Leo Ornstein Piano Music: Suicide on an Airplane / La Chinoise / Poems of 1917, Op. 41 / Arabesques (9), Op. 42 / Piano Sonata No. 8 [Import]

Leo Ornstein (Composer), Marc Andre Hamelin (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Marc Andre Hamelin
• Composer: Leo Ornstein
• Audio CD (October 8, 2002)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Hyperion UK
• ASIN: B00006B1LA
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,693 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Suicide In An Airplane

2. A La Chinoise, Op.39

3. Danse Sauvage, Op.13 No.2

4. No.1. No Man's Land - Andante Espressivo

5. No.2. The Sower Of Despair - Moderato

6. No.3. The Orient In Flanders - Andantino (Molto Espressivo)

7. No.4. The Wrath Of The Despoiled - Sostenuto (Molto Appassionato)

8. No.5. Night Brooding Over The Battlefield - Moderato E Misterioso

9. No.6. A Dirge Of The Trenches - Lento

10. No.7. Song Behind The Lines - Andante Con Moto E Malinconioso

11. No.8. The Battle - Allegro E Molto Appassionato

12. No.9. Army At Prayer - Allegro, Ma Non Troppo

13. No.10. Dance Of The Dead - Vivo (Con Fuoco)

14. No.1. The Isle Of Elephantine

15. No.2. Primal Echo

16. No.3. Chant Of Hindoo Priests

17. No.4. Shadowed Waters

18. No.5. A Melancholy Landscape

19. No.6. Pompeian Fresco

20. No.7. Passion

See all 29 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Leo Ornstein is one of music's originals. He died in 2002, purportedly at 109 years of age, and he was composing almost to the end. His music is an odd mixture of atmospheric impressionism, acerbic Russian Futurism, savagely powerful poundings, and delicate filigree--prime material for Marc-André Hamelin's virtuosic pianism. Ornstein had a penchant for quirky titles, such as Suicide in an Airplane. Written in 1919--not, as one might think, after September 11, 2001--Suicide weirdly captures a contemporary mood with its ominous opening suggesting the hum of an engine, and the chaos that follows. The short works range from the avant-garde eruption of Danse sauvage, to a picturesque sound impression of San Francisco's Chinatown. The Arabesques are a set of diverse miniatures, some impressionistic, some recalling Scriabin; others are concise étudelike tests of pianistic prowess. The big work on the program is the half-hour long Sonata, completed when Ornstein was in his late 90s. It's full of bold harmonies, slashing attacks, gorgeous moments of lyrical repose, and off-center humor. This is fascinating music brilliantly played. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of the best classical CDs I have ever heard, May 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Leo Ornstein Piano Music: Suicide on an Airplane / La Chinoise / Poems of 1917, Op. 41 / Arabesques (9), Op. 42 / Piano Sonata No. 8 (Audio CD)

It is shameful that Ornstein sank into obscurity after a brief period of fame early in the century. His music is simply magnificent, especially the piano quintet, but his solo piano music is so stunning, that it is hard to find the right adjective. Anyone who loves modern classical music should buy this. It is one of the greatest collections of piano composition I have ever heard. Ditto for the Janice Weber piano collection on Naxos, and check out the piano quintet too! Ornstein's works have not been widely performed and recorded, so keep eyes peeled. His hammering, forceful piano concerto needs to be recorded also. Perhaps Hamelin will pick that one up as well.

9 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The four stars are for the performance, not the music, January 2, 2003

By 

J Scott Morrison (Middlebury VT, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Leo Ornstein Piano Music: Suicide on an Airplane / La Chinoise / Poems of 1917, Op. 41 / Arabesques (9), Op. 42 / Piano Sonata No. 8 (Audio CD)

I'd heard of Leo Ornstein as long ago as the 1950s. I knew he had been an avant garde composer and an activist/publicist for it and for advanced composers way back in the 1920s. I knew that he lived to be more than 100 years old. I knew that he'd been described as a 'Futurist'. But I'd never heard a note of his music. And since I buy everything that Marc-André Hamelin records, I bought this one.

I've tried, I've really tried, to get inside the music. But so help me I can't. It does have a certain descriptive quality that works; the 'Suicide in an Airplane', for instance, does indeed go into a tailspin and crash. But for the life of me I can't see the purpose of this brutal style of composition; it makes Ives at his most discordant sound like a pantywaist. I will doff my hat to Hamelin for taking it on, and I'll bet these are the best performances these pieces are likely to receive any time soon, and surely if anyone could make a listener accept the music, Hamelin could. But not me. I'm willing to chalk it up to my own deficiencies.

Be warned, this is not easy music. It is not pretty music. It often sounds like someone banging out his impression of chinoiserie, or a plane crash, or some wild men dancing in an abandoned manner.

Not for the unadventurous.