Piano Portraits

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Sugo Records is proud to present this collection of sixteen heart warming inpired solo piano works from four of the most gifted pianist in the United States, who have rendered their musical portraits of friends, family, lovers and life's precious moments.

Tracks:

Concert Piece For Eight Trumpets
Intrada
Lnde
Triptyque: Scherzo
Triptyque: Largo
Triptyque: Saltarelle
To a Wild Rose
Amazing Grace
Someone To Watch Over Me
Festival Fanfare For Eight Trumpets
Brass Music: Rondo For Lifey
Brass Music: Fanfare For Bima
Song For Cornet
Trio In E-Flat For Trumpet, Violin And Piano: Andante
Trio In E-Flat For Trumpet, Violin And Piano: Allegro molto
Trio In E-Flat For Trumpet, Violin And Piano: Adagio
Trio In E-Flat For Trumpet, Violin And Piano: Allegro molto
Two Portraits: Psalm
Two Portraits: Incantation
There's A Great Day Coming For Six Trumpets

Customer Reviews:

Philip Smith shines.......2007-07-01

We have here yet another installment of the CALA New York Legends series, and it is no less beautiful and superb than any previous. Philip Smith, the principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic for over 20 years now, with this album, fully shows why he was both given that position and how he has been able to maintain it with the respect of trumpet players worldwide. Indeed I recommend any of the albums from that series, and I think it must be something in the water because these New Yorkers are all phenomenal musicians, from Glenn Dicterow, to Jeanne Baxtresser, and on to Philip Myers and Joseph Alessi.

Philip Smith begins the album with a concert piece for 8 trumpets featuring other fabulous trumpet players of whom great things have also been heard. He then continues on with the Intrada written by friend/composer/pianist Joseph Turrin, which is rapidly becoming a popular recital piece among trumpet players despite its youth. The album then proceeds to two pieces well known to trumpet players for both their aesthetic values and also their difficulty. Smith plays Legend by Enescu and the Tomasi Triptyque with enviable beauty and technique. We are then treated to an American tribute where Philip Smith brings beauty and grace to such famous tunes known to all Americans such as Amazing Grace and Someone to Watch Over Me. We then have another multiple trumpet piece which is here a fanfare which again features New York's finest. We are then given the 2 remaining movements of the Brass Music chamber piece written by Bernstein, and which the remaining movements are included on the albums by Philip Myers and Joseph Alessi. Philip Smith then delights us with a gorgeous song for cornet. The highlight of this album is indeed here where the Trio for Trumpet, Violin, and Piano by Eric Ewazen is taken and given such beauty that it redefines the word. Ewazen's name is known well to any brass player for his chamber music, and this is his largest rising piece and is performed very frequently for a piece less than 15 years old, and listening to this performance, you are left in no doubt why. This "recorded recital" finishes up with two portraits and a jazzy piece, the portraits again a gift to us by Joseph Turrin, and "It's a great day coming" for six trumpets a well-known piece that shows us that Philip Smith, master of the orchestral trumpet can also handle himself well enough in the jazz setting as well.

This album is a wonderful argument in favour of everything that the 20th and 21st century chamber trumpet is. You would be hard-pressed to find a more enjoyable or better performed disc of trumpet chamber music. Philip Smith's technique rivals that of any trumpet soloist (indeed he has soloed himself with the New York Philharmonic no less than 75 times in his career thus far), and his lyric playing is quite obviously supreme and seems almost to contain the beauty that one hears in the performance of a string master in his mastery of phrasing. Any trumpet enthusiast or performer should not under any circumstances be without this disc. Even if the trumpet isn't your cup of tea, I still recommend this disc, and indeed I have personally showed this one to people who do not like the sound of the trumpet who have themselves later gone and purchased this album for themselves. It's not the cheapest CD ever, this is true, but it is worth easily 4 or 5 other chamber trumpet CDs, so the price is still more than fair.

In short, an absolutely brilliant musical statement that is most essential to any brass player and highly recommended for any other chamber music enthusiast.

Flawless.......2006-04-06

Phil Smith's performance on this album is pure perfection. I have many albums that display a performer's dazzling technique, but few with equal artistry and musicality. Truly, this is a 'must have' for any collection.

