Alan Bush - Concerto For Piano (1937)

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: The music and video remain copyright of their respective owners and are strictly used here for educational purposes as well as for the promotion of the composer and performers; therefore, if you own copyright over any part of these materials and do not wish to see it here, please contact me directly (rather than immediately referring to You Tube) and I will remove it immediately. Alan Bush (1900-1990) was an English composer whose primary claim to fame is a huge Concerto For Piano that includes a baritone and male choir in its 4th movement. The parallel between this and the concerto by Ferruccio Busoni (which also features a male choir in its final movement) ends there. The text for the Bush work is by Randall Swingler, an active communist who also provided texts for 2 works by Benjamin Britten (Advance Democracy and Ballad Of Heroes). Because of this I was tempted not to upload this work because I refuse to advertise such a vile and loathsome ideology as communism with its promotion of genocide. However, this is a major British work of the 1930s and belongs in that strange subgenre of ‘choral piano concerti’ so, purely on musical grounds, it merits wider circulation – just ignore the deplorable text. Other examples are the Choral Fantasia (1808) by Ludwig Van Beethoven, the Concerto For Piano (1904) by Ferruccio Busoni, Fantasia On The Old 104th Psalm (1949) by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Sonata (1961) by Lubos Fiser, all of which feature choir, piano and orchestra. I apologise in advance for the poor sound quality; it is taken from a radio 3 broadcast. I have endeavoured to improve the sound quality as far as possible. This work is performed by Ashley Holland (baritone), the Apollo Male Choir, Rolf Hind (piano) and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The paintings are by the famous Japanese artist Kazuo Shirada. You may be interested in these other tracks by UNIT, all of which are available on You Tube. The Earth Is Finite. Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes. Osaka Boy (on the Andrew Nunn channel). Barbara’s Bridge. A Study Of Alkaline Metals. The 613 Mitzvot. The Unwanted. A Song For Eric Cooper. Amery Hill School. Realise Your Potential. 1985. Resonance Rocks Out. Yom Kippur. The Noahide Laws. Hup Soon Heng. Eagle. When We Were Friends. IMPORTANT NOTE: The paypal address for our Band Camp site is now ctmurrell1970@. Donations to our finances can also be made to this address if you wish to support our future work. In addition we have 7 books available in PDF format free on request. Not In Front Of The Children: A Study Of Grange Hill 1978 – 1993 Fast – Clean – Cheap (A Compendium) Civil Disobedience – A Collection Of Short Stories For Children Behind The Bike Shed – A Novel For Children Grange Hill 1994 – 2008 The No Nation Interview Birds, Bridges & Boys – Short Stories For Adults