7 March 2014
This
week I have been playing Brahms and listening to York Bowen – and
being struck by the similarities. The Northampton Symphony Orchestra
has started to rehearse Brahms' 'Symphony No 1', which we are to
perform in Northampton at the beginning of April. I'm enjoying the
final movement horn solo and practising hard to ensure I am ready for
it. I've long had a soft spot for the chamber music of the early 20th
century English composer Edwin York Bowen, perhaps because he played
the horn (among other instruments). His 'Quintet in C minor for Horn
& String Quartet' is a lovely piece – gentle, romantic and
tuneful. This week I have been listening to his splendid 'Piano Trio
in E minor' (Op 118) (from the album York Bowen Chamber Works Volume 2 by Endymion) which has touches of both Brahms and
Rachmaninov.
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