Leo Ornstein: Piano Music, Volume Two
The Russian-born American pianist-composer Leo Ornstein (1893-2002) lived long enough — an astonishing 109 years — to see his music both fall into and re-emerge from obscurity. With his earliest surviving work dating from around 1905 and his last from 1990, Ornstein's music naturally embraces a range of styles, extending on this second CD of his piano music from the Rachmaninov-like Suite Russe (1914) to the brittle but urgent Impressionism of A Morning in the Woods (1971). The meat of this disc is the extraordinary sequence of seventeen Waltzes Ornstein composed, largely in the 1960s and '70s, which vary from the sexily languorous to the boldly tempestuous, requiring the fearless virtuosity that Arsentiy Kharitonov brings to them here.
Arsentiy Kharitonov, piano
Listen To This Recording:
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Complete Waltzes, s400t16(1958tc.1980)
- No. 1, S400
- No. 2, S401
- No. 3, S402
- No. 4, S403
- No. 5, S404
- No. 6, S405
- No. 7, S406
- No. 8, S407
- No. 9, S408 Moderato con moto
- No. 10, S409
- No. 11, S410 Vivo
- No. 12, S411 Allegro
- No. 13, S412 Moderato
- No. 14, S413 Allegro non troppo
- No. 15, S414 Allegro con moto ed bravura
- No. 16, S415
- No. 17, S416
- No. 1 Doumka (Andante espressivo)
- No. 2 Extase (Allegro con eleganza)
- No. 3 Barcarole (Andante sostenuto)
- No. 4 MÈlancolie (Andante con moto)
- No. 5 Danse Burlesque (Vivace)
- No. 6 Berceuse (Andantino con semplice)
- No. 7 Chanson PathÈtique (Allegro con forza)
- A Morning in the Woods, S106 (1971)
Suite Russe, S58 (1914)
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2 reviews for Leo Ornstein: Piano Music, Volume Two
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Jonathan Woolf :
“…The waltzes make a most digestible sequence, full of contrast and vitality, augmented by the lighter fare of the Suite russe. Once again Kharitonov is an exemplary guide – witty, warm and splendidly recorded.” MusicWeb International
Seth Blacklock :
The pianism on this disc, just from listening to the audio samples available, seems to be of a very high order indeed – musical (of course), strong, powerful, colourful, delicate and characterful. The recorded sound, too, is excellent. I look forward to receiving my copy of the disc!