Bax Piano Quintet, F.Bridge Piano Quintet : Wass(P)Tippett Quartet

ARNOLD BAX (1883-1953) : Piano Quintet in G minor
FRANK BRIDGE (1879-1940) : Piano Quintet in D minor, H49a

Ashley Wass, piano
The Tippett Quartet

Recorded at St Silas Church, Chalk Farm, London, UK, from 17th to 19th December, 2009

Recognised as rising stars of their generation, pianist Ashley Wass and the Tippett Quartet join forces to present two contrasting yet equally engaging British piano quintets. Conceived on a grand, expansive scale and influenced by Celtic music, with all manner of harmonic and instrumental colours exploited to super effect, Arnold Bax’s Quintet is arguably a precursor of his later symphonies. Frank Bridge’s early work (1904-5, revised 1912) combines his admiration for the music of Faure with the highly integrated ‘fantasy’ techniques he honed when composing music for the famous Cobbett Prize. ( NAXOS )