This is one of those
CDs that are hard to categorise. Firstly
it must be said that this does not appear
to be essential listening – either from
the point of view of American music
or pianoforte repertoire. Yet it seems
to me to be vitally important. And this
is my dilemma. Let me try to explain.
First of all it is
important to realize what New World
Records are achieving. Their original
mandate was to produce a 100-work anthology
encompassing a wide range of musical
activities in the United States. This
covered two hundred or so years of composition
and ranged from jazz through Navajo
songs to works by Sessions, Shapey and
Shapero.
Of course this was
a successful project and has further
resulted in a total catalogue of over
400 CDs representing 700 American composers;
a fine achievement, that is to be envied
by record producers and broadcasters
everywhere.
Now from the point
of view of the 20th century
‘classical’ music the catalogue is an
Aladdin’s cave. What has to be said
is that there is little in the way of
‘potboilers’. For example Copland (who
is bountifully recorded on CD) is represented
by a handful of wonderfully ‘obscure’
works. The concept of ‘gap filling’
is at work, which to my mind is like
being in heaven.
It has often been my
complaint that it is possible to find
173 recordings of the Moonlight Sonata
and only one of Franz Reizenstein’s
2nd Sonata. So it
is with sheer delight that I inspected
the contents of this present disc and
found that there are six wonderful pieces
from the darker corners of the great
storehouse of unjustly neglected piano
music.
As the music was unknown
to me I have relied heavily on the good
programme notes. As an aside it is only
fair to point out that New World Records
set great store in the ‘liner notes’
and point out that when taken as a whole
over the catalogue produce a ‘core curriculum’
for American Studies.
The only piece of music
I know by Carl Ruggles is ‘Suntreader’.
And even this is hard to come by these
days. Of course this composer was not
known for the vastness of his opus list.
I believe that there are no more than
a dozen works published; most of these
works being quite short. The importance
of Ruggles is that he was friends with
the elder statesman of ‘musical experimentalism’
Charles Ives and unfortunately that
is what he is remembered for, rather
than for his music.
Evocations are
described as ‘four chants for piano’
although there seems little to connect
this work with liturgical singing! Apparently
the work was composed and revised over
a 20 year period; the first drafts being
made in 1935. They were published in
1943 and extensively revised in 1954
and republished. It is the final version
we hear on this CD.
Although Ruggles made
use of serial techniques resulting in
complex ‘mathematical’ counterpoint,
little of this cerebral quality is apparent.
I accept that he pushes dissonance to
the limits; however in these pieces
there is an innate sense of romanticism
and just a hint of Debussy for good
measure. I appreciate the stylistic
tension of these works and for me they
are the discovery on this disc.
There is a strange beauty apparent as
the four pieces unfold in their seductive
manner.
Irving Fine was quite
definitely influenced by Stravinsky
when he wrote his Music for Piano
in 1947. Fine had studied with Walter
Piston and Nadia Boulanger and had absorbed
neo-classicism.
The present work was
written as a birthday ‘treat’ for Nadia.
The programme notes state that the work
reflects ‘her concern with meticulous
craftsmanship, textual clarity and precision
of thought.’
Fine was 33 years old
at the time and was already totally
competent with his art. He had not yet
begun to explore serialism. This would
come later and would result in some
interesting experiments aimed at fusing
serial and tonal procedures. Yet an
early death cut short his promising
career and possibly deprived us many
fine works.
Music for Piano
can only be described as a fun work.
It is upbeat, full of ‘joie de vivre’
and never outstays its welcome. There
are four short, but highly contrasting
movements. A little prelude (with Little
Prelude overtones?) is followed
by a crisp waltz; the heart of the ‘suite’
is a set of three variations based on
a somewhat sentimental tune with a touch
of Copland about it. The work finishes
with a two part Interlude-Finale which
opens with a reflective moment followed
by a non-stop finale. Great stuff indeed!
Of course the main
event of this CD is the three sonatas
by Harold Shapero. I have explored his
life and work in other reviews on Musicweb.
However, it is appropriate here to add
a few details. As a young man he was
regarded as being one of the more promising
composers of his generation. This has
not happened. Due to a variety of circumstances
he has remained on the edge of the musical
scene. This has nothing to do with the
music which is interesting, well written
and totally listenable. It has more
to do with a reaction against things
neo-classical. However, New World Records
have begun to change this perception
with their releases of chamber and symphonic
works.
Shapero is certainly
a neo-classicist. He made an intense
study of the piano works of Haydn, Mozart
and Beethoven. The structural principles
derived from this perusal helped him
form his own personal style.
The three sonatas presented
on this disc owe much to this study.
The first sonata was written very quickly
in 1944. The ease with which this was
completed encouraged Shapero to write
two more!
Gian Carlo Menotti
is most often associated with opera,
for example The Telephone, The
Medium and Amahl and the Night
Visitors. There is a considerable
amount of purely orchestral and chamber
music, perhaps his largest canvas is
the Piano Concerto. However
there is only one mature piano solo
piece and it is recorded here! The Ricercare
and Toccata is an approachable
work that will appeal to those who are
not perhaps attracted to opera. The
music is compiled from the lesser known
stage work The Old Maid and the Thief
which was presented as a radio opera
in 1939. The Ricercare has overtones
of Puccini and the Toccata is
exactly as it should be - an exercise
in pianism and perpetual motion. Altogether
this a good piece to close off this
interesting and often exciting compilation.
This CD is a collection
of six pieces from the by-ways of American
music. The Shapero Sonatas are
not available elsewhere. There are a
couple of other versions of the Menotti
and the Ruggles.
This is the only version
of the Music for Piano for piano
although there is an orchestral version
made in 1947 and still available on
Delos 3139. This is an interesting recital
of neo-classical music that is at the
same time both intellectually satisfying
and approachable.
Michael Boriskin’s
playing is stunning and reflects the
liveliness, sparkle, wit and sheer pleasure
of these works. The sound quality is
superb.
The cover of the CD
is design for a window by Frank Lloyd
Wright for Coonley Playhouse, Riverside,
Illinois. It epitomizes the cool content
of this excellent CD.
John France
