Adam Davies * Anthony Hedges: Complete Pno Music Vol. 1 [New CD]

On 14 August 2026, Divine Art is delighted to present The Complete Piano Music of Anthony Hedges (1931-2019) Vol 1, the first of three albums from British pianist Adam Davies presenting the entirety of this prolific composer's concert music for piano. This first volume documents a thirty-year maturation showcasing the full breadth and diversity of Hedges' creative output, starting with the earliest of the published piano pieces, the Five Preludes of 1959, fresh with youthful energy and verve, and ending with the bright and evocative Five Aphorisms of 1990. Between these sit two weighty centrepieces marking important stylistic departures: Four Short Pieces, his gritty foray into serialism, and the bold intensity of the First Sonata. Interspersed with these are delightful miniatures written for budding pianists, reflecting the composer's pianistic skill and facility in writing for younger musicians. This music is colourful, rich in it's allusions, and expertly crafted. Many of these works are being recorded for the first time. Adam Davies first encountered the music of Anthony Hedges in his youth and saw the composer himself in performance, as he grew up in Beverley, East Yorkshire, also by then Hedges' home. He rediscovered the composer during COVID after finding his own long-neglected score of Ten Bagatelles Op.156, gifted from his boyhood singing teacher, and was reminded of the quality and accessibility of the writing. Such was his enjoyment of these pieces, and his surprise at the relative lack of recordings of Hedges' music, that he resolved to record the complete piano music. Anthony Hedges' daughter Fiona provided the scores and private recordings of many of these works by the composer himself: 'Listening to these works proved to be a liberating experience he played like a composer: perhaps not with note-perfect Polish, but with crystal-clear imagination, purpose, character, and expression permeating every note and phrase.I have tried to convey something of his essence in these recordings, which I hope will serve to bring wider attention to this richly deserving repertoire.' The album is financially supported by the Ida Carroll Trust.Composer, pianist, conductor, teacher and critic Anthony Hedges was born in the town of Bicester and educated at Oxford, where his broad musical activity included singing in the Oxford Bach Choir under the batons of such luminaries as Vaughan Williams and Constant Lambert. During his National Service (1955-57), he worked as pianist and arranger for the Royal Signals Band. He taught at the Royal Scottish Conservatoire in Glasgow and later at Hull University, where he became a Reader and earned his Honorary Doctorate, also during that time meeting poet Philip Larkin and setting his words to music. As well as a weekly column for the Glasgow Herald, he contributed reviews and interviews for the Guardian, the Scotsman, and other publications. His expansive output covers all genres, including popular and frequently broadcasted lighter works for brass band and orchestra.Pianist Adam Davies was born in Manchester and raised in Beverley, East Yorkshire, where he had the opportunity to hear Anthony Hedges at the piano several times. Davies was educated at the Royal Northern College of Music, where his teachers were John Gough and Dr. Murray McLachlan. Adam performs throughout the UK as a recital and concerto soloist and teaches at Chetham's School of Music, Manchester. In 2019, he commissioned and gave the world premiere of Tom Harrold's Crux, and he has performed as duo partner with Kathryn Stott.