Keys of Romance

Track Listings

1. Longing

2. Across Time

3. Beloved

4. By Your Side

5. Stream of Essence

6. Gentle One

7. Taking Flight

8. Echo of Dawn

9. Into Light

Keys of Romance,S.C. Perkins,Helios Music,Contemporary Instrumental,New Age,New Age / Meditation,Pop

Keys of Romance

Tracks:

24 Preludes In All Major And Minor Keys Op 102: No 1 In C major
24 Preludes In All Major And Minor Keys Op 102: No 2 In C minor
24 Preludes In All Major And Minor Keys Op 102: No 10 In E minor
24 Preludes In All Major And Minor Keys Op 102: No 7 In E flat major
24 Preludes In All Major And Minor Keys Op 102: No 8 In E flat minor
24 Preludes In All Major And Minor Keys Op 102: No 22 In B flat minor
24 Preludes In All Major And Minor Keys Op 102: No 21 In B flat major
24 Preludes In All Major And Minor Keys Op 102: No 15 In G major
24 Preludes In All Major And Minor Keys Op 102: No 16 In G minor
24 Preludes In All Major And Minor Keys Op 102: No 6 In D minor
24 Preludes In All Major And Minor Keys Op 102: No 19 In A major
24 Preludes In All Major And Minor Keys Op 102: No 20 In A minor
24 Preludes In All Major And Minor Keys Op 102: No 18 In G sharp minor
Ballade No 2 Op 87
Sonata No 5 In F minor Op 72: Moderato
Sonata No 5 In F minor Op 72: Andate semplice
Sonata No 5 In F minor Op 72: Allegro con fuoco - Pito - Piso e con fuoco
Berceuse Op 83
Moto perpetuo from Op 39
Toccata Op 155
Romance No 1 Op 35 No 1
Romance No 2 Op 45

Customer Reviews:

AND THOSE IN FRONT CRIED 'BACK!'.......2005-10-30

York Bowen's name has been familiar to me since I was a child. It used to appear on the cover of books of pieces set for piano examinations. I just assumed that he must be someone frightfully famous, and I have never known the first thing about him until now. The liner-note with this outstanding disc goes about promoting him in exactly the right way so far as I'm concerned. Firstly the long essay by Francis Pott is knowledgeable, thoughtful and informative. In the second place there are individual paragraphs on each of the pieces making up the recital. Best of all, there is a combative contribution by Hough himself, laying about certain fashions and trends in music during the 20th century and in effect saying `good riddance'. I read very little musical journalism these days, but it's not the first time recently that I've seen this tone adopted, and there seems to be a new mood. I never myself thought it was unduly conservative or reactionary to think that a fair amount of avant-garde composition was really pretentious nonsense. However to call it a load of rubbish was just not done in enlightened circles. What seems to be happening now is that the enlightened circles have themselves come full circle and that once-sacrosanct essays in musical modernity now have an official and certified status as, well, a load of rubbish.

Time to dust off York Bowen in that case. Not all of his music even got into print, but what we have here is not only of good quality, it is of consistently good quality. I suppose the idiom could fairly be called early 20th century romantic. The harmonic style is tonal, and any flirting with whole-tone scales is minimal. The music is approachable and even slightly melodious, not in any sense forbidding although I readily believe Hough when he says that it takes time to reveal itself properly. Some of the titles - preludes in all keys, ballade, berceuse - are obviously borrowed from Chopin, but I don't hear much direct influence of Chopin's style. What I do hear is the Russians, who of course trace their descent more to Chopin than to Schumann or to Brahms, and I think I hear not only Rachmaninov and Medtner as Mr Pott does but also Scriabin in his less mystical phase. It is however `absolute' music, not autobiographical, descriptive or representational music, and to that extent it could be said to hark back to Chopin himself, who kept his distance from the literary influences that so strongly imbued the music of his contemporaries and musical descendents. In fact in the Ballade that Hough gives us here there is a clear and explicit reference to Chopin's own second Ballade, but that is a gesture of deference, a musical doffing of the cap, rather than any sign of direct stylistic influence.

