Search - Howard Hanson, Thomas Labe :: Howard Hanson: Piano Sonata Poemes Erotiques

Howard Hanson, Thomas Labe
Howard Hanson: Piano Sonata Poemes Erotiques
Genres: Special Interest, Classical

Track Listings (28) - Disc #1
1. Two Yuletide Pieces, Op.19: Impromptu
2. Two Yuletide Pieces, Op.19: March Carillon
3. Poemes Erotiques, Op.9: Peace
4. Poemes Erotiques, Op.9: Joy
5. Poemes Erotiques, Op.9: Desire
6. Son in a, Op.11: Andante Espressivo
7. Son in a, Op.11: Elegie Herbique
8. Son in a, Op.11: Triumphal Ode
9. Three Miniatures, Op.12: Reminiscence
10. Three Miniatures, Op.12: Lullaby
11. Three Miniatures, Op.12: Longing
12. Three Etudes, Op.18: Studio Ritmico
13. Three Etudes, Op.18: Studio Melodico
14. Three Etudes, Op.18: Poema Idillico
15. Enchantment
16. For The First Time (Orchestral Score 1963; Pno Score 1970): Bells
17. For The First Time (Orchestral Score 1963; Pno Score 1970): Tamara And Peter Bolshoi
18. For The First Time (Orchestral Score 1963; Pno Score 1970): The Deserted House
19. For The First Time (Orchestral Score 1963; Pno Score 1970): The Eccentric Clock
20. For The First Time (Orchestral Score 1963; Pno Score 1970): Deep Forest
21. For The First Time (Orchestral Score 1963; Pno Score 1970): Clowns
22. For The First Time (Orchestral Score 1963; Pno Score 1970): Dance
23. For The First Time (Orchestral Score 1963; Pno Score 1970): Serious Conversation
24. For The First Time (Orchestral Score 1963; Pno Score 1970): Kikimora
25. For The First Time (Orchestral Score 1963; Pno Score 1970): Mist
26. For The First Time (Orchestral Score 1963; Pno Score 1970): Fireworks
27. For The First Time (Orchestral Score 1963; Pno Score 1970): Dreams
28. For The First Time (Orchestral Score 1963; Pno Score 1970): Slumber Song

CD Details

All Artists: Howard Hanson, Thomas Labe
Title: Howard Hanson: Piano Sonata Poemes Erotiques
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Naxos American
Release Date: 5/16/2000
Genres: Special Interest, Classical
Styles: Holiday & Wedding, Opera & Classical Vocal, Chamber Music, Historical Periods, Classical (c.1770-1830), Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 636943904725

Synopsis

Amazon.com

Best-known for his unashamedly romantic cycle of seven symphonies, Nebraska-born Howard Hanson (1896-1981) was a formidable pianist in his youth (he seriously considered a career as a concert virtuoso). All but two items here predate Hanson's three-year residency in Rome (where he studied under Respighi after winning the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1921). In the three Poèmes erotiques of 1917-18 (a fourth was lost), the ambitious Sonata in A minor (1918), and the Three Miniatures (1918-19), extravagant virtuosity goes hand-in-hand with a heart-on-sleeve emotional fervor. Both the Three Etudes (1920) and Two Yuletide Pieces (1919) are cleaner-cut; indeed, the latter diptych has all the potential for popular appeal. Other stand-out items include the winsome miniature Enchantment (1935), as well as Hanson's effective 1970 piano transcription of his own 1962 orchestral suite, For the First Time. Thomas Labé is a passionate, occasionally strident advocate of this rare repertoire. An enterprising anthology with excellent booklet notes and a decent recording, to boot--well worth snapping up at Naxos's absurdly low price. --Andrew Achenbach

CD Reviews

Hanson could definitely write for the piano!

Lee M. Mcguire | Urbana, IL | 11/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Howard Hanson was a romantic, no bars about it. And for the time he lived and composed in, was anachronistic. His piano music was a surprise and delight from the first time I put it in the player. Long flowing lines, beautiful figured melodies. The sound of Labe's playing is full and lush, perfectly fitted to Hanson's simple yet beautiful development of melodic ideas. If you like the Howard Hanson symphonies, you should dig his piano music. It is the genesis of his later work. This is good stuff from one of our greatest composers."

A "must buy" at any price...

George Bixler | Orrville, Ohio United States | 03/16/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...Howard Hanson's piano music is chock-full of romantic melodies, yet there is a very contemporary feel that permeates the basic structure of the music. There isn't a bad cut in the bunch, but I'm particularly partial to the Sonata in A Minor, which is aclassic-in-waiting, needing only broader exposure for its proper recognition. The Poemes Erotiques each fetchingly convey their name demotions: peace, joy and desire. The Three Etudes and Three Miniatures are full of feeling and emotion, and For the First Time,originally scored for orchestra, sounds (to me, anyway) even morenatural in this piano setting. Much, much credit must go to Thomas Labe, who not only plays this music with passionate intensity and virtuosity, but who also completed the Sonata, based on Hanson's own hand-written, but incomplete score. His understanding and love of this music is apparent through out the CD. The sound quality is top notch as well. Out of my nearly 100 classical CD's, this one jumped to my top echelon very quickly and has stayed there. Go get it - this is great piano music, at a great price."

Hanson's Piano Music receives a Well-Deserved Recital

Jane Alcorn | Darien, CT United States | 01/19/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Thmas Labé is eminently qualified to bring Howard Hanson's works for piano into the current repertoire. He has embraced this task with the authority of a musicologist as well as the enthusiasm of one who enjoys the lush sounds of the piano. As a result we have a refreshing experience of hearing little-known works that deserve more public performances.Labé is well-known for viruoso playing, beginning with his recording of "The Virtuoso Johann Strauss" in 1992 on the Dorian label. However, with this album and fresh material, he comes of age both as a performer capable of an enormous range of color and an original interpreter of American keyboard literature."