Melody in G Minor

Edwin York Bowen (22 February 1884 – 23 November 1961) was an English composer and pianist. Bowen’s musical career spanned more than fifty years during which time he wrote over 160 works. As well as being a pianist and composer, Bowen was a talented conductor, organist, violist and horn player. Despite achieving considerable success during his lifetime, many of the composer’s works remained unpublished and unperformed until after his death in 1961. Bowen’s compositional style is widely considered as ‘Romantic’ and his works are often characterized by their rich harmonic language. He was one of the most notable English composers of piano music of his time.

Bowen achieved considerable success during his lifetime both as a concert pianist and composer. He performed regularly at both the Queen's Hall and the Royal Albert Hall. As a pianist he was recognised for his technical ability and artistic excellence.

His compositions each display a unique blend of Romanticism and strong individuality. Although his influences include Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Grieg and Tchaikovsky, Bowen's music is very much defined by its distinctive textures and harmonies. Although his active career spanned more than fifty years, Bowen's compositional style altered very little and he continued to employ a diatonic key system with use of chromatic harmonies throughout his life.

The "Melody in G Minor" dates from 1958, and has his "typical" fingerprints on it. His largest organ work is the "Fantasia in G minor, Op.136" (1952). This is a significant work, which I hope to upload soon.

The score for the "Melody in G Minor" is attached.