John Corigliano
, an indifferent pianist himself, composed little piano music; all of it, including the
Piano Concerto
of 1968, fits on a single CD. The solo piano works were very nicely recorded some years ago by
Ursula Oppens
, but the
, highly eclectic in spirit (it includes everything from serialist passages to those that sound like
Ravel
, and it suggested as well as anything else of the time the way the winds were blowing), belongs with the rest and is included here in a crisp performance by pianist
Philip Edward Fisher
and the
Albany Symphony Orchestra
under conductor
David Alan Miller
. The solo pieces are more in the nature of experiments than major
Corigliano
works, but several have the combination of rigor and general appearance that is this important composer's trademark. Probably the most popular of them is the
Fantasia on an Ostinato
, in which the slow movement material of
Beethoven
's
Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
, gradually coalesces out of the titular ostinato over 13 minutes (part of the piece is aleatoric). The pieces are in a variety of idioms, but all have the quality of responding intelligently to the circumstances of their composition.
Prelude for Paul
was written for biotech CEO
Paul Sekhri
, who has a passage from
Rachmaninov
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
, tattooed on his arm; the work quotes that passage.
fans will want this release. ~ James Manheim