Hommage [Import]

Hommage [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Japanese pressing of the dance/soul act's 2004 album, produced by Dave Rodgers & featuring Sonia. Avex.

Hommage,Nuage,Avex Trax,Dance,Soul/R & B

Hommage
Average customer rating:

A Celebration of Bill Holman's Creativity

Hommage
Bill Holman
Manufacturer: Jazzed Media
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
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Live at Blues Alley

ASIN: B000OZ2CKM
Release Date: 2007-05-08

Tracks:

Raincheck
Sunshinola
Zamboni
Bemsha Swing
If You Could See Me Now
Woodchopper's Ball
Hommage a Woody, Pt. 1: A Man Of Few Herds
Hommage a Woody, Pt. 2: Milwaukee Nights
Hommage a Woody, Pt. 3: The Chopper

Album Description

"Because Bill Holman's music has layers of complexity and depth, and an unlimited shelf life, it will further reward each of us each time we hear it." -- Doug Ramsey

Follows the 2006 Grammy-nominated CD The Bill Holman Band Live, also released on Jazzed Media. Bill Holman has received over fourteen Grammy nominations during the course of his long and illustrious career in jazz!

Customer Reviews:

A Celebration of Bill Holman's Creativity.......2007-05-21

Bill Holman celebrates his 80th birthday in 2007 with the release of this superb 2006 concert recording by the super-talented Bill Holman Band. (One track was recorded at the same L.A. venue in 2005). Bill Holman has been a major force in jazz arranging and composing for fifty-five years and "Hommage" is wonderful celebration of Bill Holman's creativity and jazz spirit. Holman has long mastered the balance of keeping his writing forward-looking yet firmly grounded in the swinging big band tradition. This trait is strongly in evidence on this recording. Every chart keeps the listener fully engaged. There are hard-driving standards such as Billy Strayhorn's "Raincheck", Monk's "Bemsha Swing" (which the band really digs into), a surprising remake of "Woodchopper's Ball", and a moving ballad reading of "If You Could See Me Know" (featuring an outstanding solo by trumpeter Ron Stout). Holman stretches but never loses the listener with advanced original charts such as "Sunshinola" (based on "You Are My Sunshine") and the memorable "Zamboni" which will bring a smile to the face of anyone who is familiar with the ice-rink surfacing machine. The title chart "Hommage a Woody" is a twenty-minute three-part suite in honor of Woody Herman written nearly twenty years ago for the German WDR Big Band. Originally featuring Buddy DeFranco on clarinet, this version features the virtuoso clarinet of Bob Efford throughout. While this intriguing suite evokes something of the Herman sound in places, it is certainly no copy of the Herd's styles, but rather reflects Holman's own creativity as inspired by the Herman Herds. Holman leads the Band and Efford in a breathtaking performance.

Other outstanding soloists in the band include trumpeters Jonathan Dane (a particularly interesting new voice) and Larry Lunetta, saxophonists Pete Christlieb, Lanny Morgan and Bruce Babad, pianist Christian Jacob, and trombonist Dave Ryan. The rhythm section of Jacob, Joel Hamilton on bass and Kevin Kanner on drums swings hard and brings great vitality to Holman's challenging charts.

Very well recorded, Bill Holman's 68 minute "Hommage" is highly recommended to fans of modern big band jazz. This fine Jazzed Media release will undoubtedly be one of the top big band jazz releases of 2007.

György Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duets - Arditti String Quartet

Average customer rating:

Important, but not as interesting as the vocal works.
Not really my style...
String works, includes his must-have glorious Second Quartet
Great Recordings of Modern String Quartets
you must listen to Ligeti.

György Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duets - Arditti String Quartet
Gyorgy Ligeti , David Alberman , Irvine Arditti , Garth Knox , Rohan deSaram , and Arditti String Quartet
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000029OY
Release Date: 1997-01-21

Tracks:

String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Allegro Grazioso
String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Vivace, Capriccioso
String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Adagio, Mesto
String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Presto
String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Andante Tranquillo
String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Tempo Di Valse, Moderato, Con Eleganza, Un Poco Capriccioso
String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Allegretto, Un Poco Gioviale
String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Prestissimo
String Quartet No. 2: Allegro Nervoso
String Quartet No. 2: Sostenuto, Molto Calmo
String Quartet No. 2: Come Un Meccanismo Di Precisione
String Quartet No. 2: Presto Furioso, Brutale, Tumultuoso
String Quartet No. 2: Allegro Con Delicatezza
Hommage A Hilding Rosenberg
Balada Si Joc: Balada Andante
Balada Si Joc: Allegro Vivace
Andante And Allegretto: Andante Cantabile
Andante And Allegretto: Allegretto Poco Capriccioso

Amazon.com essential recording

This is a fine collection of moving, muscular performances by this seminal postwar composer. Surely the best known of the works on this disc is the Second String Quartet, one of the masterpieces of 20th-century music--although you might not know it's a masterpiece until the heartbreaking last movement. But the First String Quartet, written before Ligeti emigrated from Hungary to the West, is fascinating: it shows Ligeti working through the influence of Bartók, particularly Bartók's Third and Fourth Quartets--music Ligeti knew only silently, from the score, since performances of Bartók's music were banned by the Hungarian communist regime. This excellent recording provides a complete overview of Ligeti's compositional career through the medium of string chamber music, from homages to Bartók to the achievement of Ligeti's own groundbreaking style. --Joshua Cody

Customer Reviews:

Important, but not as interesting as the vocal works........2006-08-30

Sony's "Gyorgy Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duos" is the first in this series of, I believe, complete works by Ligeti, but it is always the third or fourth disk I go to whenever I get around to listening to Ligeti once again, about once every year.

To me, the average amateur 'classical music' consumer, it is interesting, imaginative, and certainly 'new' when compared to 19th and early 20th century music, but it just doesn't seem to have the same cachet as the vocal works. While I would sooner listen to Ligeti's vocal works than most other modern music, I actually prefer Bartok, Berg, and Schoenberg for their instrumental works.

I agree with the top reviewer that the String Quartet No. 2 is the hit of the disk, but it doesn't blow me away in the same way that 'Lux Aeterna' does. That may be just the '2001' factor at work, but there you have it.

Still excellent and still evocative of other modernists, not the least of whom is Frank Zappa.

Not really my style..........2006-08-23

This is a little too avant garde for me. I like my classical music to be just that: classical.

I bought the CD but I am returning it. Ligeti is very talented but his music (to me) is only tolerable in short bursts. I couldn't see myself listening to the whole CD time and again.

String works, includes his must-have glorious Second Quartet.......2004-12-07

Sony's "Gyorgy Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duos" is the first disc of the 13-volume series--continued after the 8th installment by Teldec's "The Ligeti Project"---of Gyorgy Ligeti's collected works in performances overseen by the composer itself. It collects his impressive two strings quartets, a brief birthday greeting to another composer, a work inspired by an ethnomusical stint in Romania, and another early work. The works are performed by the Arditti Quartet, who have done so much to provide satisfying and lasting performances of modern string repetoire.

String Quartet No. 1 ("Metamorphoses nocturnes") was written between 1953 and 1954, as the composer was struggling to express himself creatively in Stalinist Hungary. The work shows clear inspiration from Bartok's third and fourth quartets, which Ligeti knew only from their score as they had been suppressed. Similarly, Ligeti had no hope his own work would be performed, and it was written essentially "for his desk drawer". Ironically, when Ligeti submitted the piece to a Western competition, it was deemed too traditional for recognition. This first string quartet is a study in the juxtaposition of unlike sections; under a thin verneer of normality, the music is heterogenous. I think this is a fine work, and it is one of the composer's few pre-emigration pieces that do not sound like juvenalia in comparison with his later works.

