Works: Piano Concerto no.1 in A major (1958), Concerto in A minor for two pianos and string orchestra (1971), Piano Concerto no.2 in F sharp minor (1960), Piano Concerto no.3 in E flat major (1962), Sinfonia concertante in F sharp major for piano, three trumpets and orchestra (1962), Piano Concerto no.4 in D major (1994)
Performers: Piers Lane (piano), Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra / Howard Shelley
Label: Hyperion
Audio
Clips from this new recording can be heard at the Hyperion website
For 28 years he held the post, right up until his death in 2003, but he was the first Master of the Queen's Music not to be knighted. Perhaps this was because he still regarded himself as firmly Australian, despite moving to the UK in 1953. A great quote at the end of the Guardian obituary in his honour sums it up neatly. "Most of my music is Australian. Not the bush or the deserts, but the brashness of the cities. The sort of brashness that makes Australians go through life pushing doors marked pull."
Williamson, a colourful character, wrote a lot of music, but it gradually fell out of favour with the critics during the 1970s. Interestingly, he appeared on Desert Island Discs in 1976, soon after his appointment – a program that can be heard and even downloaded on the Radio 4 website. His choices include Britten's Les illuminations - Britten being the composer who was initially approached to be Master of the Queen's Music. Yet later in his life Williamson was called to question for some disparaging comments about the composer – and blotted his copybook in royal circles by failing to meet the deadline for a commission for the Silver Jubilee in 1977.
Yet he did write a lot of music for piano and orchestra, which Hyperion have collected here – and which is appropriately accompanied by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. There are four numbered piano concertos, a Sinfonia Concertant for piano with three trumpets and orchestra and a Concerto for two pianos and orchestra, a form that was to prove popular with British composers such as Malcolm Arnold and Alan Rawsthorne.
Three of the concertos have been recorded before, but this release sees the first recorded account of the fourth.
Thoughts
Its first movement Toccata is almost completely self-contained, but has some brilliant material – with a catchy theme, some imaginative development and instrumentation, and some punchy rhythms. There is more than a little like Stravinsky in its spiky figurations, and some crunchy harmonies, while with a soaring melody on the violins at the end, it almost sounds like a last movement placed first. The second movement, also quite fast, begins with an airy and insistent movement that suggests Poulenc, while the third starts in a haze of strings before bold piano interventions rock the boat. The work ends with a striking epilogue, with strings, high wind and piano in long notes together – brilliantly played in this recording.
The Piano Concerto no.1 in A major is also excellent. A briefly misty introduction quickly comes together into a forthright first movement which has strong hints of Prokofiev in its percussive piano writing, but also in some of the grand themes that come out. A regal tune powers the third movement for a massive finish to a very listenable work.
I found the Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra much tougher going. This is partly on account of my ears – I find two pianos and orchestra quite a tricky combination to enjoy – but also because Williamson seems to delight in hammering home his musical points here, and there is little room for subtlety. The slow movement is unexpectedly graceful however, with a rather moving section taking its lead from plainchant, as detailed in the excellent booklet notes to this recording. The spectacular finish means this is not a write-off by any means – as there are still some good tunes – but ultimately I found this a piece best listened to on its own.
The Piano Concerto no.2, accompanied by strings only, has the best tune – its finale, suggesting encounters with Gershwin, fizzes along and is completely catchy! The tune was in my head within minutes and stayed there for a long time. It caps a work that brims with tunes elsewhere.
Meanwhile the Sinfonia concertante with three trumpets and piano in the exotic key of F sharp major – packs a punch in this performance, brilliantly played by the three brass soloists in a way that makes an unlikely combination work. I don’t find the melodic invention as spontaneous in this work, which is not surprising given his use of serial methods while writing this work, but it is never less than entertaining. The slow movement – again with religious connections, this time drawing from the Salve Regina - is more thought provoking.
The fourth piano concerto, completed as recently as 1994, is a shorter work but it seizes the moment immediately, driving forward with great determination – a bit more mechanical in its profile maybe, but still providing melodic interest. The orchestra is a big one, and Williamson writes some forceful music for it – but again in the slow movement pulls things back for music of grace and poise, reminding us he was a stage composer too.
Verdict
If you like the piano concertos of Prokofiev or Gershwin, Williamson is but a short hop away. There is some really enjoyable music here that suggests some happy acquaintances with jazz and ragtime, as well as twentieth-century classical music. Each of these performances is superb, brilliantly played and thoroughly understood by Piers Lane and Howard Shelley.
In the slow movements especially Williamson reaches deeper emotions, balancing the extrovert faster music very nicely. Because of that balance these works – with the possible exception of the two-piano concerto – are consistently rewarding, and come highly recommended.
Further listening
This Williamson playlist on Spotify includes the composer as soloist in his Piano Concerto no.3, along with the Symphony no.1, the Organ Concerto , the Sinfonia concertante and the Concerto for two pianos and orchestra.
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