The Piano Music of York Bowen

[phil13]

This guy takes a place alongside Beethoven and Scriabin as one of my favorite composers in all piano music, ever.  It's a crime how underplayed all of his music is, with the obvious exception of the Toccata in A minor.

I searched for him here, and about 50 threads come up with passing mentions of the Bowen Toccata, and yet the rest of his music goes mostly unnoticed. I think he was one of the 20th century's greatest Neoromantics, with a rather unique color to his music, and is very unjustly neglected.

Amongst my favorite works by him are the preludes Op.102 and the Sonata in F minor Op.72, which is a colossal, fascinating work.

Have your say about this 'post-Brahmsian' 20th-century composer, who, btw, was also a fine pianist.

Phil

(P.S. 1,500th post  )

[jre58591]

i love his works, most notably the 24 preludes, sonata in b flat minor, and toccata (yes, the toccata). he was once called "the british rachmaninoff" by some, so that should give you an idea of how he sounds.

[verywellmister]

The toccata is wonderful.

[jre58591]

The toccata is wonderful.

i think what phil is trying to do is to get past the toccata. any opinions on his many other pieces?

[pianistimo]

i didn't realize he was a composer.  i have his book 'pedalling the modern pianoforte.'  it's great.  it provides excerpts of pieces and how to apply pedal in them. 

[opus10no2]

The Hough CD is essential, no doubt.

[pianistimo]

steven hough is a composer, too?! 

[opus10no2]

Yes, but that's besides the point.

THE CD ON WHICH HOUGH PLAYS BOWEN.

[jre58591]

steven hough is a composer, too?! 

yes stePHen hough is a composer. on his collection CD, you can hear his suite osmantus, which is a fine piece of work, in my opinion.

[phil13]

Yeah, I agree. The Hough CD is essential.

Has anyone heard the recordings of Bowen himself playing his works?

Also:

i love his works, most notably the 24 preludes, sonata in b flat minor, and toccata (yes, the toccata). he was once called "the british rachmaninoff" by some, so that should give you an idea of how he sounds.

I know I've brought this up with you before, but I doubt it was on this forum- I personally believe that Bowen's concept of harmony was far more advanced than Rachmaninoff- I'd be inclined to call him the British equivalent of Medtner instead. Not to disrespect Rach in any way, of course- I love his music too. 

Has anybody here played any of Bowen's music, besides the Toccata?

Phil

[jre58591]

Has anyone heard the recordings of Bowen himself playing his works?

i have yet to.

I know I've brought this up with you before, but I doubt it was on this forum- I personally believe that Bowen's concept of harmony was far more advanced than Rachmaninoff- I'd be inclined to call him the British equivalent of Medtner instead. Not to disrespect Rach in any way, of course- I love his music too. 

i guess you are right, but i mentioned rachmaninoff for a good reason. rachmaninoff is more known on the forums than medtner. if i were to say medtner, only a small, select group would understand (sadly).

[minor9th]

Here's some info on a upcoming release of Bowen's music:

https://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=150851

[g_s_223]

Here's some info on a upcoming release of Bowen's music:

https://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=150851

I heard a bit of the Fantasia on BBC R3 recently - it definitely caught my ear - well worth a listen. I'd say fun to play too, if you have a well-developed technique...

[increpatio]

Yay! Vol 2!

Love his preludes, yeah.  Also ... well... lots of his other stuff.  Such ravishing harmonies. mmm.

[jre58591]

his partita, which i imagine is a less heard piece of his, is currently one of my favorites. its some of neobaroque at its finest, along with dohnányi and kapustin's suites in the old style.

[phil13]

Partita? I didn't even know he wrote one.

Any more info on it? I imagine it's been recorded?

Phil

[jre58591]

the partita in d minor, op. 156 is in five movements: prelude, gavotte, sarabande, minuet, gigue. its your typical baroque suite, but with a late romantic touch to it. it has been recorded by marie-catherine girod. it is a pretty hard recording to come by.

[skazka]

I'm also very fond of Bowen's music (Celis' first volume definitely got me hooked). I'd like to recommend his chamber music as well, especially the viola sonatas and the flute sonata. The piano also takes a major role in these works and the music is just marvellous. The Dutton label has released 4 discs of Bowen, one including the rarely played Piano Concerto No.1 (a rather heavy-handed piece tho, IMHO).

I'd like to learn more about this composer too.

[phil13]

I personally cannot wait for the Hyperion RPC series to release Bowen's piano concerti- hopefully, all 4 of them.

Phil

[skazka]

Are they scheduled to be recorded? If so, it will be great news indeed!

[retrouvailles]

Stephen Hough said, on my local radio station, that Hyperion plans to release them soon. They won't be releasing the first, I don't think, in part because Michael Dussek and Vernon Handley have already done that one (a fine concerto, btw).

The 3rd and 4th piano concertos are scheduled first. I don't think the 2nd will be recorded on Hyperion, as Dutton is scheduled to release them with Michael Dussek and Vernon Handley.

Details can be seen here:

https://www.yorkbowen.co.uk/recordings.htm

PS: We can expect great things from the 4th concerto, at least. Stephen Hough raved about it. He also said that its second movement has a tear-jerking melody that is sure to please all. It will surely be in my collection once its released.

[skazka]

Thanks for the info. That's the best news one can possibly hope to start off a week!

[prismsplay]

Before this post, I had never heard nor read of York Bowen. Some York Bowen enthusiast should create MIDI files of some of his public domain works for piano, which could interest others in seeking out sheet music and published recordings.

Due to Bowen's life span, his later works would still be under copyright. Copyright restrictions are a major factor in preventing the revival in popularity of composers whose works are only partially in the public domain. This swings the advantage to long-dead composers like MacDowell, whose works are completely in the public domain, making trancribing sheet music into MIDI files legal. Although sequenced MIDI is by its very nature crude, it does give a rough idea of what the music is like, and unless people get some idea of the character of a composer's music, they might have little incentive to investigate further.

To put it bluntly, a Google search on "york bowen", "piano", and "MIDI" does not produce much to go on. But "Edward MacDowell", "piano", and "MIDI" calls up my website with its MIDI sequences of 147 MacDowell piano pieces or movements.

[phil13]

Before this post, I had never heard nor read of York Bowen. Some York Bowen enthusiast should create MIDI files of some of his public domain works for piano, which could interest others in seeking out sheet music and published recordings.

Due to Bowen's life span, his later works would still be under copyright. Copyright restrictions are a major factor in preventing the revival in popularity of composers whose works are only partially in the public domain. This swings the advantage to long-dead composers like MacDowell, whose works are completely in the public domain, making trancribing sheet music into MIDI files legal. Although sequenced MIDI is by its very nature crude, it does give a rough idea of what the music is like, and unless people get some idea of the character of a composer's music, they might have little incentive to investigate further.

To put it bluntly, a Google search on "york bowen", "piano", and "MIDI" does not produce much to go on. But "Edward MacDowell", "piano", and "MIDI" calls up my website with its MIDI sequences of 147 MacDowell piano pieces or movements.

Why not just go out and buy (or trade for) one of the variety of CDs of Bowen's music made by great interpreters? Surely THAT would give you a better sense of the music than a MIDI! 

Hough and Celis are supposedly the best, but there is a recording Bowen made of a few of his works, as well.

Phil

[prismsplay]

Why not just go out and buy (or trade for) one of the variety of CDs of Bowen's music made by great interpreters? Surely THAT would give you a better sense of the music than a MIDI!

Phil

The question remains, "What would prompt people to investigate a nearly forgotten composer's works?" Merely saying, "I like his music", would have influence only on those sympathetic towards your musical tastes. MIDI is not an end, but a means toward the end of live performances. The advantage of MIDI is that it allows people to imagine what the music is like directly, without the need for enthusiasts to prompt them to investigate.

An extensive MIDI introduction into a composer's works also liberates that composer's works from any hasty or misguided classifications. As an example, MacDowell's piano music is often dismissed as "miniatures", not even a half truth, as MacDowell produced two piano concertos, four piano sonatas, and several piano suites with pieces three or four times the length of his later "miniatures".

The discussion here has interested me in York Bowen's piano music, but not enough to start ordering sheet music or recordings, because at this point I haven't the slightest idea what his music is like. It would be nice to have some MIDI sequences to whet one's interest for the real thing.

[prismsplay]

As evidence that there is a need for MIDI of York Bowen piano music, an internet search brought me to this on Classical Archives Forum:

-----
Posted on Saturday, March 11, 2006 - 8:33 am:
I really really need Toccata (Op. 155) for piano solo from York Bowen in MIDI, I hope this could be possible! Thanks
-----

But is Op. 155 in the public domain yet?

[phil13]

Time for a revival.

the partita in d minor, op. 156 is in five movements: prelude, gavotte, sarabande, minuet, gigue. its your typical baroque suite, but with a late romantic touch to it. it has been recorded by marie-catherine girod. it is a pretty hard recording to come by.

Now that I have heard it many times over, this piece is on the continuously growing list of Bowen works I want to learn.  Such a mixture of influences! The Gavotte, in places. I could have sworn was Prokofiev. The Sarabande reminded me almost of something out of Miles Davis' Flamenco Sketches in places. And, of course, all the way through, Bowen's unique style reigns supreme. What a work!

Also, is anybody familiar with the Reverie in B major, Op.86? (this is also on my list, but I intend to learn it sooner than later, hopefully this fall or the coming spring at the latest)

Phil

[richard black]

But is Op. 155 in the public domain yet?

If the law doesn't change, York Bowen will be out of copyright in 2031.

[elevateme_returns]

the 4 hand stuff is amazing