String Quartet No. 2 (1968) was composed long after Ligeti's move to the West and so is entirely avant-garde, linked with the techniques of his other works of the 1960's. Ligeti was quite proud of this piece, claiming it as his favourite of his works of the time, and feeling that he had made a permanent contribution to the string quartet tradition. The work is indeed a part of his micropolyphonic style of the 1960's, but there is a great deal more here. It is a twitching, paranoid, nervous, neurotic piece with a grimy, constantly shifting texture, like the soundtrack to a Kafka story. It really must be heard to be believed, and this second quartet is the high point of this disc.

"Hommage a Hilding Rosenburg" for violin and cello (1982) is a short birthday greeting to that Swedish composer. It is the least important work on the disc and is really nothing more than something of a fanfare.

"Balada si joc" for two violins (Romanian "Ballad and dance", 1950) is a short string duet inspired by Ligeti's time spent in Romania collecting folk music during his music studies. The result uses no actual folk material, but is an authentic imitation of the music Ligeti encountered both in his boyhood and in his return to Transylvania at this later time. When it was later expanded to use an orchestra, it became the first two movements of his "Concert Romanesc" (found on "The Ligeti Project II"). The string duet, however, manages to create with but two instruments nearly the same moving passion as the later orchestration. The following "Andante and Allegretto" for string quartet (1950) is another early work, again inspired by folk music. It is not as successful as "Balada si joc", indeed even forgettable.

While there are other recordings of these works available, such as the recent recordings reissued in Deutsche Grammaphon's "Echo 20/21" series, this performance by the Arditti Quartet can certainly be seen as definitive. It takes a lot of talent to please Ligeti, one of the most demanding composers, especially in a crushingly difficult work like the second string quartet.

While I think "Gyorgy Ligeti Edition 3: Piano Works" or "The Ligeti Project IV" are better places to begin on this series of Ligeti's collected works, this set of string works should be one of the first Ligeti works you buy, especially for the String Quartet No. 2.

Great Recordings of Modern String Quartets.......2004-08-07

For those of you who haven't experienced Ligeti, this is the CD to purchase, especially if you like string quartets. If you're not accustomed to 20th century music, keep an opened mind and I promise you'll really enjoy his music.

The recording of the 2nd quartet is, as usual with the Arditti Quartet, phenomenal, but what makes this recording is their production of his 1st quartet. The performance is very clean and precise, yet still very musical. Most impressive of all, Arditti stays true to Ligeti's tempi, including the blistering tempo of the end!

As an added bonus, there are two very delightful duets for violins, which are very tonal and based on Hungarian folk tunes (these were written as part of graduation from the Budapest Academy of Music).

you must listen to Ligeti........2004-03-06

Listening to Ligeti has been invaluable, for his music has brought me to a higher level of musical understanding. Just listen to these string quartets, for example. The aggressive, chromatic Bartokian first string quartet is incredible by itself. But then the ever-transforming second quartet is ever better, musically enlightening and original and yet still a work of passion. Ligeti describes the piece's nature as something where "there is no longer any motivic writing in this music, no contours, only sound textures, which are sometimes frayed and almost fluid (as in the first and last movements) and at other times grainy and machine-like (as in the middle pizzicato movement)." The performances and recording are mind-blowing. "Add to cart."

Average customer rating:

While the music is not flawless, I'm thrilled Part is going somewhere new and strange
BUY NOW!!!
Incredibly Moving
a somber lament for a world of suffering
Arvo Part is a singular force in modern symphonic music

Lamentate
Arvo Part , Andrey Boreyko , Hilliard Ensemble , SWR Radio-sinfonieorchester Stuttgart , and Aleksei Lubimov
Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Arvo Pärt: Da pacem

ASIN: B000A69QCW
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Tracks:

Da Pacem Domine
Minacciando
Spietato
Fragile
Pregando
Solitudine-Stato D'Animo
Consolante
Stridendo
Lamentabile
Risolutamente
Fragile E Conciliante

Amazon.com

The brief opening piece for chorus on this new release, "Da Pacem Domine," is based on a 9th century Gregorian work and has the usual, familiar--and very beautiful--Pärt-ian characteristics: a soft, endless stream of easy tritones and harmonies that make this plea for peace immensely moving. The major work, Lamentate, is scored for large orchestra and solo piano--a very unusual combination for Pärt. Even his fans will be surprised. In ten brief sections, it begins with a quiet drum roll, immediately followed by horn calls. There are forte explosions for full orchestra and piano, with heavy percussion. At times the only thing we hear is a hushed piano part with strings supporting very quietly. The effect is dark yet alluring. It ends peacefully. This is another stunning CD of Pärt's music for his fans--old and new. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

While the music is not flawless, I'm thrilled Part is going somewhere new and strange.......2007-06-02

This 2005 ECM disc is the latest in the label's long survey of Arvo Part and pairs two pieces from the Estonian composer. Like the earlier Orient & Occident disc, this one shows Part trying to set off in a bold new direction while at the same time preserving those elements of his personal musical language that have gained him such a wide following.

Part wrote "Lamentate" for piano and orchestra (2003) after encountering Anish Kapoor's installation "Marsyas" in the Tate Gallery in London. "Marsyas" is a remarkable work, and I urge the reader to search for photographs of it. When viewing it, Part felt acutely reminded of his own mortality and confronted with the problem of how to make something of his life in the face of death. The title of the resulting concerto of sorts refers to this, Part calls the piece a "lamentation for the living".

"Lamentate" is written for a massive orchestra, but these great forces make an appearance only in the first two movements. Appropriately titled "Minacciando" and "Spietato", these roll out thundering percussion and unusually "dissonant" harmonies for a Part work. Once the piano enters, the ensemble drops to strings and spare percussion, and the language returns to the crystalline tones and minor feeling of Part's typically writing. Programmatically the work is intriguing. Fans of contemporary music already know plenty of concertos where the soloist represents the noble individual against the oppression of the mob--Carter's for piano, Lutoslawski's for cello, and a number by Schnittke are typically examples. Part himself has written such a concerto before in "Credo" for piano and orchestra of 1968. Here, however, I get the feeling that the piano is not alone in his struggle--Part simply choose to concentrate on its line--and the strings represent myriad other souls hoeing their own hard rows, their line's not coming into contact with the piano's but just as poignant.

The piece features much elegant orchestration and a fine sense of drama, but my sole reservation is the length. Some of the material in the second half could have been trimmed with no loss of effect. Nonetheless, I enjoyed "Lamentate", and think that the SWR Stuttgart Orchestra conducted by Andrei Boreyko and pianist Alexi Lubimov give a commendable performance.

The disc is rounded out by the 6-minute "Da pacem Domine" for choir a capella (2004). I've generally found Part's brief choral works unexciting, and this is no exception. However, the work does feature some subtly troubled undercurrents that confirm that conflict is back in Part's music and that the stormy lines of the concerto are no fluke. The Hilliard Ensemble are, of course, Part's hand-picked vocal ensemble, so I dare not critique their performance.

