Ian Venables's music is characterized by an instinctive lyric-romantic expressiveness, rooted in the English lyric tradition, and borne of an intensity of emotion.
Composition History
The Sonata (1975) by Ian Venables was inspired by the death of the great Russian composer Dmitry Shostakovich, who was a significant influence on the young Venables.
Critical Reception
Ian Venables has been described by BBC Music Magazine as 'a song composer as fine as Finzi and Gurney' and by BMS Newsletter as 'one of the finest song composers of his generation'.
Recording & Production
This album features world première recordings of several works by Ian Venables, including Caprice, The Stourhead Follies, Impromptu, Portrait of Janis, and the Sonata.
Compositional Technique
Ian Venables's Sonata incorporates the four-note D.S.C.H. motif, a musical signature invented by Shostakovich from his own name and used in his Eighth String Quartet and Tenth Symphony.
Composer Biography
Ian Venables, the composer, is regarded as one of Britain's foremost composers of art-song, having written over 60 works in this genre.
Performer Biography
Graham J. Lloyd, the pianist on this recording, began his piano studies at the relatively late age of fourteen and gave his debut recital four years later.
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