Prima Facie Records

The Complete Solo Piano Works of GORDON CROSSE (PFCD219)

Annabelle Lawson – piano

Piano Sonata No.1 (2013-14)*

- Vivace con fuoco [7:22]
- Lento molto, calmo assai [4:35]
- Presto scorrevole e sotto voce [3:25]

Ron’s Toyes, for solo piano (2014-15)*

- Puffin Windmill [1:07]
- Battleship and Submarine [2:43]
- Classic Hen [1:02]
- Sheep and Shearsman [3:38]
- Two WWI Biplanes [2:00]

Piano Sonata No.2 (2014-15)

- Fluid [6:09]
- Still [4:53]
- Vigorous [5:02]

Piano Sonata No.3 (2015)

- Allegro vigoroso [7:20]
- Molto lento [4:14]
- Prestissimo [3:48]

Etude ‘L’Isle Heureuse - Papa Westray, Orkney’ (2019) [8:40]

*Previously available on Prima Facie PFCD98

“Distinguished composer (and dear friend) Gordon Crosse, passed away in November 2021, aged 84. When I heard that Gordon was ill, I wrote to him promising to record the remainder of his works for solo piano and compile them into one, single disc. Gordon died less than a week after I emailed him. It was particularly important to me to make this promise, as Gordon's last work for solo piano - a beautiful Etude called L'Isle Heureuse (Papa Westray, Orkney) - was written as a gift for me and my parents and arrived on our doorstep, as a surprise, in 2019 - just before the birth of my second son.

Having already recorded one piano sonata, a collection of miniatures and the Trio (revised for the Lawson Trio in 2014), onto a previous disc for Prima Facie Records, two piano sonatas and the Etude remained to be recorded. I have lived with Gordon's music for nearly ten years and given the world premières of two of the piano sonatas, along with the revised Trio, so this music is extremely close to my heart. I'm so glad to have recorded a disc comprising music which I hold in such high esteem, by such a celebrated and much-loved composer and person."
Annabelle Lawson

Credits

Tracks 1-8: Recorded and produced by Richard Scott, at the Royal Northern College of Music on the 7th & 8th December 2017.
Tracks 9-15: Recorded, produced and edited by Phil Hardman at the Royal Northern College of Music on the 10th & 11th November 2022.
The Associate Producer was Peter Lawson.

Annabelle Lawson: piano

With grateful thanks to: Ida Carroll Trust, Vaughan Williams Foundation, James Bowman, Anthony Burton, John Casken, Peter & Ariane Lawson, Lois & John Miles, Caro Millington & Michael Robinson, Martin Owen, Rachel Wakeham, Li Zhang and a further forty-nine, generous Kickstarter backers.

Photos of Gordon Crosse: © 2019 Marc Yeats
Photo of Annabelle Lawson: © 2015 Alejandro Tomagno

Annabelle Lawson has established herself as a pianist and chamber musician who exudes subtlety and vivacity in equal measure. She has performed widely, in venues including the Wigmore Hall, Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall, Bridgewater Hall and Kings Place, as well as broadcasted live for BBC Radio 3. Currently approaching its 25th anniversary, the Lawson Trio has been selected as a featured artist by the Park Lane Group, Making Music’s Concert Promoters’ Group, Music in the Round, Concordia Foundation and CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust.

Having performed recently as concerto soloist with the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra in Germany, played trios in a French château, worked as a cabaret artist in the Far East, played Carnival of the Animals with kangaroo-impersonating dancers from Ballet Rambert and, last but not least, worn an Octopus Hat on stage for Wigmore Learning – her career is notable for its variety and versatility. Recent CD recordings include a disc of chamber music by the late David Golightly, as well as chamber music by Gordon Crosse.

Annabelle enjoys a distinguished career as a music educator. She teaches piano to postgraduate students at Sheffield University, where she is also a collaborative pianist. As well as teaching at Sheffield Music Academy, she is also a main panel examiner for the ABRSM. Annabelle studied piano as a child at Chetham’s School of Music, before reading music at King’s College, University of Cambridge. After completing her BA, she undertook a one-year BMus, for which she gained a Distinction. She then pursued postgraduate tuition in chamber music at the Royal Academy of Music, who awarded her piano trio a two-year Junior Leverhulme Chamber Music Fellowship. Annabelle’s teachers have included her father, Peter Lawson, Ronan O’Hora and Philip Fowke. Annabelle lives in Sheffield, on the edge of the Peak District, with her husband and two sons.