As the pieces here show the beginnings of some yet-unperfected new period, I'm not sure that this disc would be a good introduction to Part. The old Tabula Rasa disc also on ECM is the typical recommendation. Nonetheless, fans of Part should pick up LAMENTATE somewhere along the way, and it will doubtlessly leave you in suspense of where the composer is going next.

BUY NOW!!!.......2007-04-18

This music is far too spiritually moving to pass up. From the unaccompanied choir to the chromatic climax of the orchestra, this album is a shining example of why Mr. Part is at the top of my list of modern composers.

Incredibly Moving.......2006-11-11

Arvo Part's Lamentate is an incredibly moving work. I sat and listened to it in complete and utter awe. Arvo Part's use of color and texture throughout the orchestra is absolutely superb. The piece ranges from the somber to the highest expression of despair. There is so much emotion behind this work that I cannot even comprehend. Part's idea of a lament for the living, not the dead is a very interesting statement. Part mourns for the world that is full of suffering. This piece is absolutely amazing and the performance on this recording is phenominal. I cannot even describe in words the effect this piece had on me. I was incredibly moved.

The choral work that starts the disc is also a great example of Part's colorful harmonies. While the soprano voice is not incredibly desirable to listen to, the piece is just so pretty that it doesn't even really matter. This recording is so good. Great music by a great composer. I would recommend grabbing a few of Part's other works while you're at it.

a somber lament for a world of suffering.......2006-02-05

"Lamentate" reminds us that Arvo Part, the Estonian composer known as a "holy minimalist," was a modernist before he was a postmodernist. The 37-minute work opens with a bang, a great rumble from percussion and a minor-key fanfare from the horns, before subsiding into more typical Partian meditations. Dissonant menace periodically returns, however, marking this as Part's most Shostakovich-like composition. Alexie Lubimov plays the ethereal, searching piano part in a piano concerto that is not a piano concerto. The SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra is directed by Andrey Boreyko, and sounds superb across the dynamic spectrum.

I had the opportunity to visit the Tate Modern on the Thames in June of 2004. The Engine Room of the former power generating station is an awesome space, and that is where Part saw the sculpture that inspired "Lamentate" in 2002 (thus the Tate in Lamentate). The premiere performance was in that space, at the foot of the sculpture "Marsyas" in February 2003 -- there is a photo of the event in the booklet. To me, this is a fascinating juxtaposition. Part's music since the mid-1970s represents a conscious rejection of the modernist avant-garde and an assertion of Orthodox religious content along with a pre/postmodern fusion of chant and other early forms with a stripped-down (minimalist) tonality. So here is Part at one of the temples of artistic modernity, drawing inspiration for his work. Adding to the fascination is my own trajectory from a heroic to a more tragic view of life, and a recognition of the primacy of the spiritual dimension.

With that I leave you to your own reflections. This is a major work from one of the major composers of our time. Thanks to ECM for championing Arvo Part and to its art department for another fine package for the sublime.

Arvo Part is a singular force in modern symphonic music.......2006-01-30

Ever Since the Arvo Part ECM recording Tabula Rasa in 1984, the composer's profound philosophy of composition has been felt throughout the world of symphonic music.

Average customer rating:

Debussy with a difference!
One Star for Charity's Sake
Beautifully interpreted
Complete Debussy

Debussy: The Complete Piano Music

Manufacturer: Asv Living Era
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Fauré: Piano Music complete [Box Set]

ASIN: B0001Z2RSM
Release Date: 2004-08-24

Tracks:

Reverie
Prelude
Menuet
Clair De Lune
Passepied
Lent (Melancolique Et Doux)
Tres Vite
Prelude
Sarabande
Toccata
Reflets Dans L'eau
Hommage A Rameau
Mouvement
Cloches A Travers Les Feuilles
Et La Lune Descend Sur Le Temple Qui Fut
Poissons D'or

Tracks:

Arabesque No.1
Arabesque No.2
Danse Bohemienne
Ballade Slave
Tarantelle Styrienne
Valse Romantique
Mazurka
Nocturne
Danseuses De Delphes
Voiles
Le Vent Dans La Plaine
Les Sons Et Les Parfums
Les Collines D'Anacapri
Des Pas Sur La Neige
Ce Qu'a Vu Le Vent D'Ouest
La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin
La Serenade Interrompue
La Cathedrale Engloutie
La Danse De Puck
Minstrels

Tracks:

L'isle Joyeuse
Pagodes
La Soiree Dans Grenade
Jardins Sous La Pluie
D'un Cahier D'esquisses
Morceau De Concours
Masques
Brouillards
Feuilles Mortes
La Puerta Del Vino
Les Fees Sont D'exquises Danseuses
Bruyeres
General Lavine - Eccentric
Les Terraces Des Audiences
Ondine
Hommage A S. Pickwick Esq. PPMPC
Canope
Les Tierces Alternees
Feux D'artifice

Tracks:

Doctor Gradus Ad Parnassum
Jimbo's Lullaby
Serenade For The Doll
The Snow Is Dancing
The Little Shepherd
Golliwog's Cake-Walk
Hommage A Haydn
Le Petit Negre
La Plus Que Lente
Berceuse Heroique
Elegie
Page D'album (Piece Pour Le Vetement Du Blesse)
Pour Les Cinq Doigts
Pour Les Tierces
Pour Les Quartes
Pour Les Sixtes
Pour Les Octaves
Pour Les Huit Doigts
Pour Les Degres Chromatiques
Pour Les Agrements
Pour Les Notes Repetees
Pour Les Sonoritees Opposees
Pour Les Arpeges Composes
Pour Les Accords

Customer Reviews:

Debussy with a difference!.......2007-03-10

Do not let the dismissive review below make you dismiss this amazing and breath taking complete set. Like his Scriabin recordings, Gordon Fergus-Thompson works wonder with the well known piece like Clair de Lune, Arabesque and Reverie, and breathes new life into the music by his keen sense of tonal colours and delicacy. When it comes to impressionist music, no pianists can match Richter, who played Clair de Lune, Pavane or miroirs like a miracle, but Fergus-Thompson creats his own unique soundscape.

He is one of very few pianists alive who pay careful attention to how a note produced on the instrument decays and merges with other notes, while most of pianist nowadays focus mostly on starting point of the sound. That's a secret of the richness of colours and expression in his pianism.

He is often criticised for lack of technical prowess, compared to past masters like Gieseking or Michelangeli, but I can not detect even a hint of technical weakness or instability in this set. This is simply a different and highly personal interpretation, and it is a shame to miss out this magical music making simply because it is different from the mainstream interpretation.

One Star for Charity's Sake.......2007-03-01

Avoid this set!!! The man is a gifted pianist but has no understanding on how to interpret the music. This is the nadir of all the Debussy piano sets. With Walter Gieseking's superlative set available why would you want dog food when you can eat supreme cuisine!!!

Beautifully interpreted.......2007-02-13

Gordon Fergus-Thompson does an amazing job of playing and interpreting Debussy's music. I have been playing piano for years--especially Debussy--and this CD really captures the essence of the music. I'd recommend this to anyone.

Complete Debussy.......2006-12-13

These recordings are some of the highest quality Debussy you'll find. There is a freedom that comes across in Fergus-Thompson's playing that you won't find in other so-called great recordings. Instead of trying to sound "Debussy-like", the music is played naturally while maintaining accuracy and original intent of the composer. Recording quality is up to date. Box set is 4 discs, with the body nicely separated into larger works with dates included.

