1 Piano, 4 Hands
SKU:
HL.14041529
1
Piano, 4 Hands.
Composed by Lord Berners.
Music Sales America.
Classical. Softcover.
Chester Music #CH75306.
Published by Chester
Music (HL.14041529).
ISBN
9781849388214.
Lord Berners
(1883-1950) was
one of the most
idiosyncratic and
fascinating personalities
in British music.
He became a
pioneer in the
avant-garde when he wrote
his first music whilst
living in Rome as
adiplomat during World
War 1; Balanchine
choreographed his first
two ballets and Ashton
the next three; in 1931
he had the first
exhibition of his
paintings; in 1934 he
published the first
volume of his
autobiography,
FirstChildhood, and two
years later his first
novel, The Camel -- and
three more novels came
out in 1941.
On
top of all this during
the 1930s, known as 'the
versatile peer', he
increasingly gained a
reputation as an
eccentric,which he
realised was good for
publicity.
A wry
humour pervades
everything, as in these
three sets of piano
duets. Berners' songs and
piano music, too, are as
full of whimsical
references as those of
Erik Satie -- he hasbeen
called the English Satie
and the Ronald Firbank of
music.
Berners
was not prolific but
whatever he did was
stamped with his own
fastidious
accomplishment. He may
not have been the last
eccentric but his music,
writingand painting
combine to make him one
of the most
rewarding.
