Discography
ALWYN: Piano Music, Vol.1
Naxos 8.570359 (released December 2007)
“The Ravel-inspired Fantasy Waltzes...were memorably recorded by John Ogdon, yet even he hardly responded to their infinite variety with greater dedication, style and finesse than Ashley Wass, whose performances throughout this richly rewarding and superbly recorded recital make you already long for vol.2. Alwyn wrote roughly 150 keyboard works so we are clearly in for a long and engrossing journey.” (Bryce Morrison, International Piano, Jan/Feb 2008)
“Wass proves to be a fine performer of this repertoire, continuously adapting his playing to incorporate the enormous breadth of expression covered in these works, not least in the Fantasy Waltzes. All in all, this is certainly a disc worth investigating.” (William Norris of Musical Criticism.com)
“Wass achieves the same wonders with Alwyn (1905-85) as he did earlier this year with Frank Bridge. Alwyn’s keyboard music is in a lighter, brighter vein but there’s no shortage of technical demands, least of all in the delightfully neo-classical Sonata alla toccata. Much of his prolific output was suffused with an English vein of nature-poetry, well-profiled in Green Hills and April Morn. A charming disc.” (Financial Times, 5-star review)
*Gramophone Editors Choice CD*
*Nominee for Best Instrumental Disc, Gramophone Awards 2004*
BAX: Piano Works, Vol.1
Naxos 8.557439 (Released 2004)
“Rising star pianist Ashley Wass plays both sonatas with all the intensity and technical sensitivity they demand - you’d think Bax had been in his repertoire for years!” (Stephen Johnson for BBC Music Magazine, October 2004)
“Having been so impressed with Ashley Wass’s 1999 debut recording of Cesar Franck on Naxos, I had high hopes for this first volume in his Bax survey; I was not disappointed. Not only does this gifted young pianist posess a rock-solid technique and striking keyboard finesse... Wass takes us on a genuine voyage of discovery: the control, sense of colour, and dynamic range are remarkable...this is quite a release; I can hardly wait for future instalments. ” (Andrew Achenbach for Gramophone, October 2004)
“Ashley Wass playing with his customary good judgement reins in the shape as tightly as he can, and brings a rich colouring to Bax’s ample technique” (Geoffrey Norris, Telegraph 02/10/2004)
“Wass’s first installment in his new, Naxos cycle is without a shadow of a doubt the best recorded and best played Bax piano CD to come before the public. Remarkable... Ashley Wass’s Bax stands in a class by itself” (The Arnold Bax website)
“A sensational discovery. Wass plays these selections wonderfully well, and has been superbly recorded. A fabulous performance... a superb issue... he really does seem a terrific champion of this neglected music.” (Fanfare Magazine)
BAX: Piano Works, Vol.2
8.557592 (Released 2005)
“Talented British pianist Ashley Wass caused quite a critical stir with the first volume of his Bax series for Naxos. The generously filled second volume does not disappoint. Superbly recorded in Potton Hall by Michael Ponder, the sound-stage is large yet immensely clear - due also to Wass's expert ear for texture.” (Colin Clarke, MusicWeb International, July 2005)
“Bold, articulate accounts - unmissable at any price... Wass’s interpretation makes riveting listening... this gifted pianist is in commanding form, and once more his comparatively unhurried approach lends Bax’s concise inspiration a rugged ambition as distinctive as it is revelatory. A super disc, this, recorded with striking realism. Roll on volume 3!” (Andrew Acherbach, Gramophone July 2005)
“Wass’s performance is, in my opinion, the best that has so far been issued... extraordinary... I can strongly recommend this latest issue, with its individual and thought provoking performances.” (The Arnold Bax website)
“Ashley Wass is a sympathetic young British pianist of considerable technical prowess, musicianship, and a piano sound full of colour... He handles the piano quite beautifully.” (American Record Guide)
“It’s something of a coup for Naxos to acquire the services of this young, extremely talented musician in music for which he possesses an obvious affinity and commitment. He’s capable of indulging Bax’s pleasure in a broad canvas, awash in more colours than I’ve heard from any new pianist in some time... this series is not one I’d do without” (Fanfare Magazine)
BAX: Piano Works, Vol.3
8.557769 (Released 2006)
