First performed at the 1971 Aldeburgh festival by Jonathan Williams & Giles Swayne.
Programme notes
The Four lyrical pieces were written in 1970 when I was still at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and were first performed in a student concert at the Academy on 4th March 1970 by Jonathan Williams and myself. We also played them at the Aldeburgh Festival in June that year.
In essence this is a short four-movement sonata – the sort of piece which used to be called a sonatina. The four pieces correspond to the four movements of traditional sonata structure – the first a brooding Tempo rubato, espressivo – the second a short and snappy Scherzando which leads without a break (via a sustained high harmonic on the cello) to a dreamy Molto lento. The last piece, Vivace, is a flashy finish with a slow, reflective passage just before the end, and a final dramatic flourish.
Giles Swayne 2008
Recordings
Giles Swayne: Music for cello and piano
Robert Irvine (cello)
Fali Pavri (piano)
Delphian: DCD34073
Four lyrical pieces
Canto for cello
Sonata for cello and piano
Suite no. 1
