Stanford - Preludes

The Guardian 80

Sam Haywood (piano)
(Hyperion)

Charles Villiers Stanford joined other luminaries of the 19th and 20th-century piano in falling under the spell of JS Bach and composing two books of preludes in all 24 keys (the first in 1918 and the second in 1921) that cleverly mimic the dance forms of the baroque while also encompassing the styles of Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms. Sam Haywood plays these intensely rewarding miniatures with just the right amount of swagger and flair. This is typical Stanford: much of it full-blooded, resolutely four-square, clear-eyed and wonderfully positive in its outlook – the sort of music Radio 3 should play to get us all going in the morning.