Review: American Music by European Composers

"AMERICAN" PIANO MUSIC BY EUROPEAN COMPOSERS. Joseph Smith, piano. BUSONI: lndianisches Tagebuch. DEBUSSY: Le Petit Negre. TANSMAN: Sonatine Tronsatlan• tique: Spiritual and Blues; Fox-Trot. MARTINU: Prelude en forme de Blues. Prelude en forme de Fox-Trot. CASTELNUOVO,TEDESCO: Sonata for Piano: Second Movement. BARTOK: Mikrokosmos, Book Six: Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm: No. 6. COLERIDGE-TAYLOR: 24 Negro Melodies: The Angels Changed My Name. GIESEKING: Drei Tanz•lmprovisationen: Tempo de Charleston.

Here is a very good recording based on a very good idea. The idea was to round up many of the less familiar examples of the European infatuation with American "jazz"-which I place in quotes because the craze for jazz among European composers was for the most part a short-lived fad, and one which evidenced a shallow understanding of what jazz is and was at that. Nevertheless, out of the shallowness of that fad came some pretty entertaining music, and Smith's excellent pianism brings across all of whatever values it has. Of especial musical interest is the four-part Busoni suite, Bartok's Gershwinian study in rhythmical combinations, and Gieseking's takeoff on Charleston. If the Castelnuovo-Tedesco shows a more interesting musical complexity, the Martinu and Tansman pieces are just plain delicious. Sound and pressing are excellent; and if I complained in my review of Joseph Smith's first recording (Orion ORS 81402) only about its underannotation, the pianist has provided this disc with notes of model thoroughness. Highly recommended-in spite of my general dislike of

albums of bits and pieces.

"AMERICAN" PIANO MUSIC BY EUROPEAN COMPOSERS. Joseph Smith, piano. BUSONI: lndianisches Tagebuch. DEBUSSY: Le Petit Negre. TANSMAN: Sonatine Tronsatlan• tique: Spiritual and Blues; Fox-Trot. MARTINU: Prelude en forme de Blues. Prelude en forme de Fox-Trot. CASTELNUOVO,TEDESCO: Sonata for Piano: Second Movement. BARTOK: Mikrokosmos, Book Six: Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm: No. 6. COLERIDGE-TAYLOR: 24 Negro Melodies: The Angels Changed My Name. GIESEKING: Drei Tanz•lmprovisationen: Tempo de Charleston.

Here is a very good recording based on a very good idea. The idea was to round up many of the less familiar examples of the European infatuation with American "jazz"-which I place in quotes because the craze for jazz among European composers was for the most part a short-lived fad, and one which evidenced a shallow understanding of what jazz is and was at that. Nevertheless, out of the shallowness of that fad came some pretty entertaining music, and Smith's excellent pianism brings across all of whatever values it has. Of especial musical interest is the four-part Busoni suite, Bartok's Gershwinian study in rhythmical combinations, and Gieseking's takeoff on Charleston. If the Castelnuovo-Tedesco shows a more interesting musical complexity, the Martinu and Tansman pieces are just plain delicious. Sound and pressing are excellent; and if I complained in my review of Joseph Smith's first recording (Orion ORS 81402) only about its underannotation, the pianist has provided this disc with notes of model thoroughness. Highly recommended-in spite of my general dislike of

albums of bits and pieces.