Average customer rating:

Stories Of Schumann And Grieg

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Binding: Audio CD

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The Story of Schubert
The Story Of Brahms
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ASIN: B000001KCV
Release Date: 1995-04-16

Tracks:

Symphony No. 3 In E-flat Major, Op. 97: 'Rhenish' - Lebhaft
Andante And Variations In B-Flat Major
Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13
Toccata In C Major, Op. 7
Kreisleriana, Op. 16
Piano Concerto In A Minor, Op. 54: Allegro Vivace
Carnaval, Op. 9
'Dedication', Op. 25/1
Symphony No. 4 in D Minor, Op. 120: Introduction - Vivace
Papilons, Op. 2
Op. 25-3: 'The Nut Tree'
Symphony No. 3 In E-flat Major, Op. 97: 'Rhenish' - Lebhaft-Schneller
Piano Quintet In E-flat Major, Op. 44: Allegro ma non troppo
Piano Concerto In A Minor, Op. 54: Allegro affettuoso
Carnaval, Op. 9: Waltz
Album For The Young, Op. 68: The Merry Farmer
Scenes From Childhood, Op. 15: Dreams
Cello Concerto In A Minor, Op. 129: Nicht au schnell
Symphony No. 3 In E-flat Major, Op. 97: 'Rhenish' - Feierlich
Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46, No 1
Lyric Suite, Op. 54-2: Norwegian Rustic Dance
Op. 12 No. 4: Elf Dance
Op. 35, No. 1: Norwegian Dances
Elegiac Melodies
Op. 64, No. 4: Symphonic Dances
Op. 35, No. 2: Norwegian Dances
Op. 5-3: 'I Love Thee'
Op. 43, No. 1: Butterfly
Op. 65, No. 6: Wedding Day At Troldhaugen
Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46, No. 3: Anitra's Dance
Peer Gynt Suite No. 2, Op. 55, No. 4: Solveig's Song
Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46, No. 4: In The Hall Of The Mountain King
Piano Concerto In A Minor, Op. 16: Allegro moderato; Allegro marcato
Holberg Suite, Op. 40: Prelude: Allegro vivace
Lyric Suite, Op. 54, No. 3: Dance Of The Dwarfs
Homage To Chopin
Sigurd Jorsalfar Suite, Op. 56, No. 3: Homage March
Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: Morning Mood
Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: The Death Of Aase
Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: Anitra's Dance
Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: In The Hall Of The Mountain King
Peer Gynt Suite No. 2, Op. 55: III The Return Of Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt Suite No. 2, Op. 55: IV Solveig's Song

Average customer rating:

Wonderfully captivating music by the tango master
When styles mix
Explains It All To Those Wounded in Love
Great sex music! Comes from the heart!
Piazzolla's Unofficial Interpreter

Hommage A Piazzolla

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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Tango | Latin Music | Styles | Music

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Tracing Astor
Vivaldi and Piazzolla: Eight Seasons
Tango: Zero Hour
La Camorra
Piazzolla: Tango Ballet, Concierto Del Angel, Tres Piezas Para Orquesta De Camara / Kremer, Glorvigen, et al

ASIN: B000005J48
Release Date: 1996-09-24

Tracks:

Milonga En Re
Vardarito
Oblivion
Escualo
Histoire Du Tango: Cafe 1930
Concierto Para Quinteto
Soledad
Buenos Aires Hora Cero
Celos
El Sol Sueno (Hommage A Astor Piazzolla)
Le Grand Tango

Amazon.com essential recording

Gidon Kremer, who plays the standard violin repertoire so well, has remained a restless explorer of music. Here is his first album of Piazzolla arrangements, introduced by a moving and perceptive assessment of Piazzolla by composer John Adams. Kremer has completely steeped himself in the spirit of the tango, and of Piazzolla's transformation of this music into concert works. The selection (mostly larger-scale Piazzolla works), the varied arrangements, and the compelling quality of the playing make this one of the best albums of this music not involving the composer's own performances. And if you love it, you'll be glad to know that Kremer's second Piazzolla album is also available. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfully captivating music by the tango master.......2005-10-25

I was introduced to the music of Astor Piazzolla by the more than great violinist Gidon Kremer when he played a virtuosic tango as an encore. Whenever a rich new vein of wonderful music is opened to me, well, it makes for a bright and happy day. Not long after I picked up this CD and I can recommend it to you highly. This is more than just tango dance music, these are serious and contemplative compositions that use the Tango as the vehicle just as the classical and especially Baroque composers used their dance music for instrumental compositions. The music is full of mood, sensuality, rhythm, lush harmonies, dissonance, love, and pain. It is a music of contrasts and never gets too fussy or complicated. It wears its heart on its sleeve and draws us in because it is so charming.

Each piece has its own varied ensemble and the musicians in that ensemble also arrange the music for that track. Kremer leads from the violin in all of them, after all it is his album and his hommage to Piazzolla. However, the instruments used depend on the musical materials and mood of the piece. The piano is used quite a bit, and at times there are wind instruments. The bandoneón is required in tango, as well. It is a kind of concertina that was developed and made in Germany, but adopted in Argentina for the Tango. It has a wonderfully reedy sound and is played with buttons on each side of the bellows. Depending on the model, the note can change or stay the same whether you are pulling the bellows out or pushing them in, but in all of them there are two voices always at the octave and gives the bandoneón its characteristic sound.

The only composition not by Piazzolla is a very interesting tango included as a tribute to the master entitled "El sol sueño" by Jerzy Peterbushsky.

This is good music and a very enjoyable change of pace.

When styles mix.......2005-09-07

I bought this record following a live performance by Gidon Kremer et al. at the Verbier Festival. The mixture of classical music with a dose of jazz on a Latin base produces an interesting result that is quite surprising at first. However, the more one hears, the more the result grows on the listener, just as at the live show where the audience, somewhat stunned at the outset, gave a standing ovation at the end.

Overall, the mélange is pleasant, chill listening to be appreciated by fans of any of the three styles of music.

Explains It All To Those Wounded in Love.......2005-01-16

Ever have a moment where you loved someone so much you hated him?

Ever have a relationship you could not get out of your mouth, your mind, your heart, your system, but that you knew was over and done with forever and ever, and you'd never even see the other again?

Ever feel so happy you wanted to cry? No, sob? Wrenching, wracking sobs? From happiness, now.

Yes?

Have I got a CD for you: Hommage a Piazzolla, featuring Gidon Kremer.

Like many, I suspect, I have a mixed relationship to tango. When I put on a tango CD, I fear I'll be hearing something that sets my teeth to jangling and makes me want to slap someone in the face.

This isn't that. You could listen to most of this while sitting perfectly still, on a window sill, in fact, with the lights down low in your apartment, as you stare out at the rain-slicked city at night. A drink sits on a nearby table, unfinished...you have no will to finish it.

(It's hard not to imagine these things while listening to this music; really, it's all so poetic, cinematic, irresistable.)

At some point, though, you're probably not going to be able to sit still any more, and you'll have to put that rose in your teeth and cut a few moves.

Tango often sounds, to we non-Argentinians, like a parody of itself.

This CD does not.

Rather, when I put it on, not at all sure what to expect, I had one of those epiphanies that art can give you.

I had been brooding over a vexed relationship, one I did not understand, but knew was hurting me, not with any immediacy, but like a sore tooth that could stand to go a few more months before you get over your fear of the dentist to get it fixed.

