American Images 2

On this CD:

1. Verge, for clarinet, violin & piano
Composed by Sebastian Currier
Performed by Verdehr Trio

2. Rain Waves, for clarinet, violin & piano
Composed by Joan Tower
Performed by Verdehr Trio

3. I Got Variations, Variations on I Got Rhythm by George Gershwin & Ira Gershwin, for clarinet, violin & piano
Composed by William David Brohn
Performed by Verdehr Trio

4. Phaedrus, for clarinet, violin & piano
Composed by Daniel Welcher
Performed by Verdehr Trio

5. A Renaissance Bouquet, for violin, clarinet & piano
Composed by John Biggs
Performed by Verdehr Trio

6. SweetMelancholy(lostyourdolly)SlowDrag Rag, for clarinet, violin & piano
Composed by Charles Hoag
Performed by Verdehr Trio

Tracks:

Overture To 'Tannhauser'
Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
Hungarian Dance No.7
The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
Csardas Music
The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
Tzigane
Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
Caprice No.24
The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
The Violin Muted
Clair De Lune
The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
The Pizzicato Violin
Pizzicato Polka
In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
Hungarian Dance No.4
Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
Bolero
Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
Elfenreigen

Tracks:

Introduction To The Viola
Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
Cypresses (No.9)
The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
The 'Period' Viola In Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
Elfentanz, Op.39
Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
The Protecting Veil (Opening)
A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
Flamenco
Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
Symphony No.9 (Finale)
Introduction To The Double-Bass
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
Elegy No.1 In D Major
The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
Capriccio Di Bravura
Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
Sa'Dawi
Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
Chamber Music No.II
The Piccolo - Aptly Named
La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
A Variety Of Techniques
Chamber Music No.II
Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
Naelden, Naelden
The Bachian Oboe
Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
The Swan Of Tuonela
The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
Bolero
The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
...And Quite Low.
Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
Introduction To The Saxophone
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
Bolero
The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
Sax-O-Phun
The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
Bolero
The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
Symphony No.3 (Opening)
The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
The Ceremonial Trumpet
Fanfare For The Common Man
Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
Billy The Kid
The Trumpet As Character Actor
Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
The Birth Of The Trombone
Aenmerckt Nu Hier
The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
Canzon 12 In Double Echo
The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
Hosannah
The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
The Trombone As Caricaturist
Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
The Horn And The Hunt
Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
Walter Music (Minuet 1)
The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
Den Hoboecken Dans
Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
Gymnopedie No.2
The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
The Birth Of The Bongo
Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
Taking Advantage Of Tunability
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
Ravel And The Xylophone
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
Introducing The Vibraphone
The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
Folk Dances
The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
Introducing The Tubular Bells
Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
Carmen Suite (Introduction)
But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Introducing The Celeste
The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
Petrushka (Russian Dance)
The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
Mahler's Sleighbells
Symphony No.4 (Opening)
A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Nocturnes
Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
The Oboe As Duck
Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
A Thunderstorm In A Million
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
Octet In F (Mvt 3)
The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
Canzon 28
Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
Images (Gigues)
A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

The one complaint I have is the last CD. This deals with the orchestra. I wanted more of a tour of how the orchestra has been used through history up to the present. Instead, it was a tour of how different groups of instruments sound. I thought it could have been better. The other 6 CDs are excellent.

American String Quartets, 1950-1970
Average customer rating:

Now I know why they make jokes about Hoboken (see below)

Many Undiscovered Treasures

compendium of the richness of American innovation

An interesting sampling of a musical dead end.

Fantastic Collection

American String Quartets, 1950-1970

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Cage, John | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
All Works by George Crumb | Crumb, George | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
All Works by Feldman | Feldman, Morton | ( F ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
Electronic | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music | Computer
General | Classical | Styles | Music
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Feldman: String Quartet (1979)

Luciano Berio: Laborintus 2

Luciano Berio: Corale (Sequenza VIII), for Violin, 2 Horns & Strings / Chemins II (Sequenza VI) / Chemins IV (Sequenza VII) / Ritorno degli Snovidenia, for Cello & Small Orchestra / "Points on the Curve to Find...", for Piano & 22 Instrumentalists - Pierre Boulez

Elliott Carter: Piano Concerto; Concerto for Orchestra; Concerto for Orchestra; Three Occasions

Elliott Carter: A Symphony of Three Orchestras; Varèse: Deserts; Ecuatorial; Hyperprism

ASIN: B000001K50
Release Date: 1995-09-26

Tracks:

