RAYMOND CHARLES HANSON (1913⁠–⁠1976)

COMPLETE PIANO WORKS

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TONYA LEMOH

‘I came across the piano music of Raymond Hanson almost by accident while exploring scores of 20th century Australian sonatas. The opening of Hanson’s Sonata Op. 12 struck me at once as something compelling and unique. I immediately set out to find more about him. To my astonishment I found numerous piano works in library and conservatorium archives, many unpublished and unrecorded. His music was strikingly original, sophisticated, and endlessly inventive. An idealistic, unconventional man, he had a natural gift for composition and unflinching integrity in his creative vision. He composed at the keyboard, and his work has an improvisatory quality, perhaps influenced by his love of jazz. His larger works abound in technical fireworks and bravura passages. Profoundly inspired by the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, his slow movements frequently have a meditative, spiritual character. From the preludes evoking the natural beauty of Australia’s Blue Mountains to the great war sonata inspired by the tragic events of WWII, Hanson’s piano music is an extraordinary journey, presented here in its entirety for the first time.’ –⁠ ⁠Tonya Lemoh