What bugged me most of all was that I did not understand what was hurting. Rationally, I had no reason to feel troubled.

I put on this CD, with the relationship way in the back of my mind, and I just, immediately thought, "That's it. This music is explaining it all; this music is articulating everything."

Not bad.

This kind of music, music that allows in the true bittersweet of life, the unsolvable, the passion, is all too rare. If music that addresses those qualities is what you crave, this CD might be just what you need.

Great sex music! Comes from the heart!.......2004-07-21

The music and perforamance are so sensually played and achingly beautiful, the hairs on my neck and arms stand up on end. Listen to the opening track and tell me this is not great sex music. Yes, tango is a very sensual art form and this CD is great for those very intimate moments. Of course, sex aside, the music is nothing short of a miracle unto itself. That I was to discover this CD just last year meant I was without it for 7 years since it was released. My life is richer for this and other Piazzolla works done by Kremer.
This CD has become one of those "island" CDs that you would take if you wer so to become deserted on one. You should be so lucky!

Piazzolla's Unofficial Interpreter.......2001-04-12

I first became aware of this CD several years ago as its melancholy strains wafted through the air of a bookstore through which I was browsing. My ears perked up...Piazzolla!!! Upon inquiry, I was shown the CD and I immediately purchased a copy. I couldn't wait to get home and listen to it at elevated volume. What a recording!! Kremer has captured and distilled the essence of Piazzolla's music. Every song is a masterpiece and nearly all of my favorite mid-period Piazzolla compositions are contained within. A special treat is the magnum opus which closes the set, a 12-minute rendering of Le Grand Tango with just Kremer's violin and the restrained passion of Vadim Sakharov's piano to lead your mind into another musical dimension. Gidon Kremer has since recorded a number of Piazzolla-related CDs and in so doing has set himself up as the unofficial interpreter of El Maestro's music. If you like Piazzolla, you are sure to enjoy this CD. I give it my highest recommendation.

Average customer rating:

Must-have recording
Outstanding performances of important contemporary quartets
dark, rich and splendid!
New Music which Dares to make an Impact
Directly to the bottom

Musik Fur Streichinstrumente

Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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György Kurtág: Signs, Games and Messages
Kurtag: Jatekok / Marta and Gyorgy Kurtag
Kafka-Fragmente Op. 24
György Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duets - Arditti String Quartet
Kaija Saariaho: Du Cristal...À la Fumée; Sept Papillons, Nymphéa

ASIN: B000024R1O
Release Date: 2000-02-01

Tracks:

Aus der Ferne III
Officium breve in memoriam Andrezervzky
Ligatura - Message to Frences-Marie (The answered unanswered question)
Quartetto per archi op.1 / I Poco agitato
' II Con moto
' III Vivacissimo; Lento
' IV Con spirito
' V Molto ostinato
' VI Adagio
Hommage ih Andr 12 Mikroludien / I
' II
' III
' IV Presto
' V Lontano, calmo, appena sentito
' VI
' VII
' VIII Con slancio
' IX Pesante, con moto / Leggiero
' X Molto agitato
' XI
' XII Leggiero, con moto, non dolce
Ligatura - Message to Frances-Marie (The answered unanswered question)

Customer Reviews:

Must-have recording.......2006-12-27

I heard the Boston Symphony play an orchestral piece of Kurtag's several years ago. I was impressed by the piece, and frankly have no idea why it took me so long to purchase this CD. There are a great many noteworthy string quartets of the last hundred years, and Kurtag's in some ways are the most unusual. While formidable technique and discipline are required to play them, the overall effect is not highly virtuosic, as you might remark about say, Bartok. The overall effect is more darkly contemplative, although there are certainly moments of great drama. Harmonically, they're quite wonderful, with much of the harmony in very low registers. The sparseness of the writing may bring Webern to mind, but the resemblance is only superficial. Kurtag speaks with his own distinct voice.
The reading by the Keller Quartet is excellent. It is both restrained and emotional. The quality of the recording is excellent, as one would expect from ECM.

Outstanding performances of important contemporary quartets.......2004-01-07

Having released several discs featuring his music, ECM have played a major role in the in the recent buzz surrounding the Hungarian composer György Kurtág. This disc of his three string quartets--all key works in the composer's oeuvre--by the outstanding Keller Quartet may well be the finest of all these recordings.

The String Quartet, opus 1, was written in 1959, when Kurtág was 33. (It is perhaps a sign of the composer's lack of conventional self-confidence that none of his previous works had merited an opus number.) Written in six movements, it is composed in a language that is very obviously derived from Bartók and Webern, though even here (unlike, say, in the earlier Viola Concerto) Kurtág is clearly his own composer. The first movement is a brief, ambivalent exposition, the second plays with vigorous ostinati and the third is almost a conventional scherzo (though with slower passages interrupting). The fourth movement is perhaps a negation of the third: it is a slow movement with vigorous outbursts fragmenting the flow; while the fifth movement mirrors the second in its ostinato writing. The slow finale takes the material of the opening but extends it to more than four times the length of the first movement.

If the String Quartet was an assured debut, the Twelve Microludes, opus 13, written in 1977 and 1978, demonstrate how much Kurtág was to grow as a composer in the next two decades. Even more miniaturised than the Quartet (its twelve movements last a mere ten minutes), it also contains a much greater variety of expression. The music includes several chorale-like movements and some that play with ostinati as in the Quartet, but the heart of the work is surely the fifth movement, whose haunting folk-like melody is heard as from afar, garlanded by fragmentary motifs on the other instruments.

Officium breve, opus 28, is an instrumental requiem for the Hungarian composer Andre Szervánszky, written in 1988 and 1989. The work is in fifteen movements--which play without a break--and exhibits something of a collage form. The two linchpins of the work are an incomplete quotation from Szervánszky's Serenade for Strings and the remarkable canon that ends Webern's Second Cantata (a transcription for string quartet of which is the tenth movement of the quartet). Two movements, the third and the twelfth, both based on the Szervánszky quote, are transcribed directly from Szervánszky homages in the piano collection Játékok. The work ends with ferociously dissonant varations on the Szervánszky quote that lead directly into the final movement, which is nothing more than that quote itself. This luminously tonal, Romantic music provides a sudden peripeteia, and sheds unexpected new light on what had come before.

The disc also includes two miniatures. Aus der Ferne III, a homage to Paul Sacher on his 90th birthday, has appeared in a number of versions (two violins, piano four-hands) before this string quartet version. The Answered Unanswered Question (Homage-Message à Frances-Marie) is heard twice on this disc. Commemorating Frances-Marie Uitti and her bizarre double-bowing cello technique, this brief work, for two violins, two cellos and celesta, features the composer playing the celesta part.

Both Officium breve and the Twelve Microludes strike me as amongst the finest of post-war quartets, and they deserve the strongest possible advocacy. Happily, the playing of the Keller Quartet is quite outstanding, and gets to the heart of the music in a way that the rival version from the Arditti Quartet cannot match. Even with the rather short (less than 50 minutes) playing time, this is an essential recording for anyone interested in postwar music.

dark, rich and splendid!.......2001-07-28

This is an exquisite recording of some of the best in modern music. The three major pieces are Kurtag's String Quartet (op. 1) of 1959, the second quartet, 12 Microludes (op. 13), of 1977-78, and the third quartet, Officium Breve (op. 28) of 1988-89. Three shorter pieces are included as well, including two versions of Ligatura, with Kurtag on celesta. Kurtag clearly fuses Webern and Bartok, producing dark, rich music that is never exhausted through repeated listening.