Good variety, superb performances.......2005-08-12

Philip Smith collaborates with some other excellent trumpeters (including Fred Mills, Vince Penzarella, and Robert Sullivan) in this album. The Tomasi Triptyque is well executed, with good dynamics, articulation, and tone. Basically, you can't find fault with Smith's playing on any of these recordings. The Ewazen Trio is another good piece, showing off the warmth of Phil's playing. It's also good to hear the several large fanfare pieces, which allow all the guys to open up and blow. This cd will please trumpet aficionados and the regular listener.

Top Notch!!.......2002-06-12

This CD has quickly become one of my favorite trumpet CD's. Philip Smith is sensational. I particularly enjoyed the Enescu and the Ewazen. I heard the Ewazen on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) and quickly called to find out where I could purchase the CD.

One of the finest trumpet-and-piano discs you'll hear........2001-07-13

This is superb trumpet playing in solo and ensemble settings. I've never heard the Enesco "Legende" played better. Smith has a long history as a cornet and trumpet soloist with Salvation Army bands. He can sound alternately brilliant and mellow, stident and serene. This disc has changed my trumpet playing for the better and given me lots of enjoyment. Smith takes a simple song like "Amazing Grace" and makes something truly memorable of it. Truly gorgeous tone production and phrasing.

Kudos also go to Joseph Turrin for his excellent accompaniment. His compositions are first-rate too, especially the first of his "Two Portraits."

Customer Reviews:

Bargain-priced invitation into Liszt's Musical World.......2003-07-19

Leslie Howard's complete recording of Liszt's Piano Music is surely one of the great musical feats of all time, but not many people would have the desire or time to listen to the whole set. So it is a great thrill that Hyperion has made a 2 disk sampler set available for the rest of us!
It is beautifully packaged, competitively priced and includes interesting notes about Liszt and the works included by the performer himself.

Mr Howard has recorded 145 solo piano CDs, which includes the 95 CDs which make up the complete Liszt piano CDs.

The set includes many well-known pieces, as well as some interesting ones you may not be familiar with.

Highly recommended.

The best of Howard's Liszt.......2002-11-11

This CD, while fulfilling the intent of covering every aspect of Liszt's piano music, also covers all of Leslie Howard's Liszt interpretations and pianistic style. Howard is one of my favorite pianists, and his best playing by far is on his recordings of the Liszt transcriptions of the Beethoven symphonies, which are not included here. However, anyone who wants to get into Liszt should buy this CD before they do anything else. It really is all-encompassing.

Average customer rating:

Too Much of a Good Thing?
Outstanding collection of orginal piano work
Great CD for easy listening

Piano Portraits

Manufacturer: Sugo Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music

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General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Somewhere In Time

ASIN: B0000005YW
Release Date: 1993-03-15

Tracks:

Gentle Images - Jim Bajor
Rapture - Jim Bajor
Nancita - Stephen Jacob
The Journey - Stephen Jacob
Inner Peace - Tom Barabas
Moon Dust - Tom Barabas
Yasawa Blue - Christine Brown
Silent Tears - Christine Brown
Eykes - Jim Bajor
Friends - Jim Bajor
Magic In December - Tom Barabas
Pure Light - Tom Barabas
Romanza - Stephen Jacob
Your LIght - Stephen Jacob
Hiding Places - Christine Brown
The Secret Garden - Christine Brown

Product Description

Sugo Records is proud to present this collection of sixteen heart warming inpired solo piano works from four of the most gifted pianist in the United States, who have rendered their musical portraits of friends, family, lovers and life's precious moments.

Customer Reviews:

Too Much of a Good Thing?.......2003-10-24

I'm fairly familiar with two of the pianists in this collection - Jim Bajor, who is local, and Tom Barabas, to whom I have listened for several years. Until this album I haven't had the opportunity to listen to Stephen Jacob and Christine Brown. They all do their work in the styling of light jazz and easy listening that is often labeled incorrectly as New Age. Sometimes I feel that that phrase is used as a euphemism for anything that is pleasant, rather than its original definition, which had more to do with the meditative nature of the composition. In any case they are all accomplished at their art and worth listening to.

