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Review
Andrew Davis's new series of recordings for Chandos clearly isn't going to confine itself to just the major figures in 20th-century British music, and he could hardly have signalled that more clearly than by this pairing of the two little-known symphonies by York Bowen. The Second has been recorded before, but the First, composed in 1902 when Bowen was an 18-year-old student alongside Arnold Bax at the Royal Academy of Music, was only performed complete in public for the first time last year. It's a fluent but fundamentally unremarkable three-movement work, in a style that owes more to Mendelssohn and Schumann rather than to any later 19th-century British models. By the time of the Second Symphony seven years later, Bowen's style had become more extrovert the orchestral writing is weightier and more confidently flamboyant, though its faded romanticism still lacks any trace of individuality. Davis and the BBC Philharmonic give both symphonies finely groomed performances. --Guardian ,28/04/11
The Bowen revival continues with this fine pairing of his first two symphonies. --Gramophone,July'11
The present release is essential listening.First ,because it substantially expands our knowledge of a musician who was clearly neither an anachorism nor merely an Interesting Historical figure .Second,because it is hugely enjoyable on its own terms;and third,because it is so stunningly well played and executed:hence the red letter nomination. IRR OUTSTANDING --IRR,June'11
The present release is essential listening.First ,because it substantially expands our knowledge of a musician who was clearly neither an anachorism nor merely an Interesting Historical figure .Second,because it is hugely enjoyable on its own terms;and third,because it is so stunningly well played and executed:hence the red letter nomination. IRR OUTSTANDING --IRR,June'11
The Bowen revival continues with this fine pairing of his first two symphonies. --Gramophone,July'11
The present release is essential listening.First ,because it substantially expands our knowledge of a musician who was clearly neither an anachorism nor merely an Interesting Historical figure .Second,because it is hugely enjoyable on its own terms;and third,because it is so stunningly well played and executed:hence the red letter nomination. IRR OUTSTANDING --IRR,June'11
The present release is essential listening.First ,because it substantially expands our knowledge of a musician who was clearly neither an anachorism nor merely an Interesting Historical figure .Second,because it is hugely enjoyable on its own terms;and third,because it is so stunningly well played and executed:hence the red letter nomination. IRR OUTSTANDING --IRR,June'11
CD Description
York Bowen has a distinguished reputation as a composer and was considered to be one of Britain s finest pianists. In his day he was known as The English Rachmaninoff , and Saint-Saëns described him as the most remarkable of the young British composers . The works of York Bowen tend to display a blend of romanticism and strong individuality, and although his influences include the likes of Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Grieg, and Tchaikovsky, his music is also strongly defined by textures and harmonies that are uniquely Bowen . This recording presents the only two surviving symphonies by Bowen: Symphony No. 1 and Symphony No. 2, which are performed here by the BBC Philharmonic under the exclusive Chandos artist Sir Andrew Davis. Symphony No. 1 was written in 1902 when Bowen was an eighteen-year-old composition student at the Royal Academy of Music. The work is laid out in only three movements (unusual for the time), and requires a relatively modest orchestra. It is a deeply impressive achievement the beauty and lyricism of the second movement and its myriad of orchestral colourations, together with a unique and often surprising sense of well-being in the finale, demonstrate that here is a genuinely symphonic composer who was not content just to copy established models and appease his professors. At least one movement of this symphony was performed during Bowen's time at the academy, but this recording may well be the first time that the work has been performed in its entirety. When Bowen composed his Symphony No. 2 just seven years after completing his first, much had happened in the world of modern music, not least in instrumental terms with the acceptance of large orchestras as standard. As a result this work is much larger in scale than his first symphony, and performed with significantly larger instrumental forces too. The finale in particular is spectacular in the way it develops from the tiniest semi-tonal seed into a fiery and almost unstoppable flood of Bowen-esque inventiveness. This symphony is the work of an assured composer who was completely certain in his music s sense of direction and in the positive and life-affirming nature of his compositions.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
"If modern life is ugly, then there is all the more reason why music should bring beauty into it" (York Bowen).
