Piano Duets: 20th-century British Composers

Michael Aston held an Exhibition for music at Cambridge University. After a short career in the Civil Service, he moved to Leeds, in 1979, and began a career as a freelance musician. A pianist specializing in accompaniment and piano duos, he taught piano and became involved in continuing education, presenting courses for the universities of Manchester, Nottingham, and Cambridge. He is a lifelong enthusiast for the music of William Walton, and has lectured widely on the subject and visited the Walton estate in Italy. He has written about Walton for Classical Music magazine and edited a volume of the William Walton Edition, published by Oxford University Press. He is the compiler of four volumes of piano duets published by OUP.

The pieces are written effectively for the medium, have interesting textures, and a range of styles from wistfully romantic to wittily sophisticated . . . A very lovely and patriotic duet book!

• Serenade, Op.90, No.3 ; Playful Pizzicato, from Simple Symphony ; Sentimental Saraband, from Simple Symphony ; Four Pictures, Nos. 3 and 4 ; Trois pieces negres, pour les touches blanches (Aubade; Siesta; Nocturne) ; The Lake in the Mountains ; Touch her soft lips and part, from Henry V ; Popular Song, from Facade