It is fair to report that all four musicians produce work that is melodic, technically interesting, and, yes, pleasant to here. None of the pieces demonstrate what I would call the technical brilliance of someone like Jordan Rudess, who drifts in and out of this genre but has a tendency towards keyboeard pyrotechnics. But neither is any of their work plodding or monotonic. 'Very listenable' may not be the highest compliment one can pay a musician, but it is way ahead of whatever is in third place.

If I have a complaint to make, it is that, despite different recording studios and instruments, the tonalities are so close that the entire album could have been the product of a single person. Barabas is slightly more adept, Bajor slightly more melodic, Jacob more controlled, etc., but there are no glaring contrasts. I'm not sure if this is a fault or not, since the result is certainly more than acceptable. Given all the overloads that life throws at us, I'm not sure complaining about too much goodness is entirely fair.

Outstanding collection of orginal piano work.......1998-10-22

This collection of original piano pieces is simply excellent. This instrumental is melodic, sweet, romantic, soothing and timeless. I find myself leaving this CD in my car day after day without tiring of the melodies. Beautiful!

Great CD for easy listening.......1998-08-24

I really find this music conducive to relaxation - I use it in my Shiatsu clinic.

Average customer rating:

Russian Portraits

Manufacturer: Mark Masters
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Marches | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Classic Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0007WHAVS
Release Date: 2005-02-01

Average customer rating:

"Eloquent, Exquisite, Exciting"
A Gem!

Dreamer: A Portrait of Langston Hughes
Darryl Taylor , William Warfield , Maria Corley , Erik Santos , and Patricia Terry-Ross
Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

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Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
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The Voice of Langston Hughes
The Negro Speaks of Rivers: Art Songs by African-American Composers
You Can Tell the World: Songs by African-American Women Composers

ASIN: B00006I9HH
Release Date: 2002-09-17

Tracks:

My People - William Warfield
Heart
Island
The Weary Blues - William Warfield
Litany
A Black Pierrot
March Moon
Negro - William Warfield
The Negro Speaks Of Rivers
My People
Song To The Dark Virgin
Evil - William Warfield
Joy
Lonely House
Minstrel Man
Sunday Morning Prophecy - William Warfield
In Time Of Silver Rain
Carolina Cabin
Madam And The Census Taker - William Warfield
Lovely, Dark And Lonely One
Sylvester's Dying Bed - William Warfield
Sandman/Birth
Bound No'th Blues
To Artina
Down Where I Am
The Dream Weaver/Bouquet
Still Here - William Warfield

Customer Reviews:

"Eloquent, Exquisite, Exciting".......2004-08-18

"Dreamer" is unquestionably the finest recording of original songs by black composers available today. The singing of tenor, Darryl Taylor is superb and demonstrates a vocal beauty, musicianship, and interpretive sensitivy that is rarely equaled. The selection of poems of poet laureate, Langston Hughes is first rate, and even more important, the songs themselves are original, varied and well written. I think every listener will find "Dreamer" an exciting musical experience, and I predict for Darry Taylor a distinguished career as an interpreter of art songs. For the Naxos price, buy two albums and give one to a friend!

A Gem!.......2002-10-17

This collection is a gem! Langston Hughes was a very "musical" poet who was inspired by a variety of forms, from jazz to classical. His poetry in turn inspired a whole generation of composers, thirteen of whom are represented here in fifteen art songs. Additionally, eight Hughes poems are read by William Warfield.

Average customer rating:

Great album for special occasions
Exquisitely Beautiful
Piano for relaxation and meditation
The perfect refuge --- Very highly recommended!
Pure Piano Portraits

Pure Piano Portraits

Manufacturer: Pure Piano Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Piano | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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Pure Piano Panoramas
Impressions in Black and White
River to River Trail: The Hike Through Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois
Whisperings: The Best of David Nevue
Awake

ASIN: B00000IZ1M
Release Date: 1997-12-01

Tracks:

Be Thou My Vision
Butterfly Sunrise
Mountain Echoes
Walk Down Steward Lane
Can't Say How I Feel
Catskill Mountain Meadow
Living Waters
Twilight
River Sunset
Waiting For Farewell
Starlight Ragtime Waltz
Jerusalem

