The album explores the concept of "American Classics," which the performer describes as a "melting pot of musical styles and influences" characterized by a "daring spirit and freshness."
Compositional Technique
Amy Beach's Variations on Balkan Themes, Op. 60, is a highly virtuosic work that incorporates four distinct Balkan folk melodies, including one described as a "Macedonian appeal for help."
Compositional Technique
Earl Wild, a pianist and transcriber, created his 7 Virtuoso Etudes after Gershwin by taking Gershwin's simplified piano arrangements of his own songs and transforming them into concert encores.
Performer Biography
Claire Huangci, the American pianist on this album, won the 2018 Geza Anda Competition and is known for her "radiant virtuosity, artistic sensitivity, keen interactive sense and subtle auditory dramaturgy."
Composition History
Samuel Barber's Piano Sonata in E flat minor, Op. 26, was commissioned in 1947 by Irving Berlin and Richard Rodgers to mark the 25th anniversary of the League of Composers.
Composition History
George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue was originally commissioned as 'American Rhapsody' for a 1924 concert by Paul Whiteman and his jazz band, the Palais Royal Orchestra, advertised as 'An Experiment in Modern Music.'
Notable Performances
The world premiere of Samuel Barber's Piano Sonata in E flat minor, Op. 26, was given by the renowned pianist Vladimir Horowitz, who considered Barber one of the few Americans capable of composing for piano.
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