Sir Andrew Davis, conductor

BBC Philharmonic

 

Bowen: Symphony No.1, Opus 4

Bowen: Symphony No.2, Opus 31

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York Bowen has a distinguished reputation as a composer and was considered to be one of Britain’s finest pianists. In his day he was known as ‘The English Rachmaninoff’, and Saint-Saëns described him as ‘the most remarkable of the young British composers’. The works of York Bowen tend to display a blend of romanticism and strong individuality, and although the influences on him include the likes of Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Grieg, and Tchaikovsky, his music is also strongly defined by textures and harmonies that are uniquely ‘Bowen’. This recording presents his only two surviving symphonies, Symphony No. 1 and Symphony No. 2, which are performed by the BBC Philharmonic under the exclusive Chandos artist Sir Andrew Davis.