By all accounts Bowen himself was a pretty formidable virtuoso of the piano, which is exactly what one would infer from the difficulty and obvious professionalism of his piano writing, which strikes me as far more skilful and adept than that of, say, his friend and contemporary Arnold Bax. It takes someone who is more than just the next virtuoso to handle it, and it presumably needs no saying by now that Stephen Hough is exceptional even by today's formidable virtuoso standards. He is the complete professional, meaning that in the right sense, namely that he is sternly self-disciplined in everything he does. His technique is prodigious, but one could say that too of our late beloved Ogdon, who rivalled Hough in musical insight too but projected a very different persona and took a more autoschediastic approach. A lot of Ogdon's charm was that we never exactly knew where we were with him. With Hough we have a much better idea of that. He is not precisely calculated to the nth degree as Michelangeli was, but n minus 1 might describe the effect - intellectual, calculated certainly, but calculated very accurately and with emotion and belief behind it.

This is music that I find it difficult to imagine anyone disliking or being bored by now that it is back in official favour. To me it is highly attractive stuff and quality stuff too. I could not help noticing that it seems to have attracted much more comment than other British music of the period that has interested me personally, music by Bax, Bliss and Rawsthorne for instance. A great bonus and relief for me is that it is entirely innocent of contamination from what Constant Lambert well termed `the cowpat school' of British music, and while it avoids modernism even to the modest extent that Walton went in for that it is music with integrity and consistency. It has been a pleasure to me to make its acquaintance and the pleasure is one that I recommend in general.

Hough At The Peak of his Powers.......2004-02-06

Stephen Hough has done it again - found a relatively unknown artist from the Romantic era and given us a recording for all time. The CD notes state that York Bowen was called the Rachmaninoff of his country (England) at the time. Every single track on this CD is a gem, shiny and perfect. The sonata comes off sounding like a time-machine transport back to the late 19th century, a lush piece.

My only complaint is that only some of the Preludes are present. I tend toward complete sets for one reason: They usually contain works that would not be heard outside of such a recording. In this case, it will be a while before the "missing" Preludes can be found in an acceptable format. They are hyper-Romantic, a perfect blend of technique, melody and bravura.

Excellent Performance of A Rarely Heard Master.......2002-01-24

I doubt if many people knew of York Bowen before the appearance of this recording. It is difficult to definitively describe his music: perhaps a bit of Rachmaninov and Debussy, a dash of Ravel and a hit of Chopin and Beethoven. At any rate, these are the composers that came to mind as I listened. But there also is the missing ingredient of York Bowen himself, for although his music may recall other composers his own way of writing is present.

Bowen was a fabulous pianist and it shows in these pieces covering various periods in his career and forms. The disc holds a selection of Preludes, a Ballade, a Toccata, a Moto Perpetuo and a Sonata. Stephan Hough plays beautifully and the recorded is balanced and clear. The notes are excellent in providing a look at the life of York Bowen and the background of the pieces on this disc. I knew about this CD but had not gotten around to buying it until recently. My advice is not to wait.

Little known music but a piano "must".......2000-07-24

Before buying this CD my only knowledge of York Bowen's piano music was struggling with an "Albumleaf" as a youngster. I bought this record on the strength of "Gramophone's" recommendation, and was delighted with it. Hough's playing is absolute magic - a spectacular technique but always employed to serve the music, not his ego. The music itself is a revelation, "modern" for its time but not oppressively so. Listen to the excerpts from the 24 preludes to be astounded by Hough's piano mastery, but hear the two Romances which end this disk to get to the real heart of York Bowen's music. If they don't persuade you to part with your money, you have no soul!

