Notes and Editorial Reviews
Are you a piano teacher looking for easy yet interesting pieces to assign your students? Have you had your fill of the Anna Magdalena Notebook, Schumann's Album for the Young, or Bartók's For Children and Mikrokosmos? Then you've come to the right disc. Here are 10 virtually unknown yet delightful suites of miniatures penned by a broad range of eminent American composers. Amy Beach's Children's Carnival is typical of her Romantic parlor-room style, and its tricky passagework will keep students honest. Contemporary techniques involving chord clusters, bi-tonality, wide-leaping intervals, and new ways of pedaling characterize Robert Starer's Sketches in Color.
Miriam
Read more
Gideon's Altered Steps to Altered States offer similar modernism on an easier technical level, while Louise Talma's Soundshots are delicate, smartly contrasted neo-classical jewels. George Perle's knotty Modal Suite (modal by the skin of its atonal teeth!) might be described as a bridge between Bartók's more difficult Mikrokosmos and Schoenberg's Six Little Pieces Op. 19. I like the brash rhythms and urban zest of William Mayer's Subway in the Sunshine and Other Memories. And who'd guess that the charming, snappy Four Pieces that close the disc actually were written by as uncompromising a modernist as Roger Sessions?
Such repertoire, however, is best served when interpreted by a mature artist possessing seasoned, adult-size fingers. Enter Sahan Arzruni, whose discography suggests that he may well be a "children's piano music" specialist. He certainly plays these works with all the love, attention to detail, tone color, and character they deserve--and his annotations are both thorough and informative. Let's hope this disc will inspire younger generations of American composers to write quality piano music for student consumption.
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Sketches in Color by Robert Starer
Performer:
Sahan Arzruni (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1963; USA
2.
A Quiet Afternoon by Ned Rorem
Performer:
Sahan Arzruni (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1948; USA
3.
Toccatinas (3) by Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee
Performer:
Sahan Arzruni (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: USA
4.
Lyric Piece for Piano by Ben Weber
Performer:
Sahan Arzruni (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1956; USA
7.
Modal Suite for Piano by George Perle
Performer:
Sahan Arzruni (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1940; USA
8.
Little Suite by Lou Harrison
Performer:
Sahan Arzruni (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1949; USA
9.
Soundshots by Louise Talma
Performer:
Sahan Arzruni (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1944-1974; USA
Sound Samples
Children's Carnival: Promenade
Children's Carnival: Columbine
Children's Carnival: Pantalon
Children's Carnival: Pierrot and Pierrette
Children's Carnival: Secrets
Childrens Carnival: Harlequin
Sketches in Color: Purple
Sketches in Color: Shades of Blue
Sketches in Color: Black and White
Sketches in Color: Bright Orange
Sketches in Color: Crimson
Sketches in Color: Maroon
Sketches in Color: Aluminum
Sketches in Color: Silver and Gold
Sketches in Color: Pepper and Salt
Sketches in Color: Aquamarine
Sketches in Color: Chrome Yellow
A Quiet Afternoon: A Quiet Afternoon
A Quiet Afternoon: A New Game
A Quiet Afternoon: The Little Boy Lost
A Quiet Afternoon: The Little Boy Found
A Quiet Afternoon: Lonsesome Waltz
A Quiet Afternoon: The Tiny Tin Dancers
A Quiet Afternoon: Near The Strange Garden
A Quiet Afternoon: A Trick
A Quiet Afternoon: Evening Rainbow
Subway in The Sunshine and Other Memories: Bird-Cage
Subway in The Sunshine and Other Memories: Feeding Pigeons
Subway in The Sunshine and Other Memories: Rude Bird
Subway in The Sunshine and Other Memories: The Stream that Knew Sadness
Subway in The Sunshine and Other Memories: Subway in The Sunshine
Altered Steps to Altered States: Hesitating Seconds
Altered Steps to Altered States: Sliding Thirds
Altered Steps to Altered States: Insistent Fourths
Altered Steps to Altered States: Stretching Fifths
Altered Steps to Altered States: Everything at Sixes and at Sevens
Altered Steps to Altered States: Wounded Octaves
Little Suite for Piano: I. Pastorale
Little Suite for Piano: II. Quadrille
Little Suite for Piano: III. Chorale
Soundshots: The Pony Express
Soundshots: The Bird Says Bob White
Soundshots: Follow The Leader
Soundshots: Black and White
Soundshots: Two by Two They Came
Soundshots: Run, Rabbit, Run!
Soundshots: Pitter-Patter, Pitter-Patter
Soundshots: Whirling Pin Wheels
Soundshots: Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
Customer Reviews
Be the first to review this title
Review This Title
