Britten: Young Apollo, Op.16; Milhaud: Le Carnaval d’Aix, Op.83b; Finzi: Eclogue, Op.10; Strauss: Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Op.60
Product Description Piano and orchestra were the dominant media of musical discourse throughout the romantic and much of the modern period. They evolved at the same time and in parallel ways – separate but equal. Keyboards were an essential part of the eighteenth\-century instrumental ensembles but vanished almost completely from the nineteenth\-century orchestra. In an age when orchestras went public, the piano represented a private sphere of music\-making in the home and salon. But this was also the age of the heaven\-storming piano virtuoso, the rock star of the day. Piano and orchestra came together in virtuoso showpieces designed to show off the soloist but also as antagonists in the dramatic framework of the concerto: piano\-with\-orchestra and, often, piano\-versus\-orchestra. But there was also another, more amicable kind of dialogue between piano and orchestra, one that was once almost equally as important as the others. This was the lyric or narrative poem in which the piano takes the part of the singer or story teller while the orchestra provides the setting of the story (sometimes the roles are reversed and the orchestra tells the story while the piano offers colors and commentary). A huge number of now\-forgotten romantic works, often based on popular tunes or arias of the day, were written in this vein, mainly by pianist\-composers anxious to show off both their virtuosic and poetic skills. After a period of neglect, these kinds of concerted\-works\-that\-are\-not\-concertos made a comeback, particularly in the neo\-classical period of the 20th century after World War I. The archetypal neo\-classicist was Igor Stravinsky, but the movement he inspired was widespread in European music. Although he is not often thought of in this way, the much younger Benjamin Britten was as much of a neo\-classicist as Stravinsky and, in fact, Britten\x27s career and many of his major works have remarkable parallels in Stravinsky\x27s work. It was not always Stravinsky who led the way but, in the case of the Greek sun god Apollo, the Russian composer was there first (his Apollon musagètes dates from 1926) and Britten\x27s version was long out of sight and sound. This long\-vanished work is a curious and highly original interpretation of the Apollo legend with some history attached.\n \nPianist Joshua Pierce is considered one of the most uniquely gifted virtuosos of our time. He is widely regarded for his artistry, musical intelligence and deeply committed interpretations, winning international recognition and critical acclaim for his orchestral, recital and chamber music performances His on\-going series of recordings for MSR Classics of works from the great composers of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert to the romantic world of Brahms, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff form a testimony to the range of an artist who is also widely known for his performances of 20th century repertoire – from Gershwin and Ives to Cage and Schoenberg and beyond. Such a range – encompassing the standard repertoire, contemporary works and rediscovered masterpieces of the past – is rare among pianists. Born in New York City, Pierce studied at the Cleveland Institute, Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music, and pursued Doctoral Studies at Columbia University. His teachers and mentors include Dorothy Taubman, Victor Babin and Robert Goldsand. He also studied with cellists Bernard Greenhouse of the Beaux Arts Trio and Jascha Silberstein, and with pianists Arthur Loesser, Josef Zeiger and Artur Balsam. Review It has always been a joy to perform and record with Joshua Pierce - from Chopin's Don Juan Variations and the Weber-Liszt Polacca Brilliant to the works of Gershwin and Roy Harris and so much more. Over the years, we have collaborated on so many projects of the highest caliber. These particular new recordings of Finzi, Britten, Milhaud and Strauss, represent Joshua's immense versatility as both a brilliant soloist as well as a sensitive chamber musician playing within the orchestra... he is a true artist for the ages. --Kirk TrevorJoshua Pierce possesses an arsenal of pianistic talents that can astonish the ear and instruct the mind. --Classical Net
Joshua Pierce (piano)  (Artist),     Slovak State Chamber Orchestra of Zilina  (Artist),     Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra of Bratislava  (Artist),     Richard Strauss  (Composer),     Darius Milhaud  (Composer),     Gerald Finzi  (Composer),     Benjamin Britten  (Composer),     Kirk Trevor  (Conductor)    &                   6                  more   Format: Audio CD
{"Item Weight": "3.21 Ounces", "Manufacturer": "MSR Classics", "Date First Available": "July 6, 2021", "Label": "MSR Classics", "Number of discs": "1"}