Opulent and impassioned music.......2000-05-10

This is wonderfully compelling piano music, Bowen has an original voice which he locates admirably within the Romantic language.Bowen lived when Listz was still a contemporary still harboring an air of pianistic innovation and conceptual challenge to locate a voice within this transitional period to modernity. Great Britain in many respects was insolated from the the dual revolutionary threats on the continent with the Stravinsky ballets score for the Diagaliev troup and the dodecaphonic innovations suggested with Schoenbergs chamber Pierrot Lunaire. Bowen's Preludes although written with a Bach scheme of Major to Minor Keys is indebted to the brilliance of Chopin. Yet Bowen's sense of lyricism is incredibly different,with less adventurous affinity than Chopin. Bowen's music always constitutes itself with a classical shaped length. There are no mere mists of textures, as Chopin's E-flat minor prelude. Bowen's music can grow and set up tremendous impassioned fury, with continuous momentum, yet Bowen knows the mysteries of his durational time. His music never extends itself beyond the structural frames his music implies or suggests. It is forever more powerful because of it. At more ambitious forms however as the Sonata in F minor, the movements work extremely well, the Exposition, the Moderato admirably proclaiming itself containing the second movement the beautifully introspective Andante semplice. The Berceuse as well finds an original lyrical scheme with fine nuanced pianisitic colours. Bowen's modernity constitutes itself with the delight in pure textural excursions, indeed within breathtaking virtuosic gestures, fast spellbinding arpeggios, surfacing the upper sonoric realms here. Bowen was also an accomplished horn and viola player. He played horn during the War in a Wind Band. Stephen Hough is brilliant with this music with a fine sense of architecture and control,yet reading Bowen's lyrical lines with sensitivity.

Average customer rating:

In Search Of The Lost Chord

Manufacturer: Afka
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000003XVA
Release Date: 1996-09-01

Na Khrupkikh Klavishakh Dushi / on Weak Keys of Soul (Russian Romance)

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Na Khrupkikh Klavishakh Dushi / on Weak Keys of Soul (Russian Romance)

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B0007NFW44

Product Description

1. A nocturne 2. An old plate 3. You are young, but... 4. The book novel 5. To friends 6. A lunar tango 7. White dream 8. Russia 9. On a party 10. Recollect, brothers

Average customer rating:

Keys of Romance
S.C. Perkins
Manufacturer: Helios Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Longing
Across Time
Beloved
By Your Side
Stream of Essence
Gentle One
Taking Flight
Echo of Dawn
Into Light

Keys to the Heart: Romantic Piano Compositions [2 CD Set]

Average customer rating:

Keys to the Heart: Romantic Piano Compositions [2 CD Set]

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B00070LY5I

Product Description

Two CD set of piano classics from Silvard. Included are the following tracks: Disc One: (1) Memory (2) Michelle (3) Only Love (4) Soulmates (5) I Love How You Love Me (6) Thinking Back (7) My Way (8) Summertime (9) Counting My Lucky Stars (10) Let It Be (11) Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue (12) Feelings. Disc Two: (1) All I Have To Do Is Dream (2) Wish You Were Here (3) Do That To Me One More Time (4) Let It Be Me (5) Together At Last (6) Wind Beneath My Wings (7) I'm Sorry (8) Spanish Eyes (9) Open Arms (10) If You Could Read My Mind (11) All I Ask Of You (12) Try To Remember. For more information visit www-Silvard-com.

Average customer rating:

Fantasies

Manufacturer: Tall Poppies
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000099T23
Release Date: 2003-05-27

Transistor Theory and Circuits Made Simple

Average customer rating:

Transistor Theory and Circuits Made Simple
Staynless
Manufacturer: Undecided Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000IBDOX6

Product Description

Transistor Theory and Circuits Made Simple is actually an unholy blast of gritty, angular, Fugazi-inspired post-hardcore managed to capture both the fragile and the brutal aspects of Staynless' attack, and pump them through your speakers simultaneously. The incessantly melodic chime that starts "Haunting the Haunted House," which slowly morphs into a rough-as-sandpaper mass of distorted power chords and pounding drums. Staynless might just break down your door and jam a guitar neck down your throat for doing so. Contents: 1) Haunting the Haunted House 2) Pay What You Get For 3) The Dead Bell 4) Relax and Color 5) First Law of Motion 6) Activator 7) Saint Christofer 8) Rail Roads Follow Rivers

Average customer rating:

The Piano Lady

Manufacturer: Happy Keys Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0009N7LZU

Product Description

This is an elegant solo recording of some of the most beautiful ballads ever composed. Carol's lush pianistic arrangements provide the perfect romantic ambience. Carol adds her vocal talents to the last track "Like Someone in Love."

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