Album Description

Jeff Bjorck's debut CD of original solo piano offers the listener quiet music to calm the heart in a noisy world. These twelve compositions interweave delicacy with intensity, combine musical notes with the space between them, and create moving pictures that move the emotions. Bjorck's unique style has been described as a cross between New Age and Debussy, and he believes that music in its simplest form is sometimes the closest thing to art. Not surprisingly, PURE PIANO PORTRAITS paints a gallery of fine art images suitable for framing. For those seeking an escape from stress, moments of quiet reflection, or simply an atmosphere of elegance, this CD is the ideal choice.

Customer Reviews:

Great album for special occasions.......2004-11-30

Whether having a nice dinner, reading a good book, or just relaxing in your garden, this is a great album to listen to. I recommend it for those special occasions.

Exquisitely Beautiful.......2002-12-18

Living Waters

Appalachian liquid crystal
Bubbles up through cracks
In ancient stones
Cradled by dark mountain ferns
Caressed by pure pine air.

Springing eternally forward
Crystal becomes mountain stream
Dancing down through lofty meadows
Gaining volume surging ahead
Torrent glistens
In sunlight.

Dr. Jeff Bjorck is a multi-talented artist. He writes music and poetry. He is also a clinical psychologist, researcher and professor at Fuller Theological Seminary's Graduate School of Psychology. He has a unique connection with nature and the creator. His music is almost a prayer because he plays spontaneously from the heart.

"Sometimes I feel like a third party, listening to the whole process as an interested observer." ~Jeff Bjorck

This album is like sunlight glistening through a forest on which the rain has just fallen. It is spectacular in its clear crystal notes and the sounds flow like a refreshing breeze through your being. I feel calm, happy and content when I listen to Pure Piano Portraits. It is like Jeff has somehow captured the feeling of joy in his music.

1. Be Thou My Vision - A worshipful piece which embodies thankfulness and praise.

2. Butterfly Sunrise - The notes fade in and out, there is no rush. Like a butterfly enjoying the early morning fluttering from one flower to the next, the notes seem to land and take off and you can almost see a butterfly taking off and landing and then flying off into the distance. There is a sense of peace and joy in this selection.

3. Mountain Echoes - The notes linger like echoes. There are moments of solitude and then a burst of energy. As if each note travels on its own path and then at times they all return at once.

4. Walk Down Steward Lane - An energetic almost tumbling experience. The music swirls around like a happy child playing out in a field of wild flowers. I see yellow flowers and the scent of freesia appears to me.

5. Can't Say How I Feel - Contemplative and emotional. There is a definite questioning tone that reflects a certain indecision. The notes ask questions only you can answer.

6. Catskill Mountain Meadow - This debut album was inspired by his love for the Appalachian woods and Catskill Mountains of his youth.

7. Living Waters - Clear crisp notes mingle with certainty. Spiritually spectacular.

8. Twilight - What amazes me about the titles of these songs is how they really do reflect the amazing visual journey each piece presents. The notes soften, you can imagine a glow from the sky just as the sun is below the horizon.

9. River Sunset - If you can imagine the reflection of the setting sun spreading out over a river and looking like a wavy picture in a dream, that is what "river sunset" sounds like.

10. Waiting for Farewell - A certain sadness and sense of loss is definitely apparent here at the start. Then resolution almost seems to set in as hope is realized.

11. Starlight Ragtime Waltz - Deeply relaxing.

12. Jerusalem - Hopeful. An arrangement of one of his favorite hymns.

If you love David Lanz, Jeff Brickman, Danny Wright, Wayne Gratz., Robin Spielberg or George Winston, you will love Jeff Bjorck. You may also want to consider: Pure Piano Panoramas.

You can play this CD when relaxing, reading or when you need a soothing escape
into your dreams. I find this music wonderful to fall asleep to or to listen to in moments of reflection. You can really just enjoy the music for what it is, in its pure form without any distractions.

Exquisitely Beautiful and Elegant Melodies to Calm and Quiet the Heart.

