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COLIN HORSLEY OBE
New Zealander pianist (1920 - 2012)
Colin Horsley studied with Tobias Matthay and Irene Scharrer at the Royal College of Music. In addition to being a superb concert pianist, made it a mission in life to play the works of contemporary composers giving many first performances . He championed the works of Lennox Berkeley, John Ireland whose lovely and almost never performed Piano Concerto can be heard below, Frederick Delius, Sir Edward Elgar, Sir Benjamin Britten, Edmund Rubbra and Sir William Walton among others.
Those of you who are not familiar with Lennox Berkeley have a treat in store in the form of his trio for violin, horn and piano that can be heard below. Many of Berkeley's works for solo piano are also included, so rarely do we get a chance to hear them, and while I do not find them to be on the level of a number of his contemporarie, some are quite appealing and all are finely crafted.
Colin Horsley's skill as a chamber musician can be fully appreciated in the movement of the Mozart qunitet with which we can begin.
Mozart Quintet for Piano and Winds in E♭ Major, K 452
with the Dennis Brain Wind Ensemble
recorded in 1954
i Lento. Allegro moderato
ii Larghetto
iii Rondo: Allegretto
Mozart Piano Concerto 14 in E♭ Major, K 449 (excerpts)
Basil Cameron conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra
recorded in 1954
Weber "Momento Capriccioso" in B♭ major, Op 12
recorded in 1951
Chopin 7 Études
in E♭ minor, Op 10~6*
02:58 ➢ in C major, Op 10~7*
04:36 ➢ in F minor, Op. 25~2
06:23 ➢ in D♭ major, Op 25~8
07:41 ➢ in G♭ major, Op 25~9
08:53 ➢ in G♯ minor. Op 25~6
10:57 ➢ in A minor, Op 25~4
recorded in 1945 (*1951)
Still going strong at 88
Chopin Fantaisie-Impromptu, Op 66
Chopin-Liszt 5 "My Joys"from Polish Songs
recorded in 1951
Liszt 2 "Gnomenreigen" from Two Concert Etudes, S 245
[a comparison in which all are excellent interpretations impeccably performed]
Colin Horsley
03:00 ➢ Eileen Joyce
05:37 ➢ Louis Kentner
08:55 ➢ Frederic Lamond
12:39 ➢ Dinu Lipatti
Bizet-Rachmaninoff Minuet from "L'Arlesienne"
Sergei Rachmaninoff
02:48 ➢ Colin Horsley
06:13 ➢ Jorge Bolet
09:00 ➢ Georges Cziffra
Rachmaninoff Prelude in E minor, Op 32~4
recorded in 1949
John Ireland (1879-1962) Piano Concerto in E♭ major (1930)
Basil Cameron conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
i In tempo moderato
09:43 ➢ ii Lento espressivo
16:57 ➢ iii Allegro giocoso
Stravinsky Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra
Basil Cameron conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra
i Presto
ii Andante rapsodico
iii Allegro capriccioso ma tempo giusto
recorded in 1958
Prokofiev Piano Sonata 3 in A minor, Op 28 (1917)
recorded in 1949
4 Allegretto
Sir Lennox Berkeley (1903-1989) Impromptu in G minor, Op 7~1
Sir Lennox Berkeley from Four concert Studies, Op 14
2 in E minor
3 in C minor
4 in F major
Sir Lennox Berkeley Piano Sonata in A major, Op 20
recorded ca1950
1 Moderato
ii Presto
iii Adagio
iv Introduzione. Allegro
Sir Lennox Berkeley from Six Preludes, Op 23
recorded ca1950
1 Allegro
2 Andante
3 Allegro moderato
4 Allegretto
5 Allegro
6 Andante
Sir Lennox Berkeley Scherzo in D major, Op 32~2
Sir Lennox Berkeley Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano, Op 44
with Dennis Brain, horn and Manoug Parikian, violin
recorded prior to 1957 (the year of Dennis Brain's tragic death at the age of 36 in as the result of an automobile accident)
i Allegro
ii Lento
iii Theme and variations
Sir Lennox Berkeley Concert Study in E♭ major, Op 48~2
For those of you who enjoy murder mysteries, here is my first with a strong musical polemic as background
Murder in the House of the Muse
which is also available as an audiobook.
And this is the more recently published second mystery in the series:
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