Search - William Alwyn, Richard Hickox, London Symphony Orchestra :: Alwyn: Symphony No. 1; Piano Concerto No. 1

Chandos and Lyrita presently are the only labels producing the works of William Alwyn. The Lyrita symphonies have the advantage of being conducted by the composer in recordings from the 1970s. The Chandos releases of Alwyn's symphonies are accompanied by smaller works, in this case Alwyn's 15-minute Piano Concerto No. 1. Hickox takes Alwyn's music through slightly faster pacing and gets a much less gloomy reading of Alwyn's brand of modernism. The Piano Concerto is particularly breezy and the Chandos sound has never been as glorious. It somehow has rendered the LSO livelier than usually. Highly recommended. --Paul Cook