~TheRebeccaReview.com

Piano for relaxation and meditation.......2002-10-27

I love piano music, not the least because I've played piano myself for some years. I am especially fond of contemporary piano solos (you could say "New Age") like George Winston, Jim Brickman and the like. Jeff Bjorck composes piano music in this genre, but gives it his own unique quality--very attentive to rhythm and evocative of nature and introspection.

When I got this CD, I lent it to family members, and all of us played it endlessly. It is really soothing and just the thing to put on for a Sunday morning, when you want quiet music with a meditative tone. In particular, the adaptation of "Jerusalem"--one of my favorites, is far from the majestic solemnity of this hymn; here it is quiet and deep and almost a fantasy or improvisation on the theme.

If you like contemporary piano, you are certainly going to like this CD.

The perfect refuge --- Very highly recommended!.......2002-04-25

Listeners seeking a calming pace amidst the bustle of worldly demands will find Jeff Bjorck's PURE PIANO PORTRAITS the perfect refuge. Two traditional Christian hymns embrace ten original compositions to treat the ear to a relaxing experience. The technical perfection of these radiant melodies underscores the pervading beauty of music that will touch the soul. Indeed, each selection transports listeners to a world of melodic exquisiteness that offers the perfect respite. A gentle energy gives voice to Bjorck's love of spontaneity, thereby lending this album uniqueness among its peers. Lovers of piano music will quickly recognize the promise of this debut album and the marvelous future for this incredibly talented pianist, especially within his original compositions. PURE PIANO PORTRAITS comes with my highest recommendations.

Pure Piano Portraits.......2001-06-09

Mr.Bjorck has truly out done him self on this CD! A wonderfully peaceful work of his obvious unlimited talents! I highly recommend purchasing this or any of his works!

Average customer rating:

Historic Organs of Baltimore

Manufacturer: Organ Hist. Society
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Canons | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Rondos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Toccatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

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Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000004AHR
Release Date: 1995-09-26

Average customer rating:

A Rare Gem

Classical Piano: Piano Portraits

Manufacturer: Direct Source Label
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Pop | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00005OML2
Release Date: 2000-07-05

Tracks:

Pathetique Sonata, Op. 13, MVT. 1
Pathetique Sonata, Op. 13, MVT. 2
Pathetique Sonata, Op. 13, MVT. 3
Reverie, Op. 15, No. 7
Promenade (Pictures at an Exhibition)
Prelude in C Sharp, Op. 3, No. 2
Ave Maria
Song of Spring, Op. 67, No. 6
Sonata in A, MVT. 1, K. 331
Sonata in A, MVT. 2, K. 331
Sonata in A, MVT. 3, K. 331
March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54, No. 3
Girl With the Flaxen Hair
Country Gardens
Etude in G Flat, Op. 10, No. 5 (Black Key)
Prelude in A, Op. 28, No. 7
Waltz in D Flat, Op. 64, No. 1
Etude in C, Op. 10, No. 12 (Revolutionary)
Aria (Goldberg Variations)

Customer Reviews:

A Rare Gem.......2001-10-27

Katharine Boyes plays the music on this CD as though she is presenting it to each of us personally. Her obvious affection for the selections shows in the performance, and the exquisite touch and the virtuosity playing, make this CD a must for the keyboard lover's collection. This is music to be listened to and enjoyed any time one's spirit is in need of a lift or inspiration.

Kaleidoscope: Music by African-American Women

Average customer rating:

Kaleidoscope: Music by African-American Women
Lena Johnson McLin , Dorothy Rudd Moore , Undine Smith Moore , Julia Perry , Irene Britton Smith , Dolores White , Gregory Walker , and Helen Walker-Hill
Manufacturer: Leonarda Productions
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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African Heritage Symphonic Series III
Soulscapes: Piano Music by African American Women
From Spirituals to Symphonies: African-American Women Composers and Their Music
African Heritage Symphonic Series, Vol. 1

ASIN: B000004AF2
Release Date: 1997-11-25

Tracks:

