With its personal, concise, and disciplined but mainly reserved style, the music of English composer Alan Rawsthorne (1905-1971) doesn’t have any of the usual crowd-pleasing qualities. Furthermore, his rather conservative writing didn’t evolve much from the 1930s until his death. A mild modernist, Rawsthorne shows some affinity with Bartók, and, above all, Shostakovich–particularly in the Piano Trio and the Viola Sonata–though without ever erupting in the savage outbursts of violence, darkness, and sarcasm that represent the key signature of the Russian composer’s style. The chamber music works recorded on this CD cover a large span of Rawsthorne’s creative activity. The Piano Quintet and Piano Trio (premiered in 1962 by Kentner, Menuhin, and Cassadó) both date from the last decade of his life, while the three other works were composed just before or just after World War II. A skillful counterpoint is at work everywhere, but never becomes merely academic thanks to Rawsthorne’s ability to fuse it with more lyrical elements. Filled with rhythmic drive, the Sonata for Viola and Piano offers moments of great intensity and excitement next to a thoughtful Adagio. The late works on the whole appear more focused and meditative. The performers–among them the composer John McCabe–are clearly in tune with the reflective mood of Rawsthorne’s music, and the recording faithfully captures their accurate and detailed readings.
