William Howard: William Howard Plays Skempton - COMPACT DISCS

William Howard: William Howard Plays Skempton - COMPACT DISCS

William Howard SKU: 40005287
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Title:

William Howard Plays Skempton

Artist:

William Howard

Label:

Orchid Classics

Product Type:

COMPACT DISCS

UPC:

5060189561162

Genre:

Classical

Release Date:

2020-02-14

Number of Discs:

1

William Howard performs the solo piano music of Howard Skempton in a collection that includes Skempton's 24 Preludes and Fugues, inspired by J.S. Bach's example but in a contemporary style. Skempton's piano miniatures are concise, crystalline gems: clear, colorful and bright. There is a neoclassical quality to Skempton's Preludes and Fugues, which exude a serene, almost otherworldly atmosphere, tempered with a sense of intimacy and refinement. Each Prelude consists of a spare, canonic piece, and each Fugue is woven into an intricate but delicate texture of interlacing lines. Skempton's Three Nocturnes are richer and more fluid, at times darker-hued and enigmatic, with the use of jazz inflections but with a similar clarity of texture to that heard in the Preludes and Fugues. The Reflections are exquisite windows into a world of contemplative introspection, and the Images represent a varied collection of miniatures culminating in a Postlude based on The Keel Row, a folk tune from the north of Britain also used in Debussy's orchestral Images - perhaps a nod to the impressionistic aspects of these works, as alluded to by Skempton in his album notes: "The landscape of these four collections of pieces is gently unpredictable..."

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