String Quartet: 92
String Quartet: 144
String Quartet
String Quartet In Four Parts: Quietly Flowing Along
String Quartet In Four Parts: Slowly Rocking
String Quartet In Four Parts: Nearly Stationary
String Quartet In Four Parts: Quodlibet
Quartet No. 3 For String Quartet And Electronic Tape
Summer

Tracks:

Black Angels (Images) For Electric String Quartet: Departure: Tutti, Threnody I - Night Of The Electric Insects; Trio, Sounds Of Bones And Flutes; Duo, Lost Bells; Solo, Cadenza accompagnata Devi-Music; Duo, Dance Macabre (Due Alternative: Dies Irae)
Black Angles (Images) For Electric String Quartet: Absence (Crumb)
Black Angles (Images) For Electric String Quartet: Return (Crumb)
String Quartet No 5: Theme I (Hiller)
String Quartet No 5: Variations (Hiller)
String Quartet No 5: Theme II (Hiller)
String Quartet No 5: Varitaions (Hiller)
String Quartet No 5: Theme III (Hiller)
String Quartet No 5: Variations (Hiller)
String Quartet No 5: Theme IV (Hiller)
String Quartet No 2: (Druckman)
Structures for String Quartet (Feldman)

Customer Reviews:

Now I know why they make jokes about Hoboken (see below).......2005-10-27

Man, it's discouraging to see people piddling all over music like this. 1950-65 was a great era for American culture; sure the European influence was lingering but American composers (and artists and filmmakers) were finding a voice, an expression of some quality uniquely American that had never appeared before. American music could be something other than Hoe-Downs, Charlestons, and Nearer my God to Thee (sorry, Charles, and you know I love you anyway). This was a taut and crisp intellectual America that was finally gaining ascendancy, something new to the world, brilliant and beautiful. I think of a wonderful photo of Elliott Carter with Stravinsky in New York at some gallery or concert hall circa 1960 or so. Stravinsky looks old and seedy, like a Russian refugee even though he had years to ditch that; Carter, alert and in a sharp suit, looks like the future-on-the-half-shell. It all got blown out of the water by 60s and 70s-era lack of standards and discrimination and an unwillingness to TRY. Sixties-era, anti-culture crapola that still reigns supreme. To much pot. Hippies ruined everything.

What's startling about the bad review is these quartets are hardly over-intellectualized. In fact most are quite beautiful or evocative; the Cage stunningly so. The LPs this collection came off were among my favorites of that era and I doubt a better or more nightmarish Black Angels has ever been done despite recent attempts by Kronos and others. Amazing playing by committed performers. A deal and a bargain.

For ten bucks this is like gold for free. Have at it!

Many Undiscovered Treasures.......2003-01-08

It's almost laughable not to pick up this disc. The price alone makes the set worth it. Added to that the fact that many of these works are not available in other forms and this disc is a no-brainer for fans of the late 20th century string quartet. The sampling transcends styles, from the almost improvisatory sonic canvas of Earle Brown, to the surprisingly beautiful almost minimal quartet of Cage, the horrific depiction of war in Crumb's justly famous Black Angels, or the almost traditional sounding Schonbergisms of Stepan Wolpe, this is an eclectic collection and well worth the modest investment.

I won't review everything on the album, as there is just too much. Highlights for me include the Earle Brown quartet, which is one of Brown's strongest early works. Since Brown is poorly represented on CD, every release of his is worth having, but the Second Quartet is a masterwork of tonal subtlety. Cage's Quartet was written just before he moved into his more aleatoric phase. It is highly modal and almost a precusor to minimlism, a very pleasing work that should be more widely known. Christian Wolff is also a composer who is underrepresented on CD (though Mode is quickly redressing the imbalance.) Summer is also a protominimalist work, based on stark 5ths. The reading of Black Angels is good, though not anything to supplant the Kronos reading, which is still my favorite. Also interesting are Quartets by Wolpe and Leon Kirchner.

