Gurney: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 & 3

Featuring

George Rowley
Ivor Gurney

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Performer Biography

George Rowley, the pianist on this album, received scholarships to study at the Junior Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, and the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest.

Composer Biography

After the war, Gurney composed at an astonishing rate, but his underlying bipolar illness was exacerbated by this immense creativity, leading to his commitment to an asylum in 1922.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Gurney believed that a work of art should not be praised for its perfection, but for its beauty or truth, which he considered more important than a crafted finish.

Composer Biography

Gurney's education was interrupted by World War I, where he served as a private and was gassed during the Passchendaele offensive.

Composer Biography

Ivor Gurney, the composer, was a chorister at Gloucester Cathedral and later studied composition at the Royal College of Music with Sir Charles Villiers Stanford.

Recording & Production

This album features world premiere recordings of Ivor Gurney's Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 and 3, the Adagio from Piano Sonata No. 2, and his piano poem Autumn.