40 Works for Piano

Alan Mandel (Artist), Louis Moreau Gottschalk (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Louis Moreau Gottschalk
• Audio CD (March 14, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: Vox (Classical)
• ASIN: B000001K6R
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #402,676 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Battle cry of Freedom: Grand caprice de conc, Op.55

2. Grand Scherzo, Op.57

3. Bamboula: Danse des negres, Op.2

4. Pasquinade, Op.59

5. Le Bananier, chanson negre, Op.55

6. Souvenirs d'Andalousie, Op.22

See all 13 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Jeunesse: Mazurka brillante, Op.70

2. Love and Chivalry: Caprise elegant en forme de schottische, Op.97

3. Danza, Op.33

4. O! Ma Charmante, Espargnez Moi!

5. Sixth Ballade, Op.85

6. Suis-moi caprice, Op.45

See all 13 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Souvenir de la Havane, Op.39

2. Chant du soldat, Op.23

3. The Banjo, Op.15

4. La Scintilla, Op.20

5. Souvenir de Porto Rico, marche des Gibaros, Op.31

6. Ojos Criollos, danse cubaine, caprice brillant, Op.37

See all 13 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A great collection - but a misfire., July 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 40 Works for Piano (Audio CD)

This 3 disc collection of 40 works by Gottschalk has it's pluses, and unfortunately it's minuses. The pluses include the large number of works presented in a single collection, and at an unbeatable price. On the minus side, we are presented with performances which abound with wrong notes, some of which are very excessive and plain irritating (especially "The Union"). Alan Mandel is obviously a fine pianist, and he is well recorded, but either was not given the benefit of multiple takes, or the VOX company elected to release his recordings without editing. After listening to these discs you will agree there is a case to be made for "multiple takes/splicing/editing" to produce the best recording possible. I cannot understand why the VOX label would release these recordings in this manner.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A near miss hit., December 3, 2002

By 

Jose Ernesto Caero "KaiserEcco" (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 40 Works for Piano (Audio CD)

While I do have to agree with two other people who reviewed this cd, Mandel does lack some technical abilities. Be it as it may, even if these are his first takes, these are pretty darn good. However, Ability shouldn't be mostly considered when rating these works. Mandels' emotions are well played, tempo changes are great especially in Bamboula, and really well unlike most other ecordings, these sound crispy. What should matter the most is that we aren't listening to a robot play the piano, that would just be boring. Gottschalk doesn't want to be quoted, in my opinion, he wants to be interpreted. And like in all music something different is always better.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Say it ain't so! We DO get what we pay for., October 3, 2002

By 

Kevin Currie-Knight "Education Grad Student" (Newark, Delaware) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: 40 Works for Piano (Audio CD)

It bedevils me every time I reflect that such a great composer is not more noticed and recorded. Gottschalk has a melodic touch that rivals Mozart (yes, this is my opinion), a dexterity that rivals Chopin and an emotion to rival Mendelssohn. Yet, where are the recordings.

Honestly, this is the most comprehensive recording of Gottshcalk, I think, that exists. And our favorite works are all here. L'union, The Last Hope, The Banjo, and in my opinion the pinnacle of emotional pot-boilers, The Dying Poet. This set will provide hours of listening and re-listening pleasure. So why's it so durn inexpensive?

No, this isn't a recording pulled out of the dustbin from 1940 and 'spruced up' for a bargain reissue. The sound quality is quite good, actually. The recording is inexpensive because, if I had to guess and I guess I do, the tracks are all first takes. Of course, Alan Mandel plays with good feeling and ept dexterity but he misses much of the crisp speed and technique that Gottschalk demands. The trills are not smooth and the runs are not clean. Geez! I'm sure they didn't let him redo anything as some of the mistakes were just obvious! Not to worry though. As most of the botched runs are lightning fast, they're only mildly noticeable.

Sadley though, I have to reccomend this recording out of necessity. The other Gottschalk piano collections are good too, but this one has ALL the good stuff where as they only have some of it.