Variations for Piano and Orchestra

Press Notices

A new work which, in view of its short duration - twelve minutes - should prove particularly useful when a solo pianist is required to appear twice in the same programme.

As in all Addison’s work, the medium is exploited with ingenuity and style. In addition to passages of lyrical charm there is some brilliantly effective bravura writing for the soloist.

New Release

September 2023 Lyrita released British Piano Concertos Volume II including three world premiere recordings: John Addison’s Variations for Piano and Orchestra along with Piano Concertos by Gordon Jacob and Edmund Rubbra, performed by Simon Callaghan (piano) and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Stephen Bell and George Vass.

“The Variations for Piano and Orchestra by John Addison, a pupil of Jacob's at the Royal College of Music, was written in 1948 and revised the following year. According to Alan Poulton’s Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers, It was first performed in a BBC broadcast in 1960 by Margaret Kitchin. The work is for a small orchestra, comprising double woodwinds, four horns, a pair each of trumpets and trombones, bass trombone, timpani, modest percussion and strings, and combines passages of lyrical charm with brilliantly effective soloistic writing.”