How does this 1996 KQ/ECM recording compare to the 1990 recording by the Arditti Quartet of Kurtag's three string quartets on Montaigne, supervised by Kurtag? (see my review) The KQ takes the tempos slightly slower, and this produces a suitably dramatic effect. The tempo difference is likely one chief cause of the difference in affect -- the AQ sounds more anguished overall, whereas the KQ is slightly more restrained, more stoic. Of course the KQ is treated to Manfred Eicher's patented production, with its noticeable resonance, and this produces a darker tone, it seems. The Montaigne production of the AQ is more natural, with a clean, clear surface. The KQ adds three short Kurtag pieces for an all-Kurtag set, while the AQ adds Lutoslawski's 25-minute quartet (his only one), and the 10-minute Second Quartet by Gubaidulina. ECM's graphics and packaging are stunning, as usual, with black-and-white photography.

It is fascinating to hear the alternative interpretations, and Kurtag's works certainly warrant more! But if you hear only one, the Keller Quartet's recording is outstanding.

New Music which Dares to make an Impact.......2001-01-11

As a member of a professional string quartet, I'm always on the lookout for new repertoire for my group to perform. I'd noticed that several Kurtag pieces had been performed (by the Emerson and Orion quartets, most recently) and wanted to see what all the buzz was about. Turns out, it was worth the purchase of this fine CD. I've always been a fan of Webern and Ligeti, and Kurtag seems to me to embody the best of these two composers' styles, while remaining very much his own distinct musical personality. The Keller Quartet plays these pieces with great virtuosity, but not at the expense of passion and what I can only describe as a "avant garde bel canto". If you have any interest in new music, and especially new music which is extraordinary, look no further than this disc.

Directly to the bottom.......2000-08-17

The words expressed by the Spanish fan music (in Barcelona) resume the feelings Kurtag evokes.

Tracks:

Preambule
I. Le Comble De La Distinction
II. Le Coeur Sur La Main
III. La Desinvolture Et La Discretion
IV. La Suite Dans Les Idees
V. Le Charme Enjoleur
VI. Le Contentement De Soi
VII. Le Gout Du Malheur
VIII. L'Alerte Vieillesse
Cadence
Final
I. C Major
II. B Flat Minor
III. E Minor
Pastourelle
I. Assez Modere
II. Tres Modere
III. Alerte
Valse
No. 1 In B Minor
No. 2 In A Flat Major
No.3 In B Minor
No. 6 In B Flat Major
No. 7 In C Major
No. 8 In A Minor
No. 12 In E Flat Major 'Hommage A Schubert'
No. 13 In A Minor
No. 15 In C Minor 'Hommage A Edith Piaf'
I. Pastorale
II. Hymne
III. Toccata

Customer Reviews:

BAGATELLES SPIRITUELLES.......2006-05-17

This disc won a Gramophone award in 1988, the citation praising in particular the `tenderness and sensitivity' of the performances. That seems fair to me. I would not call the playing here any exhibition of ultimate refinement in the manner of Michelangeli or of Gould, but this is not music that requires anything of that kind.

The 31 pieces here are very unpretentious. Only one lasts longer than four minutes, and nearly half of them clock out after less than two. The harmony is almost entirely tonal (after some Stravinskyish assertiveness at the start of the very first number), and most of the recital consists of items that seem to have started life as improvisations. Nine numbers go by that title explicitly, and if they don't seem to be one's normal idea of improvisation, having more thematic content than I for one would have expected, that may simply reflect the fact that Poulenc was an outstandingly gifted improviser. The suite Soirees de Nazelles with which Roge opens the recital is reported to have originated in pieces that he improvised at some kind of informal Schubertiads during his residency there, and they also have more substance than show about them.

The sense of improvisation is strengthened in the Nazelles suite by what sounds to me like an unmistakable allusion in the Preamble and again in the Cadence to Bach's Chromatic Fantasia, itself highly improvisatory in manner. Allusiveness in general is another strong characteristic of these works. There is an explicit Homage to Schubert and another to Edith Piaf, for instance. Poulenc was closely associated with Stravinsky, and while I can't hear much of Stravinsky in the three `perpetual motion' works as the liner-note writer tells me I should, I hear him loud and clear in the Preamble to the Nazelles suite. Nor do I think it unduly speculative to detect the influence of Schumann in the finale to the same suite, and while the attractive melody of the Valse may of course be Poulenc's own something leads me to doubt it.

Above all what these miniatures recall to me is Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words. This is not a matter of specific allusions or of the musical idiom, it's just a matter of the overall impression created. They show the same kind of variety and resourcefulness within a fairly restricted range of expression, and the harmonisation is also, with a couple of exceptions, cautious and unadventurous as Mendelssohn's tended to be - there is no experimentation in the manner of Faure, still less that of Debussy or Ravel. For all that, these works have real character and personality, and they are thoroughly agreeable and companionable, even striking a distinctly deeper note in the Pastorale from the Three Pieces. The `variations' in the Nazelles suite are not variations as Franck or Bizet (or any of the German masters) used that expression, more a little collection of miniature tone-poems, and you may be relieved to learn that the three `perpetual-motion' works are hardly that at all - one toccata is quite enough for me. I would rather not get into the topic of the Satie-style names for the `variations', an issue for which `tiresome' would be a restrained characterisation.

Roge's playing suits the music very well. The first `improvisation' and of course the toccata call for a bit of virtuosity, which he is not short of. Otherwise the technical demands seem generally fairly moderate, the real requirement being to capture the intimate and `off-duty' feel of the music which, as the Gramophone critics said, he does very well. The sound comes over very agreeably too, in part through Roge's tactful and sympathetic pedalling, in part from the acoustic, but above all, of course, from the player's touch.

The liner-note is short and fairly basic, but fine as far as it goes. All in all, this is a very pleasant disc that can be commended in good conscience to all but the most ultra-conservative listeners. I am very pleased to have spotted it, and very happy too to endorse the acclamation it was given in 1988.

A Delight.......2006-05-10

There's little use looking further for a recording of Poulenc's piano music, not when Pascal Roge captures the elegance, charm, and wit of his countryman's art so well. The disc starts with "Les Soirees de Nazelles," where some of Poulenc's more virtuosic passages lie. Also demanding are some of the "Improvisations." I find both of these works the most stimulating works on the disc, though my favorite single piece may well be the "Pastourelle," a piano reduction of a work Poulenc wrote for "L'Evential de Jeanne," a collaborative ballet from the 1920s. It capsulizes the sophisticated wit that marks Poulenc as perhaps the drollest of France's Les Six.

Roge is fully attuned to the more virtuosic moments as well as to the humor and verve of Poulenc's idiom. And Decca, often maligned for their inability to turn out consistently fine piano recordings, has here produced a model sound recording. Maybe it's the venue, a London church, that contributes just the right degree of warmth and detracts not a whit from the clean, powerful tone of Roge's piano.

