Stephen Hough's English Album

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The very opening item, Rawsthorne's four Bagatelles, instantly makes it clear that this latest recital disc from Stephen Hough has a different aim from his previous collections of charmers.
Gritty... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 More…

Catalogue No: CDA67267
Label: Hyperion
Series: Instrumental Selections
Length: 73 minutes

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Rawsthorne, A: Bagatelles

Work length5:45

$4.00

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Stephen Hough (piano)

I. Allegro

Track length1:02

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II. Allegretto

Track length1:41

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III. Presto non assai

Track length1:07

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IV. Lento

Track length1:55

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Reynolds, S: Two Poems in Homage to Delius

Work length11:32

$2.50

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Stephen Hough (piano)

I. Rustic Idyll

Track length1:47

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II. Serenade and Dance of Spring

Track length9:45

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Hough: Valse Enigmatique No. 1

Work length2:23

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Stephen Hough (piano)

Hough: Valse Enigmatique No. 2

Work length2:22

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Stephen Hough (piano)

Elgar: In Smyrna

Work length4:28

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Stephen Hough (piano)

Reynolds, S: Two Poems in Homage to Fauré

Work length7:45

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Stephen Hough (piano)

I. Chanson d'Automne

Track length2:08

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II. Impromptu: Le printemps

Track length5:37

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Bantock: Song to the Seals

Work length4:06

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Stephen Hough (piano)

Bowen: Reverie d'Amour Op. 20 No. 2

Work length6:14

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Stephen Hough (piano)

Bowen: Serious Dance Op. 51 No. 2

Work length3:24

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Stephen Hough (piano)

Bowen: The Way to Polden (an ambling tune) Op. 76

Work length3:34

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Stephen Hough (piano)

Bridge: The Dew Fairy

Work length2:44

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Stephen Hough (piano)

Bridge: Heart's Ease

Work length1:57

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Stephen Hough (piano)

Leighton: Six Studies (Study-Variations) Op. 56

Work length17:14

$6.00

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Stephen Hough (piano)

Variation 1. Adagio molto

Track length3:10

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Variation 2. Allegro molto e secco, molto ritmico

Track length1:34

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Variation 3. Adagio molto, mysterioso ma molto espressivo

Track length5:30

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Variation 4. Allegro leggiero e capriccioso

Track length2:01

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Variation 5. Allegro molto, nervoso

Track length1:24

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Variation 6. Presto con bravura – precipitosa, il più presto possible al fine

Track length3:35

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About
Reviews
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About

This disc, which is very close to Stephen Hough's heart, should be thought of as an addition to his very successful series of 'Piano Albums'. In fact this recital started off with material left over from his New Piano Album (CDA67043). The disc is a tribute to the English school of piano compositionmostly a 20th-century phenomenon, and the material is very much a personal selection rather than an encyclopaedic overview. The mood is predominantly lyrical and nostalgic (perhaps very English phenomena), and most of the pieces are very much the kind Stephen might present as encores. There is some serious 'meat' though in the form of Leighton's Study Variations. These are a major addition to the piano repertoire and add to the growing recognition, some fourteen years after his death, that in Kenneth Leighton we have a major composer indeed.

Reviews

2010

The very opening item, Rawsthorne's four Bagatelles, instantly makes it clear that this latest recital disc from Stephen Hough has a different aim from his previous collections of charmers.
Gritty and tough, in Hough's hands sounding wonderfully pianistic, these miniatures are thoughtful and intense, balanced at the end of the disc by the final item, also by far the longest, Kenneth Leighton's Study Variations. These do not make for easy listening either, but they inspire Hough to superb pianism over six sharply characterised pieces, at times echoing Bartók in their angry energy, at others full of fantasy. What all these very varied pieces demonstrate is Hough's profound love of keyboard sound and textures, and his rare gift of bringing out the full tonal beauty.
It's evidence, too, of Hough's wizardry that he makes the Elgar piece, In Smyrna, sound so magical. In his hands it's like an improvisation with echoes of the lovely solo viola serenade in the overture, In the South. The three Bowen works are simple and song-like using an almost cabaret-style of piano writing. In all these pieces Hough's magic is presented in full, clear Hyperion sound. Thoroughly recommended.

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