Sonata for Violin and Piano: Allegro cantabile (Irene Britton Smith)
Sonata for Violin and Piano: Andante (I. B. Smith)
Sonata for Violin and Piano: Vivace (I. B. Smith)
Three Pieces for Violin and Piano: Vignette (Dorothy Rudd Moore)
Three Pieces for Violin and Piano: Episode (Rudd Moore)
Three Pieces for Violin and Piano: Caprice (Rudd Moore)
Prelude for Piano (Julia Perry)
Spring Intermezzo [from Four Seasonal Sketches for piano] (Betty Jackson King)
Troubled Water for piano (Margaret Bonds)
Pulsations for solo violin: Gracefully (Lettie Beckon Alston)
Pulsations for solo violin: Fast and Rhythmical (Alston)
Pulsations for solo violin: Sow with much expression (Alston)
Before I'd be a Slave for piano (Undine Smith Moore)
Moderato [from Five Interludes for piano] (Eubanks)
Larghetto [from Five Interludes for piano] (Eubanks)
Cool-Trane [from Portraits in Jazz for piano] (Valerie Capers)
Billie's Song [from Portraits in Jazz for piano] (Capers)
A Summer Day for piano (Lena McLin)
Etude No. 2 [from Two Piano Etudes] (Regina Baiocchi)
Blues Dialogues for solo violin: Blues feeling (Dolores White)
Blues Dialogues for solo violin: Expressive
Blues Dialogues for solo violi: Fast and funky (White)
Negro Dance, Op. 25 No. 1 for piano (Nora Douglas Holt)
Fantasie Negro for piano (Florence Price)

Album Description

Music by African-American Women. Total Time 72:27. Unabridged bios in 12-page CD booklet. Violinist/composer Gregory Walker holds degrees in Music and English from Indiana University, Computer Music from the University of California at San Diego, and Composition from Mills College. He completed his doctorate in composition at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Dr. Walker is Assistant Professor and Director of Ensembles at the University of Colorado at Denver and concertmaster of the Boulder Philharmonic.

Helen Walker-Hill, pianist, holds degrees from the University of Colorado, Smith College, and the École Normale de Musique in Paris, where she studied as a Fulbright scholar with Nadia Boulanger. Formerly on the piano faculty of the University of Colorado at Boulder, Dr. Walker-Hill has also served as a visiting faculty member. She has been a member of the Walker Duo with her son, Gregory Walker, since 1983 and has been engaged in research and performance of music by black women since 1987.

Irene Britton Smith earned degrees from the American Conservatory and DePaul University and also attended Juilliard, Eastman, and the Conservatory in Fontainebleau. She taught elementary school in Chicago for 40 years while continuing to compose.

Dorothy Rudd Moore graduated from Howard University and continued studies with Nadia Boulanger. She taught at the Harlem School of the Arts, New York University, and Bronx Community College.

Tracks:

Pno Con: I. Pina Colada - Barry Snyder
Pno Con: II. Nocturne - Barry Snyder
Pno Con: III. Your Touch - Barry Snyder
Pno Con: IV. Blues - Barry Snyder
Pno Con: V. The Concert - Barry Snyder
Deux Sejours: Fontvielle, Provence
Deux Sejours: Portofino, Italy
Dance Partita: Baroque I
Dance Partita: Burlesque
Dance Partita: Baroque II
Dance Partita: Air
Dance Partita: Baroque III
Dance Partita: Folk Dance
Dance Partita: Pas D'eclectique
Dance Partita: Baroque IV
Two Portraits Of Barcelona: Antoni Gaudi's Cathedral
Two Portraits Of Barcelona: The Bullfight

Customer Reviews:

The Best.......2005-02-17

Hi everyone
This CD of Carter's music is great.It gives you an insight into Carter's composition style.However,there is much more to him than this CD.Knowing Carter personally(as a friend and composer) and performing his music(I am piano major at the University of kansas),I have to say that his music goes much deeper than what can be heard on this CD.His music is "groovy" and classical,but above all it is american.His music is also very enjoyable to listen and his melodies stick in one's mind.
On a personal note,I love playing his music and I would advise anyone to either buy his CD or to listen to his music LIVE.
I am,myself,involved in performing his music and in about a month I will record his piece "Slalom" with the University of Kansas Wind Ensemble.I will perform more of his music later on.If you would like to know more about me performing Carter Pann's music,please feel free to visit my website at www.avgusteantonov.com

