On 28 August 2026, Divine Art is delighted to present pianist Sinae Lee’s recording of the 24 Preludes, Op. 102 by the great virtuoso pianist and composer York Bowen (1884-1961), often referred to by his contemporaries as the ‘English Rachmaninoff’. Described by Saint-Saëns as “the most remarkable of the young British composers”, Bowen’s musical style was deeply rooted in romanticism, despite this style falling out of fashion after the First World War. Most of his prolific compositional output was for piano and it contains as much highly emotional lyricism and challenging technical virtuosity as Rachmaninoff.

Sinae Lee was immediately drawn to Bowen’s wonderfully romantic writing after hearing Prelude No. 1 for the first time. After studying all 24 Preludes, she decided to make an album as Bowen’s piano music is rarely heard: “I think this beautiful composition deserves more attention and I hope my album will ignite the spark of interest and attention again.”

The 24 Preludes are considered to be Bowen’s masterpiece and were dedicated to Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, a great admirer and promoter of Bowen’s music. Like Chopin’s 24 Preludes, this work includes all the major and minor keys, but unlike Chopin, Bowen arranged them in chromatic ascent – from C Major (No. 1) start to B minor (No. 24) finish. Each Prelude poses a distinct character and various technical challenges and as a whole set, it displays a wonderful emotional range.

While working on the Preludes, Sinae Lee decided to give each one a title, which helped in her charactersation of the pieces. However, she points out that this just reflects her personal perception of each Prelude and is intended as a reference rather than a guide.

London-born York Bowen was widely known as a pianist and composer, reaching the height of his fame just before the First World War. A gifted student at the Royal Academy of Music, he won many prizes for piano and composition, and he went on to become Professor there in 1909, a post he held for fifty years. His output included orchestral, instrumental, and solo works, dominated by the piano to an exceptional degree. An acclaimed solo virtuoso pianist, he formed celebrated duos with the great viola player Lionel Tertis and the pianist Harry Isaacs.

South Korean-born pianist Sinae Lee leads a busy life as a soloist, chamber musician, adjudicator, lecturer, and doctoral supervisor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. She has performed in concerts in New York, St. Petersburg, Riga, London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow as well as cities in her native Korea, and has been awarded many competition prizes. For her debut recording in 2006, Sinae recorded Karol Szymanowski’s complete piano works on four CDs, released by Divine Art Recordings. This first complete CD set received glowing reviews, including from Gramophone (Recommended Recording), BBC Music Magazine (Benchmark Recording), and All Music Guide (Classical Editors’ Best of the Year 2007). Sinae also enjoys collaborating with other musicians and gives premieres to numerous new works by living composers.