Ivor Karman Archive

Copland Before the LP (1928-1949) = Song and Pieces for Piano, Violin, Cello – Aaron COPLAND, Leo Smit (p.) / Ivor Karman, Jacques Gordon, Louis Kaufman (vln.) / David Freed (c.) / Ethel Luening (sop.) – Parnassus

by Audiophile Audition | Jun 4, 2017 | Classical Reissue Reviews

Copland Before the LP (1928-1949) = Le chat et la souris; Piano Variations; Vitebsk; Two Pieces for Violin and Piano; Vocalise; Danzon Cubano; Sonata for Violin and Piano; Two Pieces for Violin and Piano; Four Piano Blues – Aaron Copland, piano/ Leo Smit, piano/ Ivor Karman, violin/ David Freed, cello/ Jacques Gordon, violin/ Ethel Luening, soprano/ Louis Kaufman, violin – Parnassus PACD 96057, 76:29 (6/20/17) [Distr. by Alliance] ****: Composer Aaron Copland reveals his equally potent gifts at the keyboard in these rare restorations from Parnassus. Executive Producer Leslie Gerber, in association with Restoration Engineer Mark Obert-Thorn issues some rare documents from the legacy of American classical composer Aaron Copland, each of which testifies to Copland’s strong, even imposing, keyboard technique. The earliest of these sound documents, an Ampico piano roll (1928) of a Scherzo humoristique of 1920, not only benefits from a remarkably quiet restoration, but it certifies the influence of the Parisian, Nadia Boulanger influence at work in Copland’s sensibility. The mood changes abruptly for Copland’s rendition of Piano Variations, a work set in his “craggy, granite period” (rec. 2 April 1935). This “severe” and “bleak” piece based on four notes still rattles listeners, its theme and twenty […]