CD Release of Pavel Zemek Novák Preludes and Fugues

April saw the release of the world premiere recording of Pavel Zemek Novák's extraordinary 75-minute cycle of 24 Preludes and Fugues, written for William Howard between 1989 and 2006 and described by composer David Matthews as "one of the finest piano works of our time." Pavel Zemek Novák is the leading Czech composer of his generation, and yet, astonishingly, this is the first CD recording devoted entirely to his work. The Preludes and Fugues, based on the Bible, reflect the deep religious faith of the composer. The work was described by Andrew McGregor on BBC Radio 3 CD Review as "an intensely focused, often fascinating place to dwell for a while, other-worldly, even at its most severe."

In a double five-star review in the October 2011 BBC Music Magazine, Calum MacDonald describes the 24 Preludes and Fugues as "one of those works that practically redefines its genre…It's a work of tremendous virtuosity and drastic extremes of dynamic and register that expands to absorb a wealth of styles…Superb performance and stunning sound: a real discovery." A further review can be found at The Arts Desk

The CD is available on the Champs Hill label (CHRCD016), which has also recently issued a highly acclaimed Brahms recording featuring William Howard playing Intermezzi for solo piano and the Piano Quintet with the Schubert Ensemble (CHRCD011).

Further information and download:
http://www.champshillrecords.co.uk/cddetail.php?cat_number=CHRCD016




Recent Performances

William Howard gave two very contrasted recitals for the Kings Place Festival in London on September 11th 2011. The first featured two great romantic works, Chopin's First Ballade and Schumann's Humoreske. After a 30-minute break, William Howard performed four works written for him over a 27-year period, starting with Judith Weir's The Art of Touching the Keyboard, which he premiered at the Wigmore Hall in 1983 and finishing with Piers Hellawell's powerful and imaginative Piani, Latebre, premiered at last year's Spitalfields Festival. Between these works he played three Preludes and Fugues by Pavel Zemek Novák (see above) and Howard Skempton's beautiful and atmospheric Reflections (1999-2002). Review He also performed excerpts from this programme live on BBC Radio 3's In Tune a few days earlier.

William Howard can also be heard at Kings Place with the Schubert Ensemble at 11.30am on Sunday October 16th in a Mozart programme that includes the Adagio in B minor for piano and the chamber version of his Concerto in E flat K.449. Further information

Earlier in the summer, he was resident at the Dartington International Summer School, where he first went as a student in 1968 and has been returning regularly to perform and teach since 1993. As well as giving master classes, he gave a recital of Scarlatti Sonatas, alongside Tansy Davies' Scarlatti-inspired Loopholes and Dallapiccola's Quaderno Musicale di Annalibera. He also performed Fauré's First Piano Quintet with the Duke Quartet.