“In short, collectors who've enjoyed Wass' previous Bax discs also will find this well-recorded, superbly annotated release to their liking. I look forward to this cycle's fourth and final volume.” (Jed Distler, Classics Today, December 2006)
“Wass allows the music time to breathe and he brings an immaculate touch, refinement and unflinching concentration to everything he does... exquisite artistry... ravishing poetic instinct... all told, then, another genuine treat in what has been an unmissable series.” (Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone, December 2006)
BAX: Piano Works, Vol.4 - Music for 2 Pianos
8.570413 (Released 2007)
“Wass and Roscoe play it, as well as all the other slighter pieces, with great care and extreme sensitivity to keyboard colour.” (Andrew Clements, Guardian 21/09/2007, 5-star)
BAX: Violin Sonatas, Vol.1 (Nos. 1,3)
8.557540 (Released 2006)
“A Bax bullseye from Jackson and Wass, who give of their commanding best... As for the sonata proper, Laurence Jackson and Ashley Wass mastermind the most exquisitely poised and insightful interpretation I've yet encountered; never have I been made so aware of the links with Szymanowski's Myths and First Concerto (a reminder that the violin part of all three works was edited by the great Polish virtuoso Pawel Kochanski).” (Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone, November 2006)
BAX: Violin Sonatas, Vol.2 (No.2, Sonata in F major)
8.570094 (Released 2008)
“Jackson and Wass deliver a passionate, committed and finely shaded performance, the emotional impact of which is appreciated all the more on repeated hearings. Just what this darker, deeply-felt music richly deserves.” (Ian Lace, Musicweb International, January 2008)
“Throughout this Naxos disc the impressive Jackson-Wass duo let the music speak for itself with assured and perceptive playing of string and key. Their tone is refined and tuning faultless.” (Michael Cookson from Musicweb-International.com)
BAX: Symphonic Variations (Concertante for the Piano - Left Hand - and Orchestra
8.570774 (Released April 2009)
Ashley Wass (piano), Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, James Judd (conductor)
'The new benchmark for Bax's too-neglected Symphonic Variations' (Calum MacDonald, BBC Music Magazine - Orchestral Disc of the Month May 2009)
BRIDGE: Piano Trio No.2 (Phantasie Trio / Miniatures)
8.570792 (Released February 2009)
Jack Liebeck (violin), Alexander Chaushian (cello), Ashley Wass (piano)
“How encouraging to see Ashley Wass branching into Bridge’s chamber output—and with such gifted colleagues, too (violinist Jack Liebeck and cellist Alexander Chaushian are established solo artists in their own right). Wass and company lend it (the Second Piano Trio) exhilarating advocacy in a realisation of enviable security, unswerving concentration and burning conviction...” (Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone)
“I am totally impressed by the quality of the playing on this disc. Ashley Wass has recently established himself as one of the ‘Bridge’ aficionados…” (John France, MusicWeb International, 19 March 2009)
BRIDGE: Piano Music, Vol.1
8.557842 (Released 2006)
“As on his recent survey of Bax piano music for Naxos, Ashley Wass proves a most poetic, intrepid and stimulating interpreter... he really does deliver the goods... Wass is already a thoroughbred and possesses the enviable gift to turn almost anything he plays to pure gold... an auspicious start to what promises to be a most valuable series. I can hardly wait to hear what he makes of Bridge’s magnificent piano sonata.” (Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone)
“Wass finds just the right touch... that [he] has the full measure of this musics subtlety and expressive variety should be clear by now. Textures are unerringly balanced and he leads the ear through Bridge’s increasingly abstruse harmonic world with unassuming authority...Bring on volume 2!” (Classical Source)
BRIDGE: Piano Music, Vol.2
8.557921 (Released 2007)
“Ashley Wass takes an unashamedly big-scale view of this craggy music (both performances clock in at a few seconds under 35 minutes) and displays his customary sensitivity and impregnable technical armoury....” (Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone, August 2007)
“He brings out the dark emotions through engaging the structural and harmonic complexities of each piece. It’s very well done.” (William Kreindler, Musicweb International, July 2007)
