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E-1 / Koch
International Classics
The Bach-Busoni Edition, Volume I
The first in a three-CD series of Bach transcriptions by Ferruccio Busoni (1866 - 1924) and his pupils. This CD features Busoni's arrangements of selections from The Well-Tempered Clavier, the "Goldberg" Variations, and the Concerto in D minor, recorded live in performance with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under Bramwell Tovey. Also featured is the Improvisation on a Bach Chorale for Two Pianos, with the noted Armenian pianist Raffi Besalyan.
The Bach-Busoni Edition, Volume II - now in preparation
Volume Two of the Bach-Busoni series features the Partita No. 6 in the spectacular arrangement of Egon Petri, selections from the French Overture also arranged by Petri, as well as shorter Bach transcriptions of Michael von Zadora, José Vianna da Motta, and some rare Baroque transcriptions by Mieczyslaw Münz, the Polish pianist and Busoni pupil with whom I had the privilege to study shortly before his death.
The Bach-Busoni Edition, Volume III - now in preparation
Volume Three of the Bach-Busoni series is highlighted by a performance of the Fantasia Contrappuntistica for Two Pianos, with Raffi Besalyan; and solo piano music including the Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue, Chaconne in D minor, and Sonatina Brevis.
Rudolf
Friml - Piano Works
To
date this has been my most successful recording. It was a labor
of love, involving years of tracking down rare scores and culminating
with a friendship with Mrs. Friml, playing through this music
for her on Mr. Friml's Steinway piano at their breathtaking Hollywood
home. This is elegant and intimate music, full of sentiment and
charm, by one of the greatest masters of the American operetta
-- as well as a pupil of Dvorak and stupendous pianist in his
own right.
"Bygone
Days" - Music for Violin and Piano by Rudolf Friml with
Stephanie Chase, violinist
A delightful follow-up to my well-received solo Friml recording, a collaboration with a remarkable artist whom I consider to be one of the finest violinists of our time. Even more elegant miniatures from the master of the American stage.
George
Gershwin - Original Works and Transcriptions for Solo Piano
Stereophile
Magazine's "Recording of the Month" when it was originally
released in April 1994; the sound has been remastered, and the
new cover in Art Deco style helps to make Gershwin's famous Rhapsody
Blue-er than ever! Also includes the Three Preludes, Second Rhapsody
in my own solo version, and a selection of very dance-able Foxtrots.
"Mujeres
Españolas" - Piano Suites and Danzas of Joaquín Turina
Sensuous
and evocative Spanish music, colorful and virtuosic. Joaquin Turina's
daughter Obdulia told me that she enjoyed this recording greatly,
when I had the honor of meeting and playing for her at the Turina
home in Madrid, in 1995. The cover artwork of Flamenco dancers
is by well-known Victoria artist Nicholas Pearce.
Miklós
Rózsa - The Complete Works For Solo Piano
One
of Hollywood's greatest film composers, Miklós Rózsa was also
one of the Twentieth Century's greatest composers of concert music.
Shortly after meeting the legendary man at the Hollywood Bowl
in 1995, I recorded this collection. It includes his formidable
Piano Sonata (1945), Bagatelles, Variations, and charming Kaleidoscope
Suite.
"The Paradine Case" - Hollywood Concertos by Herrmann, Waxman and North
This
CD was the winner of the German "Deutsches Schauplatten" Prize in 1995
for Best Soundtrack. In addition to the ferocious Concerto Macabre of
Bernard Herrmann, it includes the romantic Paradine Rhapsody of Franz
Waxman, Alex North's Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra, and rare solo
piano works of Herrmann and Waxman.
Jazz Nocturne: The Collected Piano Music of Dana Suesse
The "Girl Gershwin" was the composer of a remarkable repertory of dazzling and endearing keyboard works, including the celebrated Jazz Nocturne, Serenade to a Skyscraper and the Cocktail Suite (its four movements are entitled: Old-Fashioned, Champagne, Bacardi and Manhattan -- Cheers!). Included here as bonus tracks are four delightful pieces by "Radio's Whirlwind Pianist" of the 1930s, Pauline Alpert. I was assisted generously in this project by the dazzling pianist Peter Mintun, friend of Dana Suesse and executor of her estate; and he has provided wonderful program notes for the CD.
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