COMPOSERS: Lambert,Rawsthorne
LABELS: Dutton
ALBUM TITLE: Rawsthorne, Lambert
WORKS: Ballade; Sonatina; Four Romantic Pieces
PERFORMER: John McCabe, Tamami Honma
CATALOGUE NO: CDLX 7167
The Lancashire-born Alan
Rawsthorne (1905-1971) was
evidently a fine pianist, and he wrote
for the instrument throughout his
career, in two concertos, chamber
music, and a handful of solo works.
After two uncharacteristic student
pieces, his musical personality
emerged in the Four Bagatelles of
the late 1930s – clean and dry in the
manner of Hindemith, perhaps most
personal in the quietly reflective
epilogue. The wartime Theme and
Four Studies is more virtuosic; the
post-war Sonatina is surprisingly
dark in places; the Four Romantic
Pieces of 1953 explore a wider
expressive range. But everything’s on
a modest scale: the nearest thing to
a major statement is the late Ballade,
an eventful 12-minute narrative.
An advocate of Rawsthorne’s
music, John McCabe plays with
great authority and fluency, if with
rather hefty pianissimos – unless
that’s the fault of the recording, in
the reverberant Henry Wood Hall.
He and Tamami Honma add a
charming pair of duets, The Creel,
a set of miniatures inspired by Isaak
Walton’s The Compleat Angler, and
Three black pieces on the white keys
by Rawsthorne’s friend Constant
Lambert. The latter seems an unwise
choice, as its easy-going charm
highlights Rawsthorne’s buttoned-up
neatness. Anthony Burton