Avguste Antonov
Lawrence,kansas

Tradition, refinement, and culture.......2002-02-25

The only reason that I
bought this CD was because
of the "Two Barcelona Portraits"
which I really liked when I first
listen here at amazon.com.
Little did I knew that I in for
something really good.Mr.Pann is
a really good composer whose
music WILL NOT put you to sleep.
In his Piano Conecerto, he opens
with "Pina Colada" a very popular
sounding piece, and I think
that it was inspired by a song
of the same name. The following
movements are nocturne, which is

non-drowsy; a smokey-lounge piano
solo "Your touch", which does
its very best not to fall sleep,
blues; which is in a short jazzy
piece.The concerto concludes with a
piece called "The Concert" which
I find amazing, here is a symphony
orchestra imitating a symphony orchestra,
a bit hard to explain, but that's the
easiest way for me to put it. There is
the music of the movement, but at times
we hear little also, "little tunes" in the
stlyes of Mozart, Beethoven, and Gottschalk.
The only direct quote of the movement is
one from Tchaikovsky's scherzo from the second
movement of the Pathetique symphony.
In the Dance Partita, the composer pays
his respect to the past, a set of dances
with four ritornellos,(Like Mussorgsky's
"Pictures at an Exhibition") in the
Barque style, each four is taken care of
differently."Deux Soujur" are again
two pieces where the composer pays his respects
to the past, this time to Satie and Debussy
in particular. The two pieces are in the
style of "Gymnopedie" as orchestrated
by Claude Debussy.Fine recording,
great music of the late 20th century,
Great job Mr. Pann.....

Pann Continues the American Classical Tradition in Spades.......2000-07-25

A number of critics lately have batted around the idea of a "classical music crisis" in America. With the recent passings of such modern greats as Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein, many have been more than willing to perpetuate the myth that classical music's future is a dismal one. But I beg to differ. After hearing the first collection of the works of twenty-eight year old Carter Pann, I can't help but see the light at the end of the classical tunnel. His work, which primarily seems a mixture of John Cage's thumping dissonance, Charles Ives's robust textures, and Bernard Herrmann's dark romanticism; Pann's music stands as some the finest contempory work I've had the pleasure to hear. As part of Naxos' ambitious "American Classics" series, this collection also stands as one of that series' finest recordings so far. Among its most promising moments are those within the Dance Partita, which adds hints of the Baroque style to give it a surprisingly heated sound. However, the centerpiece of this CD, the Piano Concerto is what makes this CD. Blending latin and blues sounds into an ethereal and dissonant world, it is one the finest piano concertos to be written by anyone in decades. A budget priced CD, this a musical oil strike for connoisseurs of modern composition.

Hats off, gentlemen!.......2000-05-21

Carter Pann is a hugely talented 28-year-old composer, student of, among others, William Albright and William Bolcom at the University of Michigan. A CD of his music, conducted by José Serebrier and stupendously played by the Czech State Philharmonic, Brno, on Naxos 8.559043, has just been released. It includes: Piano Concerto (1996/7), Barry Snyder, piano; Deux séjours (1994;Dance Partita (1995), Barry Snyder, piano obbligato; Two Portraits of Barcelona (1994)

The overall comment I would make about Pann's music is that he is a master orchestrator, a brilliant pasticheur, a sly practitioner of musical humor, and that he is capable of some of the most lusciously melodic and moving slow music.

The piano concerto has five movements. The first, entitled Piña Colada (yes, inspired by that silly pop song of some years ago), is a loose-jointed Caribbean-influenced piece that reminds me a lot of Michael Torke in his slaphappy mode. The second, Nocturne, is quiet, slow, Debussyesque. The third, Your Touch, is for solo piano and sounds an awful lot like jazz pianist Denny Zeitlin's smoky classic 'Quiet Now.' This is a high recommendation; it's got a gorgeous tune and luscious harmonies. The fourth, Blues, sounds like updated jazzy Bernstein in its dislocated accents, stride bass, throwaway virtuosity. The fifth, Concert, is a hilarious knockoff of just about every classical concerto cliché and even quotes, almost note for note, a bridge passage from Beethoven's Emperor Concerto, before exploding into one of those hilarious never-ending classical-era tonic-dominant endings. I found myself laughing out loud.

