Edward Macdowell: Piano Music, Vol. 2

Edward MacDowell (Composer), James Barbagallo (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: James Barbagallo
• Composer: Edward MacDowell
• Audio CD (October 27, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos American
• ASIN: B00000DHTI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #156,032 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Only part of a wonderful series, July 3, 1999

By 

F. Behrens "Frank Behrens" (Keene, NH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Edward Macdowell: Piano Music, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

This is only the second volume in what is now a four volume series on Naxos label. The really good news is that these are from the same masters from which came the more expensive Marco Polo sets and here they are at half the price. No matter that our great American composer is more often than not indistinguishable from many European composers of his time. His "Woodland" pieces are marvelous little tone poems and no doubt he had New England scenery in mind when he composed them, regarless of the musical idiom in which he expressed himself. I urge you to collect all four CDs, all the more so because of Barbagallo's symphathy with the music he is playing. It would be a valuable experience to compare the selections on these discs with other Naxos releases that feature the work of more recent composers such as Siegmeister, whose pieces seem more cerebral and less heartfelt than do Macdowell's. But be sure to add these New England inspired pieces to your collection. And at these prices, you cannot afford not to (a cliche, but nevertheless true).

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Digging Deeper into the MacDowell Catalog, June 29, 2000

By 

Doc Sarvis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Edward Macdowell: Piano Music, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

Edward MacDowell is best known for his Piano Concertos and his short solo piece "To a Wild Rose". This collection provides an insight into some of his nearly-forgotten solo piano music, resurrected here by the late James Barbagallo, whose obvious enthusiasm for the music infuses each track with newfound vitality and energy. Recommended at full price...and at six bucks, why not?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern Romantic, August 24, 2008

By 

Tony Earl "tonye" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Edward Macdowell: Piano Music, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

This is a beautiful recording of music written in the romantic style, when modern was new. I had to double check and make sure all the pieces were solo piano. I was sure there were pieces for orchestra and piano--like an impressionist painting that captures the play of light and shadow when I'm standing away, the nuanced lushness of the piano is so rich that I walk away with an impression of much more than solo piano.

The rules of romantic impressionism are stretched without breaking into atonality. If you like the piano works of Debussy and Ravel you'll probably like this CD. The playing, the recording and the composing are all really good and the music taken as a whole sounds fresh. If your favorite composer is Bach, you may not like this, but if you love Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Terry Riley then I'm pretty sure you'll love this CD. I know I do.