Album

David Del Tredici, one of the founders and perhaps the reigning lion of American neo-Romanticism, avoided piano music during much of his career but turned to it in his seventh decade and has since produced several albums' worth. The present release is the first in a series planned to cover the composer's complete piano works. It has been supervised by the composer, which of course does not mean that the interpretations by pianist Marc Peloquin are definitive. Del Tredici explores the Romantic virtuoso tradition in these works, but they also have a very attractive late-Brahmsian quality; they are both technically demanding and precise, and they have a strong contrapuntal aspect. Perhaps the strongest pieces are the four New York City scenes entitled Gotham Glory, which are more strongly programmatic. The final pairing of Missing Towers (Perpetual Canon), which refers to the World Trade Center and seems to evoke the rabbit hole down which the mind goes when contemplating that monstrosity, and Wollman Rink (Grand Fantasy on The Skaters' Waltz) is quite powerful, seeming to capture in turn the recesses of the city's soul and its festive public face. The four pieces entitled Ballads exemplify the kind of harmony that Bernard Holland aptly described by borrowing a phrase from Count Basie, who originally applied it to bebop: Del Tredici, he wrote, used Romantic harmonies but "put mink coats on the chords." All four works are challenging for the pianist, none more so than S/M Ballade (track 4), which is a tour through treacherous Lisztian territory. Peloquin produces each note clearly, which probably pleased the composer in the room, but the rest of us can wish for a bit more oomph. Still, Naxos' studio recording is excellent here, and Gotham Glory ought to be a repertory piece. Recommended.

© James Manheim, Rovi

CD 1
David Del Tredici Composer Aeolian Ballade Work Marc Peloquin Piano
1	Aeolian Ballade	13:05			$2.49
David Del Tredici Composer Ballad in Lavender Work Marc Peloquin Piano
2	Ballad in Lavender	14:05			$2.49
David Del Tredici Composer Ballad in Yellow (after Lorca) Work Marc Peloquin Piano
3	Ballad in Yellow (after Lorca)	5:18			$0.99
David Del Tredici Composer S/M Ballade Work Marc Peloquin Piano
4	S/M Ballade	12:13			$1.99
David Del Tredici Composer Gotham Glory: Four Scenes of New York City Work 34:54 Marc Peloquin Piano
5	1.West Village Morning (Prelude)	3:42			$0.99
6	2.Museum Piece (Fugue)	9:51			$1.49
7	3.Missing Towers (Perpetual Canon)	4:15			$0.99
8	4.Wollman Rink (Grand Fantasy on The Skaters' Waltz)	17:06			$2.99