American Piano Classics

"If, like me, you don't seem to have enough music at the classical/jazz interface, then this disc should be high on your wish list. Even if you do, it is still highly recommendable."
MusicWeb May 2004

Telarc and the Cincinnati Pops under Maestro Erich Kinzel once again team up to present hig-voltage performances of popular classics. This disc presents a sampling of the best of American works for piano and orchestra by Joplin, Gottschalk, Bowman, Gershwin, Anderson and Gould.

The centerpiece of this remarkable album is the first-ever recording of Leroy Anderson's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in C major. After the premiere and several performances of the work by pianist Eugene List under the direction of the composer in July 1953, Anderson withdrew the work and made no further revisions. Maestro Kunzel and the late William Tritt reintroduced the work in November 1989. The Concerto is here performed by the remarkable 14-year-old Canadian pianist Stewart Goodyear. Mr. Goodyear makes his Telarc debut with this recording, one that also includes his performance of the original version of George Gershwin's Second Rhapsody (1931).

Ragtime, a style of music that flourished in the early years of the century, is also represented by famous works of Scott Joplin and Euday Bowman. Joplin's "The Entertainer," "Solace" and "Maple Leaf Rag," as well as Bowman's "12th Street Rag" are presented in arrangements for piano and orchestra by Erich Kunzel. These selections, alongwith Gotteschalk's Grand Tarantelle and Morton Gould's Interplay: American Concertette for Piano and Orchestra, are performed by William Tritt.

American Piano Classics is Maestro Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops' fortieth recording for Telarc. This unprecedented series is one of the most successful continuous collaborations in the history of the recording industry. Maestro Kinzel has been named Billboard "Classical/Crossover Artist of the Year" three times, as well as winning the coveted Grand Prix du Disque in 1989 for American Jubilee (CD-80144)