Master Coale’s Pieces (1978) is a four-movement suite for piano written for Samuel Coale, who visited Burgess in Monaco in the summer of 1978 to gather information for a book about his work.

Coale’s monograph Anthony Burgess was published by Frederick Ungar in New York in 1981. His interview with Burgess appeared in the journal Modern Fiction Studies and was later reprinted in Conversations With Anthony Burgess, edited by Earl G. and Mary C. Ingersoll, published by Mississippi University Press.

These short piano works are humourous and playful, with unexpected echoes of Bartok and Hindemith.

The final piece is titled ‘Master Coale’s Magotte’ — a ‘maggotte’ being an old English country dance tune, often named for a dedicatee.

Master Coale’s Pieces were recorded for The Piano Music of Anthony Burgess — available via streaming services.

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