Customer Reviews

Adler Plays Syncopated Rhythms

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The program on this CD is what attracted me to it. It contains some rarely heard works by such composers as Ornstein, Antheil and Menotti as well as by the CD's pianist, James Adler. The main idea of the program is to present American piano music that partakes to some (or a large) degree of American popular music. Thus, it starts with Gottschalk and Joplin followed by such things as a delicious threesome by Leo Ornstein -- his Mazurka, Humoresque and Valse -- and moving on to what for me is the highlight of the disc, the pieces by George Antheil, the soi-disant 'Bad Boy of Music'. These pieces, unlike some of Antheil's outré works, are harmless enough but brimming with such charm that I found myself listening to them repeatedly. 'Little Shimmy' is a delight. It is followed by 'The Ben Hecht Valses', written as a gift for the journalist/filmmaker Ben Hecht ('Front Page') who had hired Antheil to write music for his films. Later on the CD is Antheil's bustling 'Toccata No. 2' which parodies 'Bringing in the Sheaves'.

The paired pieces by Menotti -- 'Ricercare' and 'Toccata' -- are a bit more academic that one expects from Menotti, but they brim with life and that inexplicable Menottian charm. Aaron Copland apparently made solo piano transcriptions of 'Saturday Night Waltz' and 'Hoe-Down' from his ballet 'Rodeo'; I had never heard them before. They are, frankly, only modestly effective in Adler's performances, possibly more a function of the transcriptions than of the performances, although it must be said that Adler's skills at the piano are competent but not as transcendent one might like. Adler himself composed 'Prelude', 'Toccata' and 'Two Dances in One' which are fun pieces.

The CD concludes with the one-piano arrangement of Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' which Adler modifies by including the original's cadenzas.

This CD is a find for those who are fascinated by obscure byways of American piano music; much heard here is not, as far as I know, available elsewhere.

Scott Morrison

I picked up this CD because I love Joplin music and I was not disappointed. As I begin my drive to work, my new habit is to put on this CD because it begins with the Joplin pieces. They are "quietly upbeat" and put me in the mood for a good day. My favorite is "A Real Slow Drag". Other than the Joplin pieces, I'll add that hearing "Hoe Down" also puts a smile on my face . . . an American classic that you just don't get to hear that often. And then there's the classic Rhapsody in Blue - James' rendition is great. The overall mix of the selections brings a nice variety of music to listen to. Well done, James!