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Another sparkling gem of a release in Ashley Wass's Bax series for Naxos. --Gramophone,June'11
Though the titles might suggest these are programmatic symphonic poems, all three are concertante pieces for piano and orchestra that Bax composed for Harriet Cohen, the grande horizontale of British music between the world wars. The soloist in all of them here is the excellent Ashley Wass. First performed in 1932, Winter Legends is easily the most substantial work here, more three-movement symphony with piano than piano concerto perhaps, with the solo instrument amplifying the orchestral statements rather than being spotlighted in its own right. It's one of those dark-hued Bax pieces in which Sibelius seems the dominant influence. The short Morning Song is more obviously pictorial, as its subtitle Maytime in Sussex reveals, while Saga Fragment a 1930s expansion of a movement from Bax's Piano Quartet is far more abrasive, though it still has its more typically succulent moments. *** --The Guardian,13/05/11
Ashley Wass brings impressive clarity to all three works;James Judd and the Bournemouth Orchestra accompany with sharp-focus. Performance **** Recording **** --BBC Music Magazine,June'11
Though the titles might suggest these are programmatic symphonic poems, all three are concertante pieces for piano and orchestra that Bax composed for Harriet Cohen, the grande horizontale of British music between the world wars. The soloist in all of them here is the excellent Ashley Wass. First performed in 1932, Winter Legends is easily the most substantial work here, more three-movement symphony with piano than piano concerto perhaps, with the solo instrument amplifying the orchestral statements rather than being spotlighted in its own right. It's one of those dark-hued Bax pieces in which Sibelius seems the dominant influence. The short Morning Song is more obviously pictorial, as its subtitle Maytime in Sussex reveals, while Saga Fragment a 1930s expansion of a movement from Bax's Piano Quartet is far more abrasive, though it still has its more typically succulent moments. *** --The Guardian,13/05/11
Ashley Wass brings impressive clarity to all three works;James Judd and the Bournemouth Orchestra accompany with sharp-focus. Performance **** Recording **** --BBC Music Magazine,June'11
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The late Vernon Handley wrote that Bax "releases us into an entirely different world, for nobody, in the whole of music, approaches the range of Bax's moods, or their type. He has given us something that is different from that of all other composers". This can certainly be heard and appreciated in Winter Legends, which is one of Bax's most imaginative and atmospheric scores. The composer wrote in a letter to Harriet Cohen, the work's dedicatee, that it was "a northern nature piece full of sea and pine forests and dark legends". He considered it to be one of his finest achievements and comparable to his seven symphonies. It might even be considered a symphony in all but name, following as it does the same pattern of three movements with an epilogue. Like the Symphonic Variations this is no piano concerto in disguise. In a letter to Sir Adrian Boult, who conducted the first performance of Winter Legends, Bax wrote that the piano should be seen as an important orchestral instrument, integrated into the orchestral texture rather than being a means of displaying pianistic technique. The work might be described as rhapsodic, particularly the first movement, but it has an overall logic in its construction and the first movement opens with themes that form the basis for what follows.
Ashley Wass and James Judd have already given us a superb account of the Symphonic Variations (see my review) and I feel that their performance of Winter Legends is in the same class. The sound is excellent, far better than that in Margaret Fingerhut and Bryden Thomson's recording on Chandos which, like Thomson's recordings of the symphonies, suffered from recorded sound that was too reverberant to the point of being noisy and tiring on the ear. The balance between piano and orchestra is just right and the many wonderful details in Bax's orchestration are heard to full effect.
There are two shorter and contrasting pieces on this excellent CD from Naxos: the delightful and sunny Morning Song, which Bax wrote in his capacity as Master of the King's Music to celebrate in 1947 the twenty-first birthday of the then Princess Elizabeth, and Saga Fragment a much tougher piece and in fact the orchestration of his piano quartet of 1922.
There are excellent and informative notes by Andrew Burn.
Buy this CD and, if you have not done so already, begin to enjoy and appreciate the unique sound world of this great English composer.
Ashley Wass and James Judd have already given us a superb account of the Symphonic Variations (see my review) and I feel that their performance of Winter Legends is in the same class. The sound is excellent, far better than that in Margaret Fingerhut and Bryden Thomson's recording on Chandos which, like Thomson's recordings of the symphonies, suffered from recorded sound that was too reverberant to the point of being noisy and tiring on the ear. The balance between piano and orchestra is just right and the many wonderful details in Bax's orchestration are heard to full effect.
There are two shorter and contrasting pieces on this excellent CD from Naxos: the delightful and sunny Morning Song, which Bax wrote in his capacity as Master of the King's Music to celebrate in 1947 the twenty-first birthday of the then Princess Elizabeth, and Saga Fragment a much tougher piece and in fact the orchestration of his piano quartet of 1922.
There are excellent and informative notes by Andrew Burn.
Buy this CD and, if you have not done so already, begin to enjoy and appreciate the unique sound world of this great English composer.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I've been listening to and enjoying Bax's music for many years now - a much underestimated composer in the modern British tradition. These performances personify his work, beautifully performed by Ashley Wass (piano) and the Bouremouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Judd. Highly recommended!!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
elusive Winter Legends with good fillers
4 July 2011
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Perhaps because Arnold Bax originally intended to dedicate "Winter Legends" (1930) to Sibelius, this extended work for piano and orchestra is often (mistakenly) described as Sibelian in character; however, I've been listening to this music for years and never picked up any echos of the Finnish composer. Bax wrote to pianist Harriet Cohen, to whom he ended up dedicating the piece, that he wanted "to write a northern nature piece full of sea and pine forests and dark legends" - but that's not substantially different from Bax's typical reference points, except that this time the legends weren't Celtic. While denying any specific program, Bax wrote that "the listener may associate what he hears with any heroic tale or tales of the North - of the far North, be it said." Ultimately what we have is a series of sound images rather loosely knit together, the end result of which makes for intermittently satisfying listening but which can't be counted among Bax's finest works.
Ashley Wass and the Bournemouth orchestra turn in a fine performance, but I think Margaret Fingerhut's with Bryden Thomson has a slight edge. Fingerhut is significantly slower than Wass - five minutes - and I think in the process brings out more of the flavor of this music, which is not easy to pin down. Her recording in a 2-cd reissue is paired with an excellent reading of the "Symphonic Variations" and available at a budget price: (Bax: Orchestral Works, Vol. 7). The sound quality of the Chandos recording is excellent as well.
The two fillers on this Naxos release, "Morning Song" and Saga Fragment," are highly enjoyable and are an added reason for picking up this disc, especially if you already have Wass's recording of the "Symphonic Variations" (Bax: Symphonic Variations) and don't want the duplication that Fingerhut's set on Chandos would bring.
Another fine contribution from Naxos in their ongoing British music series. Four stars.
Ashley Wass and the Bournemouth orchestra turn in a fine performance, but I think Margaret Fingerhut's with Bryden Thomson has a slight edge. Fingerhut is significantly slower than Wass - five minutes - and I think in the process brings out more of the flavor of this music, which is not easy to pin down. Her recording in a 2-cd reissue is paired with an excellent reading of the "Symphonic Variations" and available at a budget price: (Bax: Orchestral Works, Vol. 7). The sound quality of the Chandos recording is excellent as well.
The two fillers on this Naxos release, "Morning Song" and Saga Fragment," are highly enjoyable and are an added reason for picking up this disc, especially if you already have Wass's recording of the "Symphonic Variations" (Bax: Symphonic Variations) and don't want the duplication that Fingerhut's set on Chandos would bring.
Another fine contribution from Naxos in their ongoing British music series. Four stars.
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