Bax, A.: Symphonic Variations / Concertante for Piano Left Hand

Featuring

James Judd
Ashley Wass
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Sir Arnold Bax

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Performer Biography

Ashley Wass, the pianist on this recording, is the only British pianist to have won First Prize at the London International Piano Competition and is a former BBC New Generation Artist.

Composer Biography

Bax was a piano pupil of the legendary Tobias Matthay at the Royal Academy of Music, alongside contemporaries like Myra Hess and Harriet Cohen.

Composition History

The original score of the Symphonic Variations was cut after its premiere because the dedicatee, Harriet Cohen, had small hands and heavily webbed fingers, making some passages difficult to play.

Composition History

The Symphonic Variations were inscribed by Bax to his lover, Harriet Cohen, a pianist, and promoted as having been written for her.

Compositional Technique

The Symphonic Variations feature self-quotations and poetic motifs, including a literal quotation from Bax's song 'Parting' in the final variation.

Composition History

Bax wrote the Concertante for Piano (Left Hand) and Orchestra for Harriet Cohen after she suffered an accident to her right wrist, rendering her unable to play with two hands.