Hedges: Complete Piano Music Vol. 1

Adam Davies’ new album "The Complete Piano Music of Anthony Hedges" (1931–2019) is the first of three albums featuring the entire concert repertoire for piano by this prolific composer. This first installment documents a thirty-year maturation process and showcases the full range and diversity of Hedges’ work—starting with his earliest published piano pieces, the "Five Preludes" of 1959, which sparkle with youthful energy and verve, through to the radiant and atmospheric "Five Aphorisms" of 1990. In between lie two substantial centerpieces that mark important stylistic turning points: "Four Short Pieces," his bold excursion into serialism, and the daring intensity of the "First Sonata." Added to these are delightful miniatures for aspiring pianists. Many of these works are recorded here for the first time. Adam Davies encountered Anthony Hedges’ music in his youth and rediscovered it during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anthony Hedges’ daughter, Fiona, provided the scores and private recordings of many of these works, which the composer had recorded himself.

The composer, pianist, conductor, teacher, and critic Anthony Hedges was born in the town of Bicester and studied in Oxford, where his diverse musical activities included singing in the Oxford Bach Choir under the direction of greats such as Vaughan Williams and Constant Lambert. He taught at the Royal Scottish Conservatoire in Glasgow and later at Hull University, where he was appointed Reader and awarded an honorary doctorate.

Pianist Adam Davies was born in Manchester and grew up in Beverley, East Yorkshire, where he had multiple opportunities to hear Anthony Hedges perform at the piano. He performs across the UK as a soloist in recitals and concerts and teaches at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester. In 2019, he gave the premiere of Tom Harrold’s "Crux," which he had commissioned, and performed as a duo partner with Kathryn Stott.