This disc, Vol. 1 in
Ashley Wass' recordings of the complete solo piano works of William Alwyn, contains 31 of the English composer's 150 individual works for the instrument. Most of the music here comes from the interwar period, starting with the very early and intensely atmospheric April Morn, written between 1924 and 1926, though the best of it comes from the postwar period starting with the rhythmic Sonata alla toccata from 1945-1946 and the moving Fantasy Waltzes from 1954-1955. As in his previous recordings of solo piano works of Bax and Bridge,
Wass' virtuosity and sympathy for the music are on the highest level.
Wass brings out the tenderness of Green Hills of 1935 as well as bringing out the whimsy of Harvest Home of 1938 or the structural imagination of the Sonata alla toccata. Anyone who already knows Alwyn's symphonies and concertos will find much to enjoy here -- and, given the quality of the music and the appeal of the performance, anyone who doesn't already know them probably will, too. Naxos' recording is cool, clear, and full.