Bowen: 24 Preludes, Suite Mignonne & Berceuse, Op. 83

Featuring

Cristina Ortiz
York Bowen

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Composer Biography

York Bowen, the composer of the works on this album, was described by Camille Saint-Saëns as 'the most remarkable of the young British composers'.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded in December 2012 at Wyastone Concert Hall, Monmouth, UK, and produced by Michael Ponder.

Composer Biography

York Bowen was known as 'the English Rachmaninov' due to his strikingly idiomatic writing for the piano, which dominated his output.

Composer Biography

York Bowen was a prolific composer, writing over 160 works with opus numbers, and was also a professor at the Royal Academy of Music for fifty years.

Critical Reception

The Twenty-Four Preludes, Op. 102, were called 'the finest English piano music written in our time' by composer, pianist, and critic Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji.

Composition History

Bowen's Twenty-Four Preludes, Op. 102, belong to a tradition of works covering all major and minor keys, following the ascending key scheme used by Bach in his Well-Tempered Clavier.

Performer Biography

Pianist Cristina Ortiz won a gold medal at the third Van Cliburn competition and studied with legendary Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute of Music.