York Bowen (1884-1961) never sustained the success which came easily to him in his early years. A fellow pupil of Arnold Bax at the Royal Academy of Music, Bowen burst onto the British music scene in the early years of the twentieth century with numerous orchestral and concertante works including three piano concertos designed with his own keyboard prowess in mind (Bowen - Violin Concerto; Piano Concerto No 1, Bowen - Piano Concertos Nos 2 and 3; Symphonic Fantasia). Bold, melodically profuse and colourfully orchestrated, his music chimed in well with the opulence of pre-World War One tastes. However, from the 1920s onwards, he found himself increasingly neglected - he had forged his style and stuck resolutely to it for the remainder of his life: despite several more highly accomplished major works, including the gorgeous tone poem 'Eventide' (Heroic Elegy & Triumphal Epilogue), a fourth piano concerto (Bowen: Piano Concerto 3, 4. The Romantic Concerto - 46) and a highly effective Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra (York Bowen, Alan Bush, Havergal Brian - Cello Concertos) he came to be regarded as a musical dinosaur and a large number of his scores never found their way into print.
Symphony No.1 (1902), an attractive 'student' work in three movements, remained unperformed in its entirity until last year's English Music Festival and this present release is it's premiere recording - nothing ground-breaking here, but plenty to enjoy in Bowen's already-assured handling of symphonic structure. The composer is not making any statement here, but rather honing his craft.
Although written only seven years later, Symphony No.2 (1909, first performed 1912) is an entirely different matter: Bowen's musical voice has now fully developed, engagingly influenced by his affinity with the later-nineteeth century Russian school of composers. Bold, brassy statements, sweeping string melodies and glittering orchestration (especially in the kaleidoscopic Scherzo) mark this out as a real discovery: anybody with a liking for Glazunov will find much to enjoy in this work.
Chandos, Sir Andrew Davis and the BBC Philharmonic do Bowen proud with fully committed performances and a wide-ranging recording remarkable both for the characteristic luxurious sound which is a hallmark of this company, and the clarity with which orchestral textures can be discerned: this recording of Symphony No.2 far outstrips the pioneering (and now deleted) recording on the Classico label.
There is plenty more York Bowen to explore, especially the following later orchestral works - Somerset Suite (c.1940), Symphonic Suite (1942), Fantasy Overture on 'Tom Bowling', Op.115 (c.1945), Symphony No.3, Op.137 (1951), Three Pieces for String Orchestra, with Harp ad lib., Op. 140 (c.1951), Sinfonietta Concertante for Brass and Orchestra (1957) and Jig for Two Pianos and Orchestra. These manuscripts are held by a publisher in London.
Let's hope that it won't be long before further forays are made into the music of this richly-rewarding composer.
York Bowen (1884-1961) never sustained the success which came easily to him in his early years. A fellow pupil of Arnold Bax at the Royal Academy of Music, Bowen burst onto the British music scene in the early years of the twentieth century with numerous orchestral and concertante works including three piano concertos designed with his own keyboard prowess in mind (Bowen - Violin Concerto; Piano Concerto No 1, Bowen - Piano Concertos Nos 2 and 3; Symphonic Fantasia). Bold, melodically profuse and colourfully orchestrated, his music chimed in well with the opulence of pre-World War One tastes. However, from the 1920s onwards, he found himself increasingly neglected - he had forged his style and stuck resolutely to it for the remainder of his life: despite several more highly accomplished major works, including the gorgeous tone poem 'Eventide' (Heroic Elegy & Triumphal Epilogue), a fourth piano concerto (Bowen: Piano Concerto 3, 4. The Romantic Concerto - 46) and a highly effective Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra (York Bowen, Alan Bush, Havergal Brian - Cello Concertos) he came to be regarded as a musical dinosaur and a large number of his scores never found their way into print.
Symphony No.1 (1902), an attractive 'student' work in three movements, remained unperformed in its entirity until last year's English Music Festival and this present release is it's premiere recording - nothing ground-breaking here, but plenty to enjoy in Bowen's already-assured handling of symphonic structure. The composer is not making any statement here, but rather honing his craft.
Although written only seven years later, Symphony No.2 (1909, first performed 1912) is an entirely different matter: Bowen's musical voice has now fully developed, engagingly influenced by his affinity with the later-nineteeth century Russian school of composers. Bold, brassy statements, sweeping string melodies and glittering orchestration (especially in the kaleidoscopic Scherzo) mark this out as a real discovery: anybody with a liking for Glazunov will find much to enjoy in this work.
