Fand Catalogue

  

Sonata in E flat for piano

Sir Arnold Bax

The ‘story’ of this major work from one of Britain’s foremost composers at the time is not that well known; the Bax scholar Graham Parlett writes:

In 1921, Arnold Bax completed the final version of his first published piano sonata (in F sharp minor) and oversaw the printing of his second (in G). On 30 June he finished a three-movement work in E flat that was originally headed ‘3rd Sonata’, but this is not the same as the published score with that title, which was composed in 1926. After he had played through the Sonata in E flat to his friends Harriet Cohen and Arthur Alexander, they urged him to turn it into a symphony, and so, following their advice, Bax crossed through the original title and wrote in its place, ‘Symphony in Eb (Sketch)’.

—Graham Parlett

This is the work that FAND MUSIC PRESS now presents: the original version, as played by Bax that evening. The second movement is entirely different from that in the eventual symphony, being an elaborate seascape with the magical freshness of The Garden of Fand seemingly within reach. And there are new variants in the outer movements which show Bax’s original inspiration.

Carefully prepared and edited from the original manuscript by Graham Parlett, this is a wonderful addition to our Bax collection!

Sample pages

(Click to enlarge)

		Composer	Title	Grade	Forces	Total duration
		Sir Arnold Bax	Sonata in E flat for piano	8 to Advanced (post-Grade 8)	Piano	34 mins
	#	Composer	Movement		Forces	Duration
	1	Sir Arnold Bax	Allegretto moderato e feroce – molto cantabile		Piano	14 mins
	2		Lento con molto espressione			10 mins
	3		Scherzo–Finale (Largamente – Allegro molto vivace)			10 mins

Recorded performance

Ennio Caironi, Piano

Catalogue code: FM211 • Published: 8th August 2018
Entry last updated: 31st July 2024