Customer Reviews

American Piano Classics

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this CD for the Leroy Anderson Concerto, and I was not disappointed. In the several months since, I have enjoyed it many times over. Though Leroy Anderson was known mostly for his sprightly and imaginative little pieces such as Syncopated Clock and The Typewriter, he was certainly capable of writing a beautiful theme or two, and of good musical composition and great orchestration, and it all shows in this piece. What a talented man, and what a great addition this concerto is to American music. The rest of the CD is also very listenable. Altogether, it's a worthy purchase.

As all of the previous reviewers have emphasized, the real reason to get this CD is for the Leroy Anderson piano concerto. But the CD is rounded out with some other nice piano music too, such as George Gershwin's Second Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra, and a few Scott Joplin rags (arranged for piano and orchestra by Erich Kunzel).

But let's face it, you're considering buying it for Anderson! If you enjoy his shorter works, you'll be thrilled by this, his only foray into longer concert music. Even it's not that long for a concerto, but it's almost twenty minutes of pure Anderson brilliance---even the second, supposedly andante, movement is lively and fun.

It's just too bad that Anderson himself did not record his concerto during his lifetime, since a comparison of his recordings of his shorter works to recordings done with other conductors leaves little doubt that his own vision of the concerto would have been even more dazzling.

I enjoyed the Anderson Piano Concerto. It is tuneful and upbeat. It has its moments of technical prowess, but I thought the pianist hit a lot of wrong notes which upon repeat listening, causes annoyance.
I would like to hear another recording with a better pianist, or at least one that is edited. It is too good a concerto to get this rendering.

I also bought this album for the Anderson Concerto, and was delighted with both it and the other selections on this disc.

Superb!!!

The featured selection on this CD is the premier recording of Leroy Anderson's piano concerto. It is the reason to acquire the CD, as the other selections are fairly familiar and are available on numerous recordings.

To the extent that he is well-known at all, Anderon's fame is based upon a series of pleasant, little, novelty pieces, composed primarily for the Boton Pops. The piano concerto shows that he was also capable of creating longer, sustained works. It is an interesting and very accessable work with a distinctly American flavor.