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American Piano Classics Leroy ANDERSON (1908-1975) Piano Concerto in C† (1953) George GERSHWIN (1898-1937) Second Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra† (original version, 1931) Louis Moreau GOTTSCHALK (1829-1869) Grand Tarantelle* - Arr. Hershey Kay Euday BOWMAN (1887-1949) 12th Street Rag* (1914) Scott JOPLIN (1868-1917) The Entertainer* (1902); Solace§ (1909); Maple Leaf Rag* (1899) (all arr. Erich Kunzel) Morton GOULD (1913-1996) Interplay (American Concertette for Piano and Orchestra)* (1943) Stewart Goodyear† (piano) William Tritt *(piano) Keith Lockhart§ (piano) Cincinnati Pops Orchestra/Erich Kunzel Rec. Music Hall, Cincinnati, 1985-1992. DDD TELARC CD-80112 [68:13]

This disc of "American Piano Classics" is a mid-price reissue of a record made over a seven year period and first released in 1993. The title of the disc misses two points. First, all the music is played by piano and orchestra, in some cases in arrangements, and secondly, the underlying inspiration of jazz. However these trivial points and the implication of the liner that Morton Gould might still be alive when in fact he died in 1996 (presumably it hasn’t been updated) are all that I could possibly complain about. Apart from the Scott Joplin pieces, the music is hardly familiar but well worth getting to know. The performances are idiomatic and the sound quality is simply stunning. The disc opens with Anderson’s piano concerto of 1953 – a three movement work which was clearly influenced by Gershwin’s concerto. The first and last movements are both jolly allegros. In between, the slow movement opens by recalling Rachmaninov but soon reverts to type. That this is billed as the work’s first recording is surprising but presumably related to the composer withdrawing the work with the intention of revising it and never doing so. In 1989 William Tritt gave its first performance for around 35 years. The soloist in this recording is Stewart Goodyear, who was aged 14 at the time and presumably a substitute for William Tritt, who died in 1992 (the year this recording was made). The Concerto is followed by Gershwin’s 2nd Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra, also with Stewart Goodyear as an able soloist. This work is similar in character to Rhapsody in Blue and rather analogous to Bruch’s 2nd Violin Concerto, i.e. almost as good as its predecessor but not so immediately memorable, and several thousand times less famous. Almost all of the rest of the disc was recorded earlier and features William Tritt as the soloist. Gottschalk’s Grand Tarantelle exists in various arrangements and was originally for violin and piano. Here it arranged by Hershey Kay and played with tremendous élan. Bowman’s 12th Street Rag and three well known miniatures by Joplin are all presented in charming arrangements by the conductor, Erich Kunzel. Keith Lockhart, a graduate student from the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and assistant to Erich Kunzel (thanks to Curt Timmons for this information), takes the piano stool for Solace. The disc concludes with a rousing performance of Morton Gould’s Interplay, a wartime concertette (presumably this means a miniature concerto) in four brief movements. If, like me, you don’t seem to have enough music at the classical/jazz interface, then this disc should be high on your wish list. Even if you do, it is still highly recommendable. Patrick C Waller   Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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