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Special offer. Vaughan Williams - Piano Concerto
Ashley Wass (piano)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, James Judd
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, December 2009, Editor's Choice
Ashley Wass's commanding way with the solo part is beautifully poised in the Romanza, while admirably resisting any temptation to smooth over the Toccata's hard edges. Both in the Concerto...
Special offer. Vaughan Williams - Piano Concerto
Ashley Wass (piano)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, James Judd
Purchase product
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, December 2009, Editor's Choice
Ashley Wass's commanding way with the solo part is beautifully poised in the Romanza, while admirably resisting any temptation to smooth over the Toccata's hard edges. Both in the Concerto...
About
The popular overture from Vaughan Williams’s incidental music for Aristophanes’s The Wasps introduces a suite whose mischievously witty, noble and farcical movements underline the play’s satire of the Athenian legal system.
A similar vivacity characterises his English Folksong Suite and The Running Set, where Vaughan Williams relishes setting tunes such as Barrack Hill, Irish Reel, The Blackthorn Stick and Cock o’ the North.
Folksong-like melodies also feature in his magnificent Piano Concerto, in which the magisterial influence of Bach and Busoni may also be heard.
"Make no mistake about it: this boy is special. What I love about his playing is its sincerity and tenderness. He doesn’t just caress the piano, he probes its soft depths with the utmost consideration.” The Independent
Contents and tracklist
Spotlight on this release
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Ralph Vaughan Williams
20th Jun 2014
David picks out some top recordings of the works of English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Awards and reviews
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Gramophone MagazineDecember 2009Editor's Choice
Christmas 2009
Ashley Wass's commanding way with the solo part is beautifully poised in the Romanza, while admirably resisting any temptation to smooth over the Toccata's hard edges. Both in the Concerto and in the more familiar territory elsewhere, James Judd secures orchestral accompaniments of brilliant colour and focus.
July 2011
Wass delivers the solo part with impressive command. Outstanding recorded sound.
December 2009
The Piano Concerto of Vaughan Williams has been seriously undervalued… a performance as fine as this one from Ashley Wass will simply have one marvelling at the originality of the piece and its distinctive slant on the idea of a piano concerto.
June 2014
Vaughan Williams' concertante works have never enjoyed great fame, but this recording with James Judd and the RLPO shows his Piano Concerto to be worth getting to know - and young pianist Ashley Wass is a great ambassador. Gordon Jacob's orchestral version of the English Folk Song Suite (originally for wind band) is a delight, and the Aristophanic Suite from The Wasps is full of wit and colour.
