Composer: Howard Blake
Performer: Vladimir Ashkenazy
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Decca
Catalogue: 4786300
Release: 2014
Size: 1.22 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Walking In The Air (Excerpt “Lifecycle”), Op. 310
02. Music Box Theme (from “The Changeling”), Op. 274
03. Lara’s Theme (from “The Duellists”), Op. 247
04. Prelude For Vova, Op. 640
05. Speech After Long Silence, Op. 610
Twelve Piano Pieces, Op. 177
06. 1. Prelude
07. 2. Nocturne
08. 3. Impromptu
09. 4. Toccatina
10. 5. Mazurka
11. 6. Walking Song
12. 7. Chaconne In D Minor
13. 8. Scherzo In D Major
Dances For 2 Pianos, Op. 217a
14. 1. Parade
15. 2. Slow Ragtime
1+. 3. Jump
17. 4. Medium Rock
18. 5. Folk Ballad
19. 6. Boogie
20. 7. Jazz Waltz
21. 8. Cha-Cha
22. 9. Galop
Sonata for two pianos, Op. 130
23. 1. Allegro
24. 2. Lento
25. 3. Scherzando
26. 4. Presto
27. Piano Fantasy, Op. 1
28. Four Easy Pieces, Op. 1b
29. Romanza, Op. 5f
30. Haiku For Yu-Chee
31. Parting, Op. 650a
Vladimir Ashkenazy returns with an unexpected album of compositions by his long-standing friend Howard Blake, best known for the Christmas favourite Walking In The Air.
Walking in the Air, which Ashkenazy has chosen as the title track of the disc is arranged here for solo piano (and available as an e-single). The song was composed by Blake as the centrepiece of his score for the children’s classic animated film The Snowman, and exemplifies the composer’s warmly accessible style.
Ashkenazy performs no fewer than nine world premiere recordings from Blake’s repertoire and the album features music from Blake’s other film scores, including Ridley Scott’s ‘The Duellists’ and horror classic ‘The Changeling’ and the Prelude for Vova Op.640, written after Ashkenazy asked Blake to “make a piece out of my initials A.S.H. – like Liszt did with B.A.C.H.”
Howard Blake’s illustrious career has spanned over 50 years in which he has composed more than 650 works, both classical and popular. He has written scores for numerous films, beginning in the 1970s, but it was in 1982, with his orchestral score for The Snowman that Blake achieved widespread acclaim. While he is best known for the Christmas classic, he has written a wide range of music, including a piano concerto for the 30th birthday of Princess Diana.
“His piano music is extremely well written and pianistic, due, of course, to the fact that he is a very good pianist himself,” explains Ashkenazy, “and so it is truly a joy to play.”
British composer Howard Blake seems to lead two careers, writing music for films and for the concert hall, yet this division is somewhat arbitrary because so much of his work has crossover appeal. The music for the 1982 film The Snowman, for example, has become one of Blake’s most recognizable scores, and its signature song, Walking in the Air, has become a genuine hit, covered by pop and even heavy metal artists. Blake has also written evocative music for the films The Duellists and The Changeling, and their themes are included in this 2014 Decca release by pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy. In many instances, Blake composes in a relaxed contemporary classical style, as in the series of 24 piano pieces in Lifecycle, of which 10 are presented here, including the keyboard version of Walking in the Air. Blake is an unabashed tonalist with a pleasing lyrical gift that makes his music instantly accessible, though its mild harmonies and simple melodies are rarely challenging. However, the Dances for 2 pianos and the Sonata for 2 pianos show more rhythmically active music infused with jazz harmonies, and Ashkenazy’s performances with his son, Vovka Ashkenazy, are easily the most entertaining selections of this disc.