York Bowen: 4 Preludes, 3 Miniatures, and 12 Studies

Abstract

This creative research output consists of my live performance of English composer York Bowen’s Twelve Studies (1916) for piano, captured on video. According to available documentation, these Studies have not been publicly performed or recorded until very recently. As such, this output aims to draw attention to this repertoire and to help disseminate it amongst the art music community. This creative output forms part of my doctorate research on Bowen’s Twelve Studies. Situated within the artistic research domain, my research focusses on my experience preparing these Studies for performance. This creative output represents the culmination of my research project, and embodies the pianistic and artistic insights that emerged from the process through which I prepared these Studies for performance. Besides the contribution to new knowledge effected through these insights that are represented in my performance of the Studies, this creative output represents the first time that a live and complete performance of this repertoire has been captured on video. Bowen was, besides being a prominent composer, also a formidable pianist, and my view is that these Studies embody the mark of his pianistic capacities. Hence, I feel that these Studies deserve wider recognition and that they offer pedagogical benefits through their exploration of a range of pianistic problems in a concise cycle. This creative output has been endorsed by a number of prominent international concert artists - namely Stephen Hough (U.K.), Joop Celis (Netherlands), and Dr. Nicolas Namoradze (Georgia/U.S.A.), all of whom are exponents of Bowen’s piano music. These endorsements were delivered through email correspondence (these can be provided upon request). Further to this, the video of my performance has accumulated 101 views on YouTube as of the time of writing, with this view count steadily increasing over time, demonstrating the exposure of this creative output to an ever wider audience.