 |
 |  |  | | | | Track Listings | | | Piano Symphony (Melloni -1992) | | | 1 I. Adagio | 6:23 | | 2 II. | 7:39 | | 3 Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (Perlongo -1992) | 25:59 | | Piano Concerto, "Mosaics" (Ross -1991) | | | 4 I. Festivo | 8:29 | | 5 II. Largo misterioso | 8:30 | | 6 III. Allegro misterioso | 6:02 | | Total time: | 63:23 |
| | | | | |
| | | | | | MMC New Century: Volume III Music for Piano and Orchestra | | | Our Price: $9.95  | | | | Item Number: MMC2020 | | Audio Format: DDD | | Genre: Concerto | | | | Description | | Excerpts from the Liner Notes (by Jeffrey S. Sposato)
Piano Symphony
Throughout its history, the use of the term “concerto” has always brought with it certain requirements‹the most basic of which is that the solo instrument or instruments be given the same kind of prominence as a singer is given in an operatic aria. In other words, the orchestra is generally assumed to take on a secondary role in the work; its primary responsibility being to support the soloist. It is because of this basic requirement that not all orchestral works which feature one or more solo instruments, including Melloni’s Piano Symphony, are called “concerti.” In the Piano Symphony, the piano, while being the most prominently featured solo instrument, is not the only one to assume a solo role.
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
In his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Perlongo has taken a single melody and broken it into eight pieces, each of which is explored sequentially in its own episode. Within these episodes, a unique process of theme and variation takes place. From a formal standpoint, the process is intriguing because the theme, or melodic fragment, is not always presented first. In the case of the third and forth episodes, for example, the theme appears at the end of the section as a kind of climax. Perlongo describes this effect as “sort of like knowing all the children and then meeting the parents or grandparents.”
Each section of the work is, as the composer describes it, “like a chapter in a book,” with strong cadences and (usually) grand pauses separating each section. Each section also varies in its orchestration, thus further separating itself from those which surround it.
Piano Concerto, “Mosaics”
In each of this work’s three movements, the basic motivic material for the entire movement is presented within the first few seconds. Each motive is then explored in a series of episodes‹the episodes being separated by significant changes in the orchestration. The result is a series of plant-like movements. The opening of each movement is analogous to the stem of the plant, which serves as the foundation for each of the branches. The branches themselves are the episodes in which the motives are explored. |
| | | | | | | Reviews | | "The disc of piano concertos on MMC includes well-made functional music in excellent performances."
- Review by Stephen D. Hicken
"MMC here offers a unity of genre and, to a degree, of style and ends up with one of its more satisfying releases. Fans of conservative piano concertos, especially, will want this CD and should not hesitate to snap it up."
"Melloni is a composer whose music I would like to hear more of."
"Daniel Perlongo…is an under-recorded composer, and this 1992 piano concerto should convince many of that. …
"Nebraska-born Walter Ross is a prolific composer whose music is always strong and inventive in tonal coloristic effects. …
"These performances are seemingly definitive (Coleman and Mitchell are playing works they premiered)…."
Fanfare –Review by Stephen Ellis
“The Eastern European performances [on American Chamber Music] are, as usual, robust and musical, and the MMC production maintains a high level of professionalism with this newest release.”
- Fanfare |
|
|