American Classics: Barber: COMPLETE PUBLISHED SOLO PIANO MUSIC

Average customer rating:

Barber: genius; Pollack: great, but not as great as John Browning
A variety of emotions
Samuel Barber's Piano Music
What's the rush?
Barber at a bargain

American Classics: Barber: COMPLETE PUBLISHED SOLO PIANO MUSIC

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Samuel Barber: Orchestral Works, Vol. 2
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Barber: Violin Concerto, Op. 14; Souvenirs (Ballet Suite), Op. 28; Serenade for Strings, Op. 1; Music for a Scene from Shelley, Op. 7

ASIN: B00000GV5P
Release Date: 1998-12-15

Tracks:

Sonata for Piano, Op 26: Allegro energico
Sonata for Piano, Op 26: Allegro vivace e leggiero
Sonata for Piano, Op 26: Adagio mesto
Sonata for Piano, Op 26: Fuga: Allegro con spirito
Excursions, Op 20: Un poco allegro
Excursions, Op 20: In Slow Blues Tempo
Excursions, Op 20: Allegretto
Excursions, Op 20: Allegro molto
Nocturne, Op 33: Moderato
Three Sketches: Lovesong: Tempo di valse: Allegretto
Three Sketches: To My Steinway (To No.220601): Adagio
Three Sketches: Minuet: Tempo di minuetto
Interlude I ('For Jeanne'): Adagio, ma non troppo
Ballade, Op 46: Restless
Souvenirs, Op 28: Waltz: tempo di valse, Allegro con brio
Souvenirs, Op 28: Schottische: tempo si Schottische, Allegro ma non troppo
Souvenirs, Op 28: Pas de deux: Adagio
Souvenirs, Op 28: Two-Step: Allegro molto
Souvenirs, Op 28: Hesitation Tango: Con moto
Souvenirs, Op 28: Galop: Allegro molto

Customer Reviews:

Barber: genius; Pollack: great, but not as great as John Browning.......2007-05-29

This CD includes a mini biography of the composer and a short description of each piece, which is always a plus. I am still amazed he wrote those 3 sketches at such a young age! Barber's music is always lyrical, even when it sounds a-tonal. While John Browning is the most popular interpreter of Barber's music, Pollack also does a wonderful job. The only problem I have is his playing of the Nocturne, op. 33, because he plays it very heavily and too fast, much unlike a nocturne should be.

A variety of emotions.......2006-11-16

This CD collects all the published piano music of Samuel Barber, including the highly regarded masterwork SONATA, OP.26. The SONATA, in four movements, goes from the severe in the first movement to the openly joyous in the second; the third movement builds slowly to a mighty grumbling before just as slowly resigning itself to a quiet resolve. The final movement is all energy, requiring great technical prowess, which pianist Daniel Pollack has. It's an excellent performance.

Some of the other pieces, though less demanding, are most enjoyable. The four EXCURSIONS explore "regional idioms," including boogie-woogie, the blues, and country roots (this last is delightful). The four SOUVENIRS show Barber at his most humorous: the Waltz is laugh-out-loud charming, and the Hesitation Tango is just that - and very compelling. This is an excellent CD all around, from the varied and intelligent music of Barber to the assured, lyrical interpretations by Pollack. Highly recommended.

Samuel Barber's Piano Music.......2003-11-26

Samuel Barber's(1910 --1981) music is lyrical, romantic, and accessible. But his music still manages to be challenging. As is the case with many American composers, Barber tried to develop an American voice by combining art music with American themes derived from jazz and American popular culture. Again, Barber wrote in an accessible way using sophisticated 20th century compositional techniques.

Although he did not compose a great deal of music for solo piano, much of what Barber did write is outstanding. This disc on the budget-priced Naxos label includes all of Barber's published solo piano music performed by Daniel Pollack. Pollack knows and plays this music well indeed. He performed Barber's piano sonata at the First International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in 1958. The CD includes detailed, insightful liner notes by Victor and Marina Ledin.

Barber's piano sonata op 26 (1946) is the highlight of this disc and is a work that has become an important part of the piano repertory. The work is in four movements, and in it Barber uses an expansive musical vocabulary which includes serial composition. The work is romantic and virtuosic and immediately appealing. Vladimir Horowitz championed this music and it has been recorded many times.

The sonata opens with a two-note falling figure with the second note heavily accented that becomes the basis for the opening allegro movement. Throughout the first movement, loud, virtuosic passages alternate with quieter sections, with feathery piano writing in the instrument's high register. The two-note figure is prominent at the end of the movement with a shift in accent to the first note of the pair. The second movement is a short, light scherzo which picks up on the quieter portions of the first movement. The third movement, an adagio, is spare and minimalist. It rises to a large climax before the music falls away pensively over a walking bass. The last movement is a fugue which begins rapidly and quickly develops to a frenzied, cataclysmic conclusion.

The other extended works on this CD are two piano suites. The first suite, "Excursions" Op. 20 (1942-1944) was also championed by Horowitz. It consists of four movements based upon American jazz and popular song. The first movement features a syncopated theme with repeated notes over a boogie-woogie theme in the bass. The second movemement develops as a blues, with a slow-drag theme that becomes more prominent as the movement progresses. It reminded me of a Gershwin piano prelude. The third movement consists of a lyrical, rippling theme in a moderate tempo which undergoes brief variations. The final movement is a foot-stomping barn dance. The movement reminded me of a conservative Charles Ives.

The other suite in this collection is titled "Souvenirs", op 28 (1951-1952) It consists of six short dance movements. (Barber used it for a ballet.) I loved this piece. It is deliberately anachronistic in character and is a throw-back to a hotel-style elegance just before WW I. In listening to this suite, I tried to think of the tone it intended to convey. Some people find this music light and frivolus while others find it ironic. I heard it as loving, but detached and a bit distant. Barber is trying deliberately to recreate a musical experience in an idiom that is no longer his. I think the tone is affectionate, with the music played straight (rather than satirically), but with a distinct feeling of looking back. Thus the title, "Souvenirs".

There are a number of short pieces on this CD including three sketches dating from Barber's 13th year. I enjoyed the Nocturne which is highly chromatic (op. 33) and the late Ballade, Op. 46 among these short works.

This disc is part of the Naxos "American Classics" series. It will allow the listener to get to know some great works of 20th century American piano music.

What's the rush?.......2003-10-22

I can't tell if the overly fast tempi on much of this recording is so all the works could be jammed onto one CD, or if Mr. Pollack was dared to see how fast he could go. To be fair, he starts the Sonata at the metronome marking in the score (which some performers do not) but he doesn't keep it there. He pulls back tremendously in the second theme, then rushes through much of the closing theme so quickly as if to suggest that hearing the notes is not the important part. I'm impressed at how fast he can play certain parts (and the scherzo), but what honestly is the point? Passages in the development and coda are reduced to a blurry mash. Along with this he punches many notes (first and third movements), especially in the base, that have no need for added emphasis. Barber provided enough angularity to this piece that just playing it gets the message - and the music - across. The fourth movement, I will concede, is as admirable as any other performance.
The rest of the works on the CD fare better - in areas where a change in tempo might be tasteful, Mr. Pollack seems invariably to push ahead but it doesn't sabotage anything as badly as the Sonata.
Despite the tempting price, a newcomer to Barber's piano output would do better to buy John Browning's recording and come back to this one later for a different viewpoint.

Barber at a bargain.......2001-09-10

Daniel Pollack has a special relationship to this music. He premiered Samuel Barber's Piano Sonata in the Soviet Union, and played it to wildly enthusiastic acclaim during the 1958 Tschaikovsky competition. That was the year Cliburn took the Gold medal, but Pollack was also a winner, and was very well received.