“Wass's performance catches all the work's unease and scarcely suppressed anger; there's a wonderful sweep and urgency about it, as well as a discriminating ear for the subtleties of Bridge's keyboard colours... The disc includes a selection of miniatures as well, but it's the fine account of the sonata, arguably the greatest of all British solo piano works, that makes this special.” (The Guardian, May 25, 2007)
“Wass plays with a conviction, finesse and overall stylishness that can only enhance Bridge's reputation.” (Andrew Clark, Financial Times 12/05/2007)
ELGAR: Piano Music
8.570166 (Released 2007)
“In the midst of his beguiling Frank Bridge cycle for Naxos, young English pianist Ashley Wass turns his attention to a bigger name among British composers, one less well-known for his romantic, often nostalgic piano miniatures. The centrepiece of this collection comes in the shape of Elgar's piano transcription of The Enigma Variations , rendered with meticulous, authority by Wass.....” (Anthony Holden, Observer 17/09/2006)
“But Elgar's own version for the instrument, aided and abetted by Ashley Wass, who has been performing untold wonders on behalf of British piano music for Naxos, is a beautifully judged rendition-full of expression, heart, and character. This makes for revealing listening; very familiar and much loved music heard in black and white form, in one sense, and also opening up its workings and construction in another. It's very interesting; Wass gives an interpretation rather than a play through, and he has the virtuosity and insight to make viable his nearly 33minute traversal.” (Colin Anderson, Fanfare, March/April 2007)
“A musical enigma; but if Elgar did have piano problems, Wass solves them... That goes, too, for ornamentation in some of the salon pieces. What all of them display is Elgar's unquenchable gift of melody, even if some of the piano writing recalls drawing-room ballads. They make a charming sequence, particularly as Wass in his flexible use of rubato always sounds idiomatic and persuasive. However unpromising the exercise, Wass certainly justifies it in a thoroughly enjoyable disc.” (Edward Greenfield, Gramophone Special Issue : Awards 2006)
*Gramophone Editors Choice CD*
ERNST: Othello Fantasy; Six Polyphonic Studies; Ellegy
Hyperion CDA 67619 (Released 2008)
“In the right hands, such as those belonging to Ilya Gringolts, it actually achieves a degree of musical viability … What profundity there is comes from the listener's shivering realization that the humanly impossible is being achieved right before his ears, and apparently without effort. Even the formidable Midori, in her Carnegie Hall recital, doesn't make us forget how absurdly difficult this work is, the way that Gringolts does … Gringolts's cantabile playing is as remarkable as his agility. Pianist Ashley Wass … is rock solid and always complementary” (International Record Review)
LISZT: Beethoven - Symphony No.9 (arr. for 2 pianos) (Liszt Complete Piano Music, Vol.28)
8.570466 (Released April 2008)
(Press quotes to come)
Piano Recital: Ashley Wass
8.554484 (Released 1999)
“Remarkable...reminiscent of old masters such as Bolet and Ciccolini. The quality and height of inspiration of his playing makes this disc a revelation.” Diapason Magazine (France)
“If a British school of pianism can still be said to exist, Wass, to judge from this recording, has many of its qualities: lyricism and restraint, sense and control, songful tone and seriousness.” Jessica Duchen, BBC Music Magazine
“Ashley Wass displays an interpretive depth hardly routine for a 20-ish musician... this is pianism with more than a hint of the grand manner of such early 20th-century masters as Alfred Cortot and Benno Moiseiwitsch. May it prosper.” Dallas Morning News
"Ashley Wass, winner of the World Piano Competition in London two years ago, is a thoroughly persuasive advocate of this music...[his] command of the music's intellectual and expressive thrust makes for compelling listening." Geoffrey Norris, The Daily Telegraph
STORY OF BRITISH CLASSICAL MUSIC (THE)
8.558193-94
Naxos are distributed via Select Music, 3 Wells Place, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 3SL. Tel: 01737 645600 / Fax: 01737 644065
Ashley was signed as Naxos’s first ever exclusive artist in 2004. The majority of his recordings to date have been with the label and have included two Gramophone Editors Choice discs, and a nomination for Best Instrumental Disc 2004.
Ashley Wass c/o Maureen Philips at Upbeat Management +44 (0)1895 259441 enquiry@upbeatclassical.co.uk