Despite his early avant-garde reputation, Ornstein's musical language also included sweeping melodic idioms, French impressionism, and a pastoral style, which became more prominent in his later works.
Composer Biography
Ornstein retired from teaching in 1953 but continued composing for nearly 40 more years, completing his last work, Piano Sonata No. 8, at the age of 97 or 98.
Composer Biography
Ornstein's family emigrated to the USA in 1906 due to anti-Jewish pogroms in Russia, arriving in New York when he was around thirteen years old.
Performer Biography
Arsentiy Kharitonov, the pianist on this recording, is a prize-winner of numerous international competitions and studied at the famous St Petersburg Conservatoire in Russia.
Composer Biography
Leo Ornstein, the composer, was a child prodigy pianist who studied at the St Petersburg Conservatoire and later at the Institute of Musical Art (now the Juilliard School) in New York.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Ornstein was known for introducing dissonant, percussive music with tone-clusters and machine-like rhythms to the concert hall, earning him the label 'Futurist' musician.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Ornstein deliberately composed in varied styles, believing that composers should not adhere to a single style to avoid imitating themselves.
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