Martin Jones - Discover the Piano Music of Daniel Jones (2022)

"The process of writing any piece of music really is one of discovery and the feeling I always have is that what I’m setting myself to write already exists and that what I have to do is unveil it, discover it". This characterisation by Daniel Jones of the creative process as one of exploration and excavation seems appropriate for a composer whose scores have a powerful sense of rightness and inevitability. His lifelong dedication to music meant that he was unwilling to compromise by diluting it with other work, such as teaching. When he was mischievously accused of never having had a proper job, his response was to tap his manuscript and reply, "This is a proper job". In fact he undertook a wide variety of roles during his long life, as he once wryly observed: "my career has been a very complicated one. As a matter of fact, it’s a pity I was not divided into several people".

In 2017 Martin Jones visited the National Library of Wales, and uncovered manuscript scores of these and many other piano works written by the young Dan Jones. "The depth and range of the works presented on this release suggest that Jones was a natural composer for the piano and until his symphonic odyssey had begun, he used this medium, along with that of the string quartet, for some of his most profound utterances".