Search - et al Manuel de Falla (Composer) :: Carol's Concerto Collection

Don't Let the Title Put You Off

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 07/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Why the recording company ever decided on the corny title of 'Carol's Concerto Collection' for this very worthwhile selection of works by fine performers remains an enigma. But try to ignore the commercialism of the package and listen and buy this CD for a very fine selection of works for piano and orchestra.



Carol Rosenberger is an excellent, sensitive pianist who can span dissimilar music periods with finesse. The elegance and joy of her performances of the Haydn D major and G major piano concerti are as fine as any on record, particularly since she is balanced with pristine collaboration with Gerard Schwarz conducting the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The readings are fluid, unrushed, and performed with utmost clarity of line.



Strauss' 'Burleske' can often sound like pastiche but under Rosenberger's facile fingers it becomes a fine little tour de force. Here Schwarz conducts the Seattle Symphony Orchestra with just the right amount of zest and momentary abandon. Howard Hanson's 'Fantasy Variations on a Theme of Youth' is an oddity that, while not entirely memorable, does serve as a gesture of introduction of unfamiliar works few other pianists would program. It is a good piece and coupled here with his more substantial 'Concerto in G' finds Rosenberger making it make sense with the able assistance of Schwarz and the New York Chamber Symphony and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.



'Noches en los jardines de España' (Nights in the Gardens of Spain) by Manuel de Falla closes this collection with a solid impressionistic flavor. Rosenberger understands the colors of this piece and gives an authoritative performance with Schwarz and the London Symphony Orchestra. So despite the 'grab bag' suggestion of the title of the CD, this is a collection of works well performed and recorded and makes for a fine little varied traversal of piano literature. Grady Harp, July 06

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