Alwyn: Piano Music, Vol. 1 (Incls Sonata alla toccata & Fantasy Waltzes)

Piano music featured prominently for the most part of Alwyn's career. The composer himself was no mean pianist, as evidenced in the varying technical demands made on the pianist in the works included here. The major work on this recording, Fantasy Waltzes, consisting of a suite of eleven virtuoso pieces, is arguably Alwyn's finest creation for piano solo. Haze of Noon is a dreamy and languid piece, one of several published by OUP for their educational series. Green Hills is a nature poem which inhabits the sound world of John Ireland, while both Fancy Free and April Morn are simpler pieces which nevertheless demonstrate Alwyn's consummate skill as a composer.