Chandos, Sir Andrew Davis and the BBC Philharmonic do Bowen proud with fully committed performances and a wide-ranging recording remarkable both for the characteristic luxurious sound which is a hallmark of this company, and the clarity with which orchestral textures can be discerned: this recording of Symphony No.2 far outstrips the pioneering (and now deleted) recording on the Classico label.
There is plenty more York Bowen to explore, especially the following later orchestral works - Somerset Suite (c.1940), Symphonic Suite (1942), Fantasy Overture on 'Tom Bowling', Op.115 (c.1945), Symphony No.3, Op.137 (1951), Three Pieces for String Orchestra, with Harp ad lib., Op. 140 (c.1951), Sinfonietta Concertante for Brass and Orchestra (1957) and Jig for Two Pianos and Orchestra. These manuscripts are held by a publisher in London.
Let's hope that it won't be long before further forays are made into the music of this richly-rewarding composer.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Chandos have long been the champions of under-represented British music, and they have done the job yet again with this recording of York Bowen's first two symphonies.
The BBC Philharmonic (under Sir Andrew Davis, one of my favourite conductors) rise to the occasion with an excellent recording that does justice to the music. On this hearing one has to wonder why so much of Bowen's music has been allowed to lapse into obscurity - if the rest is as good as this, then it certainly deserves to be heard.
The BBC Philharmonic (under Sir Andrew Davis, one of my favourite conductors) rise to the occasion with an excellent recording that does justice to the music. On this hearing one has to wonder why so much of Bowen's music has been allowed to lapse into obscurity - if the rest is as good as this, then it certainly deserves to be heard.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The music is excellently played and recorded. We owe a great debt to Chandos (and also Hyperion and Dutton among others) for letting us hear this kind of music, which does not deserve the neglect it has suffered. It is also good to have Sir Andrew Davis expertly advocating English music. He is a distinguished Elgarian, and with the sad loss of Richard Hickox and Vernon Handley we need someone of his stature to conduct works of this kind.
The music itself is not a great masterpiece. But then nor is a lot of music by composers who do regularly get a hearing. The First Symphony, in G major, is a highly accomplished student work. Bowen clearly had a gift for orchestration. This is particularly apparent in the slow movement, which has a long and wistful, but in truth not very distinctive, clarinet tune. The first movement has two quite memorable and contrasting themes, and the tripping finale is fine. When I first heard this work I wondered if Bowen had been a pupil of Stanford, because it inhabits the same world as Stanford's symphonies (in fact he wasn't). It is well worth hearing and stands repetition. The Second Symphony is in E minor and is just as assured, again with fine orchestration. Bowen's piano music seems to me to have some affinity with Rachmaninov, and that feeling applies to this work too. It might be argued that the themes are a bit overblown and bombastic, but the work hangs together as a true symphony and appeals to my ear much more than, say, the symphonies of Bax, with which it perhaps also has affinities.
I am glad to have this music on CD and give it a firm recommendation for any collector interested in English music of the early 20th century.
The music itself is not a great masterpiece. But then nor is a lot of music by composers who do regularly get a hearing. The First Symphony, in G major, is a highly accomplished student work. Bowen clearly had a gift for orchestration. This is particularly apparent in the slow movement, which has a long and wistful, but in truth not very distinctive, clarinet tune. The first movement has two quite memorable and contrasting themes, and the tripping finale is fine. When I first heard this work I wondered if Bowen had been a pupil of Stanford, because it inhabits the same world as Stanford's symphonies (in fact he wasn't). It is well worth hearing and stands repetition. The Second Symphony is in E minor and is just as assured, again with fine orchestration. Bowen's piano music seems to me to have some affinity with Rachmaninov, and that feeling applies to this work too. It might be argued that the themes are a bit overblown and bombastic, but the work hangs together as a true symphony and appeals to my ear much more than, say, the symphonies of Bax, with which it perhaps also has affinities.
I am glad to have this music on CD and give it a firm recommendation for any collector interested in English music of the early 20th century.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Wonderful, underated music!
The music of York Bowen is fantastic. I've been a fan ever since 2008, when came across his 6th Piano Sonata (which I ended up playing as part of my University Music Degree). Read more
Published 1 month ago by Matthew Nash
why has this music been so neglected
These 2 Symphonies are particularly interesting as they demonstrate the remarkable musical maturity that BOWEN achieved in a brief period of 7 years. Read more
Published 3 months ago by joseph
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