So if you have any interest in American string work of the late 20th century, you need this disc. It is indispensible and very beautifully played. And the Vox Box price is unbeatable.

compendium of the richness of American innovation.......2000-04-05

This is a great showcase of the American string quartet,innovation,vision,iconoclasm,all elements which we often overlook and forget easily.But only Elliot Carter is missing, and that's because he has what! Five Quartets now.Inclusion of the First Carter would have rounded things out. The Earle Brown here is a neglected masterwork. Based on graphic notation the performers don't improvise so much as are given entrance freedoms within a prescribed range. The affect can be mysterious,haunting,also innovative with a wide pallette of extended techniques, at the bridge, sul ponticello,plucking. We often forget the traditional beauty Cage engaged the early part of his career, the Forties. This Quartet is a fine consummate example of that,with soft,gentle lines, very sparce, and transparent,also he limits himself to a few tones,tossed around the various voices. Structures by Feldman is an early work here, the Quartet is treated as one monolith sound,indistinguishable voices playing harmonics,cello playing where the violin plays, same range. All of Feldman's floating gentleness is here as well,perhaps too much at times,like it overspends its welcome. Crumb's Black Angels is another classic, The Kronos has takened this around the block many times, Crumb always works well with a programmatic agenda in place, and here he transforms the Quartets introspective consititution to more a drammatic focus. Druckman as well also works well with a program but here there is none. He has a fine imagination for sonoric structures,balance,but its doesn't seem to amount to much. The Wolpe is one of his best works. His creativity was uneven, here the violence and charged motives he is found of are in place to jump, and reiterate, toss around in an environment of high energy. Wolff's Summer is an early work prior to his metamorphosis into utilization of political imagery by comparison, this is a beautiful work,but cold, Wolff also needs a program,which he profoundly found, He has alater Quartet he wrote in the Eighties that is more compelling.

An interesting sampling of a musical dead end........1999-06-18

Superb analog transfers and excellent playing, I suppose. (I mean, how can you tell with music like this?) OK, I'm not a fan of this kind of music, but at this price I thought the collection was worth chancing. So far, I've found that the best way to listen to this recording is to let the music wash over you while you enjoy the sheer variety of sounds that the composers and players create. And there are some pleasant surprises, particularly the Cage quartet (from 1950) which contains genuine emotion and ends with a brief movement chock full of--gasp!--sprightly tunes. Makes me wonder what might have been had these composers shown more interest in music and less interest in mathematical gymnastics designed to impress their colleagues at the academy. At any rate, I recommend this album as an interesting sonic experience and a good sampling of the dead-end serialist/avant-garde genre that is now being supplanted by a return to music that recognizes tonality. (If you really want great 20th century quartets, incidentally, buy the 6 by Bartok).

Fantastic Collection.......1999-03-24

This set is a must if you have the slightest interest in avant-garde music from the 50s and 60s. Not a single weak piece, excellent sound and performances, and the price can't be beat!

The Sky's The Limit: A Celebration Of 20th Century American Music For Flute

Average customer rating:

The Sky's The Limit: A Celebration Of 20th Century American Music For Flute

Manufacturer: Crystal
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Duets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000DSSJ
Release Date: 1993-01-01

Tracks:

Toccata
Lyric Moments
Scherzo-Intermezzo
The Sky's The Limit
Variations On A Swedish Folk Tune
Lament For Michele For Solo Flute
Idle Conversation For Two Flutes
The Flicker For Solo Flute
A Spider Sewed At Night
A Clock Stopped - Not The Mantel's
Exultation Is The Going
The Robin Is A Gabriel
After Great Pain, A Formal Feeling Comes
The Leaves Like Women Interchange
A Day! Help! Help! Another Day!
Twelve Bagatelles For Solo Flute
Allegro Giocoso
Andante Cantabile
Grave Adagio
Canzone For Flute And Piano

Average customer rating:

Awesome CD!!!!

American Collection: Max Lifchitz

Manufacturer: North / South Record
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000004AHF
Release Date: 1998-02-03

Tracks:

Colors From A Changing Sky
Elaborations: I. Fast
Elaborations: II. Slow
Elaborations: III. Quiet
Elaborations: IV. Brilliant
The Ideal Self
Variations And Interludes
Gypsy Ballads: I. Ballad Of The Black Pain
Gypsy Ballads: II. The Unfaithful Wife
Gypsy Ballads: III. Ballad Of The Moon, Moon
Gypsy Ballads: IV. Saint Rafael At Cordoba
Gypsy Ballads: V. Preciosa And The Wind
Gypsy Ballads: VI. Brawl
Gypsy Ballads: VII. Ballad Of One Who Is Doomed To Die
Gypsy Ballads: VIII. Sleepwalk Ballad
Gypsy Ballads: IX. Saint Gabriel At Sevilla

Tracks:

Stehende Musik
Tre Espressioni: I. Free
Tre Espressioni: II. = 60
Tre Espressioni: III. = 54
Romanza
Piano Sonata: I. Adagio-Allegretto
Piano Sonata: I. Adagio-Allegretto
Piano Sonata: II. Andantino Grazioso
Piano Sonata: III. Allegro vivace
Seven Piano Pieces: I. Prelude
Seven Piano Pieces: II. Fantasy
Seven Piano Pieces: III. Little Waltz
Seven Piano Pieces: IV. Elegy
Seven Piano Pieces: V. Capriccio
Seven Piano Pieces: VI. Song Without Words
Seven Piano Pieces: VII. Postlude
Images Of Wood And Fire

Customer Reviews:

Awesome CD!!!!.......2001-03-09

I think Timothy Kramer's piece is outstanding! A must to own. The other works on the CD are also great. This is one of my favorite CDs.

