Customer Reviews

Doreen Carwithen: Concerto for piano & strings; Bishop Rock; ODTAA; Suffolk Suite

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Carwithen's Piano Concerto is worth the price of this CD alone, with a very passionate first movement followed by a serene second section with delicate piano writing.. The third movement is probably the weakest, with more bluster than actual musical substance. However, the work as a whole deserves to be put on the roster of well written 20th century piano concerti. All of the other works on the CD are lighter in texture, reminding one of the movie music of Rosza with an English twist. All told, a lovely CD that is a pleasure to listen to!

Doreen Carwithen (1922-2003) worked tirelessly to promote the music of her husband William Alwyn, and neglected her own compositional career as a result. In fact, Carwithen was originally one of Alwyn's students, and apparently an outstanding one, and on the evidence of the music on this disc it is something of a pity that we don't have more music from her pen. There are no masterpieces here, to be sure, and nothing to rival Alwyn's best works, but it is communicative, well-crafted, splendidly scored and very promising (in the sense that it would have been interesting to see where her obvious talent could have taken her given full chance to develop as a composer). Stylistically it is relatively conservative, and while there are traces of Alwyn in the music it reminds one overall more of the music of William Walton. It is not entirely without an individual touch, however.

The overture ODTAA ("one damn thing after another") was written in 1947, and is a brilliant work full of ideas (none of them particularly memorable), skillfully stitched together to a feisty, effective, coherent and colorful work. The Bishop Rock overture (1952) is a typically British sea picture, stormy and evocative; excellently scored and very effective (this may be the work to sample for those curious about the music). The innocent Suffolk Suite is tuneful and attractive. It was apparently written for schoolchildren, but you'd never guess.

The most substantial work on the disc is the piano concerto from 1948. As with ODTAA it is effectively put together and full of ideas, though none of them particularly memorable. It is brilliantly scored, however, and deploys some clever rhythmic effects. Overall the argument is taut and convincing, and the work never outstays its welcome. The performances are excellent - the London Symphony Orchestra under Richard Hickox unsurprisingly knows how to approach this music for maximal effect and Howard Shelley makes the most of the solo part in the concerto. The sound is superb ass well, to the extent that it adds another layer of brilliance to the music. A recommended release then; not an earth-shattering discovery, but a rewarding one nonetheless.