Dello Joio came of a musical family. He studied with Wagenaar and Hindemith soon coming to the conviction that his music must be accessible to the public ... and so it is. His lyrical proclivities are instantly announced in the Prelude to a Young Musician which is lyrical in the manner of early Fauré. Diversions plays around the bel canto line with a lacing of neo-Baroque always alert and eager. The Chorale (tr.5) from Diversions uses the traditional tune In dulci jubilo. The Introduction and Fantasies tends towards the monumental, making respectful, ingenious sport of the hymn Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow. The aggressive Fantasy II movement is cross-hatched with Shostakovich-like writing from the Preludes and Fugues with a sprinkling of Grainger along the way. Fantasy III recalled the bluesy flavour of Robert Nathaniel Dett's suite In the Bottoms. The Suite aims to recreate moods from the poetry of Carl Sandburg. These range from darkly reflective, to upstart brio (Bright tr.13), to the dark ruffled waters of Calm and the irritability and unstable ferocity of the finale. The six Lyric Pieces for the Young are didactics but their postcard imagination is vivid and the invention is not at all time-serving. The Etudes sometimes recall the elaboration of Godowsky in the Java Suite. There is an engaging peppery dissonant shading in these six pieces. The Third Piano Sonata returns to his lyrical heartland with some jazzy syncopation like Lambert at tr.29 and Milhaud at tr. 31 along the way.

Tanya Stambuk is all we might hope for: alert and eager in riffs and speed while welcoming of the many lyrical opportunities offered by this neglected music. Will appeal to those who are already captivated by the piano music of Moeran and Constant Lambert.

Rob Barnett

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