Average customer rating:

Melodies to miraculously cure the moribund!!!
FROM OFFENBACH TO LOPEZ

Le Meilleur de l'Opérette

Manufacturer: EMI Records [All429]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Musical Theater | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000053W6K
Release Date: 2002-04-02

Customer Reviews:

Melodies to miraculously cure the moribund!!!.......2005-09-10

This 2000 3-CD set is a new edition of 2-CD set from 1990 titled "Opérette-Passion" from EMI France. By popular request, this adds to the already mirific collection a third CD containing some of the real glories of mid-XXth century French operettas: Maurice Chevalier, Tino Rossi, Fernandel, Alibert, Denise Duval, Luis Mariano, Georges Guétary, Bourvil, Mathé Altéry, Anny Cordy, Gise Mey and Armand Mestral. The selection is not exhaustive - that would be impossible* - but it does give any listener a major incentive to go ferretting for more of the same and the complete score of some of those genuine masterpieces of charm, humour and melody by Fancis Lopez or Maurice Yvain (among many others). For students of the French language and French opera, this collection is priceless as it gives a very good impression of what makes the French singing voice different from any other: something called "le phrasé", which unfortunately cannot be duplicated or improvised by international stars who simply dabble in French (except maybe the multi-talented Petula Clark). The recordings range from a restored antique of the 20's by Chevalier to full stereo scores from the 70's. The result is a package whose value will never be duplicated in discriminating choice, sound quality and sheer listening enjoyment. One very minor reservation : The dates of the recordings are not indicated as they were in the "Opérette-Passion" collection and the names of the lyricists are not given. The liner notes are composed of a 2-page essay which gives a general outlook of the evolution of French operetta (in French) but could have been a little longer, in my humble opinion. Details like this would have made the difference between a wonderful album for connoisseurs and a genuinely educational tool. * The operettas of Vincent Scotto are not represented. WARNING: These recordings are genuine treasures and are never available for long either individually of collectively, so buying this collection is an absolute no-brainer.

FROM OFFENBACH TO LOPEZ.......2002-08-16

Yesterday ,before going to sleep,you told your wife:I have nothing against FRENCH operettas,but what i want to hear is the songs ,not the dialogue that goes with the genre when you listen to complete works.Here in that collection,all the composers who created that particular form of light music are represented.It is so much more entertaining than traditional opera.Among the highlights are songs from OFFENBACH's works like LA BELLE HÉLENE and LA PÉRICHOLE;MESSENGER's VERONIQUE and MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE;the famous LA VEUVE JOYEUSE that was successfull around the world;CHRISTINÉ's PHI PHI created the day after armistice in 1918.One of the pleasant surprize for me was hearing songs from LES MOUSQUETAIRES AU COUVENT and one from LA FILLE DE MADAME ANGOT (JADIS,LES ROIS)and another from CIBOULETTE(NOUS AVONS FAIT UN BEAU VOYAGE).MADY MESPLÉ,one of the best singers of the genre is featured on seven songs,and she is always a joy to hear in any role of the repertoire.FRANCIS LOPEZ, who is remembered as the last important composer is well honoured with eight selections with singers like BOURVIL,GEORGES GUÉTARY and LUIS MARIANO.Don't try to resist THE MERRY WIDOW ,she'll get to you one way or another.

