IDAGIO | Hurlstone: Piano Concerto - Variations on a Swedish Air - Piano Quartet

Featuring

Nicholas Braithwaite
Eric Parkin
John Tunnell
Charles Tunnell
Susan Tunnell
Kenneth Essex

London Philharmonic Orchestra
Tunnell Piano Quartet
William Hurlstone

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Composer Biography

William Hurlstone, born in 1876, died at the young age of thirty from bronchial asthma, a condition that plagued him throughout his life.

Critical Reception

Edward Elgar, composer of one of the greatest sets of variations in the repertoire, firmly advised a poet to seek out Hurlstone's Fantasie-Variations on a Swedish Air.

Composer Biography

Hurlstone was considered by his composition teacher, Sir Charles Stanford, to be his most brilliantly gifted student, even among peers like Vaughan Williams, Holst, and Frank Bridge.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Hurlstone primarily focused on instrumental music, going against the prevailing English musical taste of his time, which favored vocal music.

Cultural Impact

The composer Ralph Vaughan Williams once described Hurlstone as 'the English Schubert,' highlighting his adherence to principles of beauty and taste.

Composer Biography

Hurlstone was a remarkable pianist and also learned to play the violin, cello, clarinet, and other instruments to equip himself for composing chamber music.