WILLIAM ALWYN
Sonata alla Toccata (1945/6)
Movements for Piano (1961)
Night Thoughts (1939)
Green Hills (1935)
Fantasy-Waltzes (1956/7)
Julian Milford (piano)
CHANDOS CHAN
9825
Crotchet
The present release is part of the Alwyn series launched by Chandos some
ten years ago. The piano pieces under review span almost thirty years of
Alwyn's composing life and therefore provide a fine survey of the composer's
musical journey from the mid-thirties on. Had this recital been arranged
in chronological order, Alwyn's progress would then appear in an even more
favourable light. The earliest piece Green Hills has some echoes of
John Ireland and so does the somewhat later Night Thoughts.
The Sonata alla Toccata is one of Alwyn's rare forays into Neo-Classicism.
These fine and attractive pieces may seem somewhat lacking in weight and
scope when compared with the magnificent Fantasy-Waltzes which is
one of Alwyn's greatest piano works. This piece also belongs to the composer's
full maturity and the music is remarkably crafted and contrasted: by turns
dreamy and brilliant, serious and ironic, simple and complex. This set should
have been a collection of simple miniatures but quickly outgrew the composer's
initial intentions. Instead Alwyn produced one of his most beautiful and
substantial pieces. A real masterpiece that should be in every pianist's
repertoire.
Movements carry Alwyn's explorations a step further. This work inhabits
a darker, more troubled sound-world than the extrovert Fantasy-Waltzes and
shows how Alwyn continuously enlarged his emotional and instrumental palette.
His mastery is absolute as it is in the late orchestral pieces such as the
Fifth Symphony and the Sinfonietta for Strings. In it Alwyn approached a
brand of dark-hued expressionism which the concluding Devil's Reel does
not dispel for all its high spirits. Movements is undoubtedly one
of his finest pieces.
Milford's playing and performances are very fine indeed though as far as
the Fantasy-Waltzes are concerned he has to compete with the late
John Ogdon (Chandos CHAN 8399) who has more tonal variety in his playing
and who has a firmer grasp of the music. As far as I am concerned Ogdon's
reading is in a class of its own but I find much to admire in Milford's
performances of these fine pieces. A most welcome release which I do not
hesitate recommending.
Hubert Culot
See also review by Gary Dalkin