Deux séjours (Two journeys) are evocations of two small towns - one in France, one in Italy - and are intentionally modeled on the orchestrations by Debussy of Satie's 'Gymnopédies'. Quiet gardens, civility, serenity, lovely melodies.

Dance Partita is an eight-movement (actually four movements and four ritornellos) orchestral suite, with piano obbligato, based on baroque models. Stravinsky in his neoclassic music - think 'Jeux de cartes' or, better, 'Pulcinella' - comes to mind. Also Bolcom's 'Orphée-Sérénade' (an under-recognized masterpiece) is evoked. Brilliantly done. One's toe taps until tripped up by the irregular time signatures. Delicious.

Two Portraits of Barcelona. The first, 'Antoni Gaudí's Cathedral' is a six minute tone-poem that builds from a mysterious opening, evoking the religious grandeur of the Cathedral, to a wicked Rouse-ian description of Gaudí's wild architecture. The second, 'The Bullfight', starts with mock-heroic Spanish bullfight music, complete with trumpet duo flourishes, and builds to a frenetic danza, ending the CD with high spirits and this listener with a desire for more. ¡Olé!

Lest it sound like I think Pann has no 'sound' of his own, I want to emphasize that this man has the goods and is discovering a voice that I predict will be increasingly listened to.

It's the Music, Stupid!.......2000-04-07

The reactions of people who listen to Carter Pann's debut recording are likely to take the form of questions rather than comments: "Who's Carter Pann?" and "He's only twenty-eight?" and "Was that a snippet of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto I heard?" and "When is his *next* disc coming out?". Those tired of dutifully sitting through concerts that feature new music only to breathe a sigh of relief when it's time for Eine kleine Nachtmusik are in for a shock, a treat, and possibly a belly laugh or two.

Though it's clear that Pann's music can only be the work of a very serious composer, it is also tremendously funny--and that's the "ha-ha" kind, not the strange kind. (Well, maybe a bit of the latter.) There's nothing harder to convey in music than genuine wit and humor, and it's a trait that Pann's work has in plenty. (And lest anyone dismiss the composer as merely a musical class clown, also be prepared to be moved by music of great tenderness, exquisite intimacy, and pure, elemental exuberance.) There's a real sorcery in the way the composer assembles, for example, melodramatic baroqueries, gestures straight from the classical piano concerto, almost embarrassingly straightforward (for music written on the cusp of the twenty-first century, that is) folk dances, and television-music cliches into a single work (the Dance Partita) that is so simply *right* in its pacing, balance, and the only thing that really matters, the impression it makes. If you chuckle as you listen to this disc, as I do, it will just as likely be a reaction to the music's sense of don't-look-back brashness as from its sly and ever-acute parodistic sense.

The greatness of these pieces, especially the aforementioned Partita and the Piano Concerto, lies in the fact that given their wildly disparate elements, they should by all expectations be a chaotic, muddled mess. Instead, the confidence and mastery with which this cornucopia of contrasts and oppositions are bound together into an effective whole suggests the work of a striking and truly original compositional talent. With the world of new music flooded with works that range from mediocre to unremarkably competent, this is by no means an inconsiderable achievement.

It's new, it's a knockout, and it's even on a budget label: Do yourself a favor and impress your friends by being able to say that you came to know Pann's music *before* he hit the big time. Move over, Elliott--new music has a new Carter.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

All the Great Hits [Import]

Colin Tilney Plays Mozart, Vol. 2

Daisies of the Galaxy

Weir/Wasserman Live [Live]

Beer: The Movie [Explicit Lyrics] [Explicit Lyrics] [Soundtrack]

Do the Funky Chicken [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Coffee House

Debussy: Jeux/Images/Musique pour le Roi Lear

Crossbreed [CD-single] [Import]

Brandenburg Concertos (Bonus DVD)

Christmas At Mast Cove

Blen Blen Blen [Import]

El Principe

Baseball's Greatest Hits II: Let's Play

The Best of Roy Rogers