The Snowman Rhapsody for Solo Piano

Programme-note for ‘The Snowman Rhapsody’

In 2006 Robert Matthew Walker, music critic and editor of Musical Opinion attended a performance of the 2-act stage show ‘The Snowman’ at The Peacock Theatre and wrote: ‘Howard Blake’s ballet “The Snowman” is now such a part of the Christmas Season in London that it deserves to be produced again and again well into the 22nd century. It is one of those rare theatrical pieces that appeals and impresses theatregoers of all ages. Musically, the score is a masterpiece. I do not use the word lightly. Howard Blake’s world famous song ‘Walking in the Air’, with which Aled Jones had such a success, is used as a basis for a virtually continuous set of symphonic variations; a subtle and fully-wrought score which entrances the ears of all who are brought into the magical world it conjures up’. Both the original animated film and the later-created ballet were of course originally scored for orchestra, but the composer is also a pianist and over the years has often played excerpts on piano, the most notable being that of the song ‘Walking in the Air’ which in 2013 was recorded by no less a colleague than Vladimir Ashkenazy. The success of this prompted Blake to pursue the concept further, assembling all those sections of the Snowman music which he felt might lend themselves to piano transcription and gradually creating an immense concert work for solo piano lasting about 43 minutes. Although continuous the work contains many different sections the names of which are printed in the programme. It is thought that perhaps an addition to the work’s entertainment may well be derived from the guesswork of trying to identify the sections by the different styles and emotions conveyed by their music.