Average customer rating:

A Powerful Tone Poem from an Expatriate American Composer
An unknown worth knowing

George Templeton Strong

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

$6.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

Instrumental | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music
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George Templeton Strong: Symphony No. 2 "Sintram"

ASIN: B00006RHPZ
Release Date: 2003-01-21

Tracks:

Ondine (Symphonic Poem)
Eclogue
The Elves Blow The Horn
The Cemetary - Sarabande Of The Dead
In The Inn: The Night Watch
Youth Of Athens
Evening Dance
Entering The Parthenon
Jack The Giant-Killer
The Dreams Of Cinderella
Oriental Procession

Customer Reviews:

A Powerful Tone Poem from an Expatriate American Composer.......2003-05-13

Like his friend and supporter Edward McDowell, George Templeton Strong is nominally an American composer, having studied in Europe and absorbed the mid-nineteenth-century musical idiom of Europe to such a degree that any musical, or extramusical, references to America in Strong's work are almost accidental. Unlike McDowell, Strong apparently did not cotton to the American musical scene, and though he worked briefly at the New England Conservatory under McDowell's tutelage in the 1890s, Strong returned to Europe for the remainder of his long life. (He died in 1948.)

As the other reviewer on this page notes, "Ondine," the most important work on the disc, is very much in the Liszt-Wagner camp, some of the folksy, Rhineland-inspired music of "Ondine" recalling Wagner's "Flying Dutchman." Though the conductor Adriano, in his interesting and very detailed notes to this recording, mentions echoes as well of Dvorak, I find more of a parallel to early Strauss and even to Zdenek Fibich, who was working on his First Symphony while Strong was penning "Ondine." I doubt Strong would have been conversant with the work of either of these composers; it's just that they were clearly drawing from the same musical trough. Oh, and then the slower, more dramatic passages at the start and close do recall Tchaikovsky of the early tone poems. So we have a thoroughly Germanized musical language in "Ondine," which is not to take away from the work's attractiveness. Its drama is heartfelt and well sustained, the folk music depicting Ondine's Rhine journey, pretty and diverting. "Ondine" certainly deserves the advocacy that Adriano gives it on this disc.

That can be said as well of the three orchestral suites taken from Strong's piano music. In fact, while none of the suites makes as strong an impression overall as does "Ondine," individual movements are arresting, especially the spooky second movement of the first Suite ("The Cemetery - Sarabande of the Dead") and, best of all I think, the "Oriental Procession" last movement of the Third Suite, which Adriano had to complete since the subtly effective orchestration was left in rough sketch at Strong's death. Strangely enough, the most American-sounding music here comes in the First Suite's last movement called "In the Inn," a loopy portrayal of merrymaking at a roadside inn that has more of Charles Ives than of the Liszt of, say, the "Mephisto Waltz"--which Strong probably envisioned as its antecedent--in it.

Some movements from the suites were premiered by Ernest Ansermet in the early 1940s, when Strong's music would have seemed like time-capsule gleanings. However, this Naxos recording is apparently the first appearance of the three suites on disc. Again, thanks are due, since the music is worth knowing.

Adriano and his forces clearly believe in this music, and it shows in performances that are respectful in the best sense, faithfully recreating the sound world Strong imagined. There is a slightly rough-and-ready quality to some of the playing (especially that of the winds and horns), but this probably adds to the zest of the proceedings. And the studio recording, though I would have preferred a bit more bloom, is certainly detailed and forceful. In all, a happy addition to the catalog.

An unknown worth knowing.......2003-02-10

On the strength of the earlier issue of 'Sintram', Strong's second symphony, I obtained this CD to see if my very favorable impression would stand up. It does, although the works here are not quite as strong as the symphony.

The most impressive (and much the earliest, from 1885) piece on this disc is the opener, the symphonic poem 'Ondine', based on the familiar legend of the water nymph who longs for a human soul and which has been set to music by a number of other composers including Dvorak, in his lovable opera, 'Rusalka.' The piece opens with two chords that are precisely those - same key, same instrumentation, slightly different rhythm - that open Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. I thought to myself, 'that's peculiar', until I realized the composer wrote these notes _before_ the better-known piece was written. There's a similar place in the Second Symphony that seems to be copying the main theme and galumphing rhythm of Dukas's 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice', but it, too, was written before the Dukas. It makes you wonder if the better-known composers had known Strong's works.

'Ondine' is written in a language very much in the Liszt/Wagner school, with strong undercurrents of Tchaikovsky, and is a tone poem that tells the story in a fairly linear fashion; one could fashion a narrative ballet from this music, although as far as I know that has never been done.

The three Suites, subtitles 'From a Sketchbook', and none lasting more than fifteen minutes, are late orchestrations of piano duets written in the 1890s. Strong was a very talented painter; indeed, some of his watercolors grace the covers of these Naxos CDs. And these pieces were inspired by some of these paintings. They are slight pieces but neatly imagined. I particularly liked 'Jack the Giant Killer' from the third suite.

The performances and recorded sound are excellent.