Walking In The Air - Music Of Howard Blake / Ashke

Vladimir Ashkenazy

Blake, H: Walking in the air The Changeling, Op. 274: Music-Box Theme The Duellists, Op. 247: Lara's Theme Prelude For Vova, Op. 640 Speech After Long Silence, Op. 610 Piano Pieces (12), Op. 177 Dances for two pianos, Op. 217a Sonata for two pianos, Op. 130 Piano Fantasy, Op. 1 Easy Pieces (4), Op.1b Romanza, Op. 5f Haiku For Yu-Chee Parting, Op.650a

Vladimir Ashkenazy returns with an unexpected album of compositions by his long-standing friend Howard Blake, best known for the Christmas favourite Walking In The Air. Walking in the Air, which Ashkenazy has chosen as the title track of the disc is arranged here for solo piano (and available as an e-single). The song was composed by Blake as the centrepiece of his score for the children’s classic animated film The Snowman, and exemplifies the composer’s warmly accessible style. Ashkenazy performs no fewer than nine world premiere recordings from Blake’s repertoire and the album features music from Blake’s other film scores, including Ridley Scott’s ‘The Duellists’ and horror classic ‘The Changeling’ and the Prelude for Vova Op.640, written after Ashkenazy asked Blake to “make a piece out of my initials A.S.H. – like Liszt did with B.A.C.H.” Howard Blake’s illustrious career has spanned over 50 years in which he has composed more than 650 works, both classical and popular. He has written scores for numerous films, beginning in the 1970s, but it was in 1982, with his orchestral score for The Snowman that Blake achieved widespread acclaim. While he is best known for the Christmas classic, he has written a wide range of music, including a piano concerto for the 30th birthday of Princess Diana. “His piano music is extremely well written and pianistic, due, of course, to the fact that he is a very good pianist himself,” explains Ashkenazy, “and so it is truly a joy to play.”

Price: $16.98