Our Town Archive
“New York Rhapsody” – Lang Lang, p. & many others – Sony Classical
A really amazing crossover album and one of the very best Rhapsody in Blues. “New York Rhapsody” – Lang Lang, p. & many others [TrackList follows] – Sony Classical 889853329229, 70:00 (9/16/16) *****: I almost decided to put this CD in our Popular category, but it certainly is a very intense crossover effort in spite of Lang Lang saying that it is not. At the center of it all is perhaps the very best version of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue on record, and I am very partial to one with David Golub, conducted by, of all people, Mitch Miller, on Arabesque (1992). That one is great stereo sound and performance but this one is even better. Part of it is the showiness of Lang Lang, which is bound to come out in this album dedicated to America’s most symbolic city as great artists have imagined it. Part of it is also that this is a two-piano version of the Gershwin classic, with jazz legend Herbie Hancock at his Fazioli and Lang Lang at his Steinway, plus the London Symphony! The rest of this CD consists of nine short tracks featuring vocals by Jason Isbell, Andra Day, Kandace Springs, Lisa Fischer, […]
WILLIAM MAYER: A Death in the Family (opera) – Soloists/Manhattan School of Music Opera Orch./ David Gilbert – Albany (2 CDs)
Mayer’s opera deserves many more recordings, but it is a classic – provocative and path breaking.
OT: Our Town (2005)
Teacher in struggling high school faces huge challenges in staging Thornton Wilder’s classic play with her students
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