I am very familiar with the Sonata. I performed it at my senior piano recital in college. I also had the pleasure of playing most of the Sonata for Daniel Pollack when I competed in a college-based piano competition. It was a special pleasure for me to learn how intimately he knows this piece. Pollack plays the Sonata with tremendous energy, brilliance and passion. The recorded sound of this Naxos CD is bright and a little too resonant for my taste. Still, the performance is thoroughly exciting, sometimes to the point of being overwhelmingly powerful (for example, at the end of the fugue).

I own eleven recordings of the Barber Piano Sonata on CD or LP. Although Pollack's is not my first choice, his playing is so exciting and powerful that I regard his performance as special and worth having. My favorites are Cliburn and Horowitz. My other recordings include Garrick Ohlsson, Willis Deloney, two by John Browning, Leo McCawley, Earl Wild, Peter Lawson and Ruth Laredo. It would be difficult to rank these performances, as they all have something special to commend them. Pollack's passion and abandon stand out in this group.

The other Barber works are less familiar to me, and so I am less able to comment on them. They seem beautifully played and, again, only hampered a little by the overly resonant sound.

Customer Reviews:

Refined Rameau.......2007-03-28

After reviewing the recent Angela Hewitt Rameau recording, a fellow reviewer brought this disc to my attention and bestowed enormous praise on it. After repeated listening, the Rameau and especially the Debussy encore leave a bit to be desired and overshadow this beautifully recorded recital, despite its many Ramellian virtues.

Before starting this review let me quote the back of this cd.

Until very recently pianists no longer dared play the French harpsichord repertoire: the pertinence of the "authentic" performances on period instruments by new artists had established their claims - and we had decided once and for all that this music was unsuited to today's pianos... Hence Alexandre Tharaud's approach is both brave and original: this young man is equally indebted to the legendary recordings of Marcelle Mayer and to current interpretations on the harpsichord.

I am sorry, but this is just ridiculous.

a) Musicology is an entirely "soft science". Actually, to use an Oscar Wildism, it has minimal ground to dispel the notion that it is little more than a collection of bad habits. Thus, it ends up being little more than a matter of public opinion. On the one hand public opinion should have no influence whatsoever on artists. They may not end up selling too much, but serve art's purpose of showing all things anew. On the other, having followed the authentic movement for thirty years and having heard the evolution from unbearably poor performances to halfway decent ones that at times approach the professional level, "authentic" should be qualified in a standard fashion as is now du riguer for "organic".

b) Many of us have access to all kind of keyboards, few to expensive and bothersome harpsichords. As such, mandating harpsichord performance would ban the great majority of players from playing and enjoying Rameau and colleagues. This would in fact censor Rameau and equate to cultural elitism.

Up to Tharaud.

Tharaud is a highly skilled pianist. He has made a very good recording of Ravel's complete piano works and a musical, though somewhat romantic and at times unstructured Bach album. His Rameau appears a labor of love involving years of study, a reassessment of the interpretation of the French baroque on the piano and a careful choice of the recording instrument.

Let's start with the discs strengths Tharaud is technically flawless and very musical. Together with the use of the piano that is in many ways superior to the harpsichord his approach results in a highly sophisticated and differentiated performances, that outdo most of his colleagues who play the nail box.

Yet there are some weaknesses. To me Tharaud has not found his own personal solution to playing harpsichord music on the piano, this in contrast to the likes of Gould, Sokolov and Hewitt. What he does here is come as close to the harpsichord as possible, only here and there deviating in right pedaled closing arpeggiated flourishes. Gould, in his video "the choice of instrument" discusses "how much of the piano to use", to me and especially in the light of the great importance of color in Rameau, Tharaud explores his instrument's possibilities too little. Unintentionally, this results in a slightly over-romantic approach, that is fortunately less distracting here than in his Bach disc.

Secondly, and far more importantly is Tharaud's underplay of the counterpoint and drama of these pieces. Counterpoint aims to increase the tension over pure melodic and melody + accompaniment approaches. To me this disc is devoid of drama. This is too bad because a combination of the strengths of this pianist and composer could lead to the Himalayan heights that the likes of Sokolov (Couperin on Live in Paris DVD) and John Williams (Couperin, Les Barricades..., The Baroque Album) have reached.

While I still consider Tharaud's Rameau still in the five star area, his Debussy was a great let down. Here, the pianist's lack of exploring the haunting dialetic between the Image's themes leads to a rather shallow affair. Compare this with the likes of Gieseking, Casadesus and last but not least Michelangeli, that are able to do so much more with this beautiful piece. In addition, the piano of choice may be appropriate for Rameau, but lacks significantly when it comes to Debussy.

In all, a strong disc with a few weaknesses.

Ravishing .......2005-12-11

Rameau is invariably enjoyable, whether on original instruments, modern forces, indeed synthesizer (let's not forget Bob James' fun, respectful and serious work), or, as in this case, M. Tharaud's piano. Like many, I came to Rameau's music as a musically formed adult, one could say "late." However, once I did, it opened windows to so many beauties, instrumental and vocal, that I regret not having its company earlier. Of course, all this happened quite a while back, though one remains thankful to the likes of William Christie, Christophe Rousset, J.E. Gardiner, etc. who have shown us so many facets of Rameau.

The same feeling of a new musical awareness being awakened in me can be ascribed to my response to this miraculous recording of two of Rameau's harpsichord suites by Alexandre Tharaud on a glorious Steinway. Listen to the opening Allemand of the Suite in A, the first track on the CD. The musical lines always stand out, on secure, inner rhythmic momentum, with embelishments truly beautifying the line, and the counterpoint colored throughout by the magic of Mr. Tharaud's touch and pedaling. This is perhaps the most sensual piano recording I own. That it sounds shaped by great intellectual rigor and intense discipline adds to the pleasure. This is a CD to which I return as if to a bottle of exquisite, rich Burgundy, afraid it will run out..... fortunately, it just keeps giving.

M. Tharaud has also successfully recorded Ravel's complete solo piano music, Milhaud, Poulenc, Schubert and now Bach. He ends the Rameau CD with Debussy's "Hommage à Rameau" which makes one wish for a recording of the Preludes not too far in the future.

Overall really good, but lacking in some areas.......2003-02-23

Tharaud's Rameau is for the most part excellent, but I felt that something was lacking. His playing in some places seemed restrained and timid to my ears. This is music that is full of rhythmic vigor, and it doesn't always come through in Tharaud's playing. His ornaments are beautiful and accurate...something that is not altogether easy to transfer from the harpsichord to the piano. I quite enjoyed his 'Gavotte and Six Doubles' (a piece I play, by the way). He does some things I've not heard in other interpretations, which were fairly interesting. If you like Rameau's keyboard music and already have the recordings of Meyer, Sokolov, Casadesus, Cziffra, etc., then this would probably be a welcome addition to your collection. If you are new to his keyboard music, you may want to listen to some of the names mentioned previously before getting this.

more please..........2002-02-20

There are frightfully few recordings of Rameau on the piano. This is one of them, and it is delightful. Mordecai Shehori also has an excellent recording of Rameau music on the piano. If you have enjoyed listening to Bach on the piano, I think you'll enjoy this flavor of Baroque music. The music can be haunting and introspective and interestingly, colors emerge that one might not have thought if you are familiar with the harpsichord incarnation of the music. If you are a pianist, it will probably give you some ideas for new repertoire.
The recording quality is good -- and I find myself easily relistening to this recording.

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