Noel Mewton-Wood
Australian Noel Mewton-Wood was an extraordinary mid-century pianist whose career, like that of American virtuoso William Kapell, proved short lived -- by coincidence both Mewton-Wood and Kapell died in 1953, at the age of 31. Mewton-Wood made his concert debut in Melbourne at the age of 12, and shortly thereafter caught the attention of Wilhelm Backhaus, on tour at the time in Australia. With Backhaus' encouragement, Mewton-Wood was able to travel to London and study at the Royal Academy of Music, in addition to spending the summers at Lake Como taking private lessons with Artur Schnabel, whose example made a deep impression on his playing. Mewton-Wood made his London debut in 1940, at age 17, and he soon fell in with Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears, and Michael Tippett. At war's end, Mewton-Wood gave the world premiere of the revised version of Britten's Piano Concerto and in the postwar years often appeared in accompaniment to Pears, filling in for Britten as the latter attended to other tasks. With Pears, Mewton-Wood premiered and made the first recordings of Tippett's song cycle The Heart's Assurance. Mewton-Wood was highly regarded in concerto literature, and specialized in the big Romantic works -- he played all three Tchaikovsky concertos -- as well as the titanic Piano Concerto, Op. 39, of Ferruccio Busoni. A radio aircheck of Mewton-Wood made with Thomas Beecham in 1948 is the earliest complete recording of the Busoni concerto known to survive.
Unlike Kapell, who died in a plane crash, Mewton-Wood took his own life. He was despondent over the death of a male friend who had succumbed to appendicitis, an unfortunate occurrence for which Mewton-Wood reportedly blamed himself. One gets the impression that this is somehow not the whole story, but nonetheless his death remains shrouded in mystery. Mewton-Wood recorded very extensively for someone so short lived; his earliest records were made in accompaniment to violinist Ida Haendel in 1941 and the last in 1953 accompanying violinist Max Rostal in the Busoni Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 36b. While Kapell's recorded output has been reissued all in one collection, Mewton-Wood's has been scattered to the four winds, although ABC Classics in Australia did issue a three-disc appreciation of Mewton-Wood's output in its Australian Heritage series. Mewton-Wood allegedly also composed prolifically, although practically nothing is known about his work in this area.
© TiVo
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Stravinsky: Symphonie No. 1, Op. 1 - Shostakovich: Concerto pour piano, trompette et orchestre à cordes, Op. 35 (Mono Version)
Noel Mewton-Wood, Walter Goehr, Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Noel Mewton-Wood / Musical Masterworks Symphony Orchestra / Walter Goehr play: Peter Tschaikowsky: Klavierkonzert Nr. 1 und 2, Op. 23 / Op. 44
Noel Mewton-Wood, Musical Masterworks Symphony Orchestra, Winterthur Symphony Orchestra
Concertos - Released by Classico Ivano on 8 May 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Albeniz: España, OP. 165, NO. 3 - Beethoven: Violin Sonata NO. 8, Op.30, NO.3 - Hostakovich: Concerto for Piano,Trumpet and Strings, OP.35 (Live)
Noel Mewton-Wood, Ida Haendel, Concert Hall Society Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Altair on 7 Jul 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bliss: Piano Concerto
Noel Mewton-Wood, Walter Goehr, Utrecht Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Infinity on 20 Jan 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Polish Piano Music
Władysław Szpilman, Vlado Perlemuter, Noel Mewton-Wood
Classical - Released by Editions Audiovisuel Beulah on 21 Jun 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Piano Concerto NO. 1, OP. 11 (Live)
Noel Mewton-Wood, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra
Keyboard Concertos - Released by Altair on 3 Jan 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Fantaisie de concert, Op. 56 (Mono Version)
Noel Mewton-Wood, Stadtorchester Winterthur, Walter Goehr
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4
Noel Mewton-Wood, Walter Goehr, Utrechts Stedelijk Orkest
Symphonic Music - Released by Infinity on 13 Jul 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Noel Mewton-Wood / Netherlands Philarmonic Orchestra / Walter Goehr spielen: Frédéric Chopin: Concerto pour piano et orchestre No 1, op. 11
Noel Mewton-Wood, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra
Concertos - Released by Classico Ivano on 2 Jan 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bliss: Piano Concerto (Live)
Noel Mewton-Wood, Utrecht Symphony Orchestra
Keyboard Concertos - Released by Altair on 20 Jan 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra NO. 3 in E flat, OP. 75 - Concert Fantasia in G, OP. 56 (Live)
Noel Mewton-Wood, Winterthur Symphony Orchestra
Keyboard Concertos - Released by Altair on 10 Jan 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Suite de L'oiseau de feu & Concerto pour piano et instruments à vent (Mono Version)
Noel Mewton-Wood, Het Residentie Orkest, Walter Goehr
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Concerto pour piano No. 1, Op. 23 (Mono Version)
Noel Mewton-Wood, Musical Masterworks Symphony Orchestra, Walter Goehr
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Concerto pour piano No. 4 (Mono Version)
Noel Mewton-Wood, Walter Goehr, Utrechts Stedelijk Orkest
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Mono Version)
Noel Mewton-Wood, Walter Goehr, Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1900
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Concerto pour piano, Op.54 (Mono Version)
Noel Mewton-Wood, Walter Goehr, Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2
Noel Mewton-Wood, Walter Goehr, Winterthur Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Infinity on 20 Aug 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto NO. 2, OP. 44
Noel Mewton-Wood, Winterthur Symphony Orchestra
Keyboard Concertos - Released by Altair on 5 Apr 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky. P.I.: Piano Concerto No. 3 / Concert Fantasia (Mewton-Wood, W. Goehr) (1951)
Noel Mewton-Wood, Winterthur Symphony Orchestra, Walter Goehr
Classical - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Piano Concerto in a Minor, OP. 54 (Live)
Noel Mewton-Wood, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra
Keyboard Concertos - Released by Altair on 20 Jan 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto NO. 1 in B Flat Minor, OP. 23 (Live)
Noel Mewton-Wood, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra
Keyboard Concertos - Released by Altair on 31 Dec 2020
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo