The 1920s saw an unprecedented closeness between 'classical music' and 'jazz,' with European composers beginning to incorporate jazz elements into their works.
Performer Biography
Pianist Michael Rische is known for discovering unknown masterpieces and presenting new interpretations of standard repertoire, including the first modern premieres of piano concertos by George Antheil and Erwin Schulhoff.
Compositional Technique
Erwin Schulhoff's Concerto for Piano and Small Orchestra, despite its title, requires a large percussion section with 18 different instruments, including a car horn, torpedo siren, and anvil.
Composition History
George Antheil's 1922 Piano Concerto was rediscovered through detective work, as it was not listed in his autobiography or official works.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Aaron Copland, a Brooklyn-born composer, aimed to write music that would be immediately recognizable as 'American,' incorporating jazz elements into his works.
Compositional Technique
Many composers on this album, including Antheil, Schulhoff, Honegger, and Copland, were influenced by Stravinsky's method of releasing new energies from tiny rhythmic cells.
Critical Reception
Aaron Copland's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra was initially controversial, with one critic calling it 'a frightful torture from beginning to end' and stating 'Nothing in it resembles music, except inasmuch as it contains noise.'
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