo/Tempo primo/Adagio molto e tranquillo
Piano Concerto No. 2: Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 2: Andante
Piano Concerto No. 2: Allegro con fuoco
Overture To a Masque: Allegro
Elizabethan Dances: Moderato e ritmico
Elizabethan Dances: Waltz Tempo. Languidamente
Elizabethan Dances: Allegro scherzando (ma non troppo allegro)
Elizabethan Dances: Moderato
Elizabethan Dances: Poco allegretoo e semplice
Elizabethan Dances: Allegro giocoso

Amazon.com

William Alwyn's early First Piano Concerto was written for his friend Clifford Curzon. It's a young man's music, brimming with large-scale ideas, some of which remind the listener that Alwyn went on to become a prolific composer of film scores. The Second Concerto is a mature work the composer abandoned after the premiere was derailed by the soloist's illness. This recording was its first performance, although Alwyn's widow had to fashion a replacement for the lost slow movement. It opens with an attention-getting burst of energetic power in the brass, gradually relaxing into a warm lyricism and progressing from there. Typical of Alwyn's music, it's brilliantly scored. Howard Shelley performs both concertos with all the requisite technical and tonal command to make them shine. Richard Hickox and the first-rate orchestra accompany him well, and they excel in the dancelike Overture to a Masque and the Elizabethan Dances, a lovely set of six dances bristling with spirit and easy on the ears. --Dan Davis

Music Track:

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