Stevenson: Recitative and Air, in memoriam Dmitri Shostakovich (1976/97)
Although born in Blackburn Ronald Stevenson’s origins are Welsh and Scottish – indeed, he had lived in Scotland since 1952, following study in Manchester and Rome. He was well known as a composer of unusual range, incorporating traditional forms alongside his extensive studies of Scottish and other national musics; as an old-school pianist of equally broad tastes and repertoire; and as a writer, teacher, and lecturer of visionary, challenging, and sometimes provocative passion… His compositions include works for many instrumental and vocal combinations, but his pre-eminence is inevitably founded on his output for his own instrument, notably the mighty Passacaglia on DSCH (1960-62) – a vast edifice dedicated to Shostakovich and based on the Soviet composer’s own cryptogram (as is also the present Recitative and Air). With characteristic individuality, he had been waiting (unlike the Fitzwilliam…) for the year after the centenary celebrations to feature this piece in his programmes! He wrote of the present work:
Recitative and Air for string quartet [was] first published in USSR in 1976 for piano solo in a volume of tributes to Shostakovich. What was intended as a 70th birthday tribute became in memoriam.
© Alan George
