John McCabe
John McCabe was a prolific English composer whose pianism generally attracted greater attention than his many worthwhile compositions. Part of the reason public focus had been directed largely at his keyboard activity owed something to his enormous pianistic talent, a talent that allowed him to record the entirety of the Haydn sonatas with great acclaim, as well as to delve into 20th century works by Hindemith, Britten, Bax, Webern, and others with equal authority. His mature compositional style was conservative and generally tonal, not much further advanced in its expressive language than that of Bartók or pre-serial Stravinsky. Though McCabe did dabble in twelve-tone music early on, he cast it aside in favor of tonality and greater accessibility. McCabe composed in most genres, including opera, ballet, symphonic (including film scores), vocal, choral, and various instrumental. As a pianist McCabe recorded for a variety of labels, including Decca, EMI, Philips, Hyperion, Lyrita, and ASV.
John McCabe was born on April 21, 1939, in Huyton, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. He was a musical prodigy, composing symphonies and numerous other works in his childhood, despite suffering periodic illnesses resulting from severe burns incurred at age two.
McCabe studied composition under Humphrey Procter-Gregg at Manchester University from 1958-1960. This period saw one of his earliest surviving large works, the Violin Concerto No. 1 (1959). At Royal Manchester College of Music (1960-1961) McCabe studied piano with Gordon Green and composition with Thomas Pitfield. He also studied briefly (1964) at the Munich Hochschule with German composer Harald Genzmer.
By 1970 McCabe had already achieved a measure of success as a pianist, but from about that year he began garnering international notice, initially for his song cycle Notturni ed alba, for soprano and orchestra. From 1974-1976 McCabe recorded the Haydn piano sonatas for Decca. It was around this time that he more or less abandoned serial music. In 1983 he was given the title of Commander of the British Empire for his contributions to British music.
McCabe's imaginative ballet Edward II (1994-1995) was premiered with great success in 1995 by the Stuttgart Ballet, with choreography by David Bintley. In 2004 McCabe, who had served as President of the Incorporated Society of Musicians in 1982-1983, received a Distinguished Musician Award from the ISM. Among McCabe's later efforts was the 2005 Helios recording of Herbert Howells' Lambert's Clavichord, the work's first recording on piano.
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British Piano Sonatas
Philip Martin, John McCabe, Peter Jacobs
Classical - Released by Heritage Continuum on Apr 24, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: The Piano Sonatas/Variations/The Seven Last Words
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Scarlatti & Clementi: Keyboard Sonatas
Classical - Released by Divine Art on Oct 11, 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg: Slåtter, Op. 72 & Stimmungen, Op. 73
Classical - Released by SOMM Recordings on Mar 25, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
John McCabe: Silver Nocturnes, The Woman by the Sea & Horn Quintet
Classical - Released by NMC Recordings on Nov 17, 2017
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Bax: Symphony No. 2 & Winter Legends
BBC Symphony Orchestra, John McCabe, Eugene Aynsley Goossens, BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra, Raymond Leppard
Classical - Released by Lyrita on Nov 3, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
John McCabe: Composer, Pianist & Conductor
London Philharmonic Orchestra, John McCabe, National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, John Snashall
Classical - Released by Naxos on Dec 2, 2014
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Le Poisson Magique: Organ Works by John McCabe
Classical - Released by Resonus Classics on Feb 2, 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen: Piano Music
Classical - Released by SOMM Recordings on Mar 30, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Arnold Bax: First Symphony, Piano Sonata No 2 and Legend
Classical - Released by Continuum on Jun 7, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
RAWSTHORNE: Piano Quintet / Piano Trio / Viola Sonata
Classical - Released by Naxos on Aug 31, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Howells: Lambert's Clavichord & Howells' Clavichord
Classical - Released by Hyperion on Apr 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bax: Piano Quartet, Harp Quintet & String Quartet No. 1
English String Quartet, John McCabe, Skaila Kanga
Quartets - Released by Chandos on Jul 1, 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
British Music for Clarinet and Piano
Murray Khouri, Peter Pettinger, John McCabe
Chamber Music - Released by Heritage Records on Nov 4, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bax: Violin Sonata No. 1 & Violin Sonata No. 2
Classical - Released by Chandos on Apr 1, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walton: Piano Quartet / String Quartet
The English String Quartet, John McCabe
Classical - Released by Meridian Records on Nov 22, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Song-Cycles
Lesley-Jane Rogers, Richard Tunnicliffe, John Turner, John McCabe
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Toccata Classics on Jan 1, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
John McCabe: Piano Music
Classical - Released by Naxos on Nov 1, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
British Cello Music Vol. 1
Julian Lloyd Webber, John McCabe
Classical - Released by Decca (UMO) on Jan 1, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Transatlantic Piano
Classical - Released by Heritage Continuum on Apr 24, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Arnold Bax: Works for Piano
Classical - Released by Heritage Continuum on Apr 24, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo