Search - John Davis :: Halley's Comet: Around the Piano with Mark Twain & John Davis

John Davis
Halley's Comet: Around the Piano with Mark Twain & John Davis
Genres: New Age, Classical

Track Listings (19) - Disc #1
1. Mark Twain on his disdain for pianists
2. Mark Twain Mazurka, by Felix Kraemer
3. Mark Twain on Gottschalk and the banjo
4. The Banjo, by Louis Moreau Gottschalk
5. Clara Clemens Gabrilowitsch on her father (Mark Twain) at the piano
6. Petite SÃ?Â©rÃ?Â©nade Op. 1, No. 1, by Ossip Gabrilowitsch
7. Mark Twain on the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Negro spirituals, and minstrel tunes
8. Nearer My God to Thee, arranged by Blind Boone
9. Mark Twain on classical music and the higher arts
10. Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 13 (PathÃ?Â©tique), by L.V. Beethoven: I. Grave--Allegro molto e con brio
11. Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 13 (PathÃ?Â©tique), by L.V. Beethoven: II. Adagio cantabile
12. Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 13 (PathÃ?Â©tique), by L.V. Beethoven: III. Rondo: Allegro
13. Henry Holt on Mark Twain's obsession with Blind Tom
14. The Rain Storm, by Blind Tom
15. Mark Twain on Blind Tom (Part 1)
16. Cyclone Galop, by Blind Tom
17. Mark Twain on Blind Tom (Part 2)
18. Battle of Manassas, by Blind Tom, followed by Mark Twain on Blind Tom (Part 3)
19. Impromptu in A-flat major, Op. 142, No. 2, by Franz Schubert

CD Details

All Artists: John Davis
Title: Halley's Comet: Around the Piano with Mark Twain & John Davis
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Newport Classic
Original Release Date: 1/1/2010
Re-Release Date: 6/15/2010
Genres: New Age, Classical
Styles: Instrumental, Opera & Classical Vocal
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 032466569029

Synopsis

Product Description

Around the Piano with Mark Twain & John Davis - a musical tribute to America's most famous author also honors the 175th anniversary of Twain's birth as well as the 125th anniversary of the publication of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both celebrated in 2010. Twain's far-reaching musical taste, from Americana to the most refined works of the European-based piano repertoire, is honored here with performances by Davis of keyboard works by among others Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Blind Tom, Blind Boone, Beethoven, and Franz Schubert. These are interspersed with often hilarious, sometimes appalling, but always fascinating readings by Mr. Davis from Twain and his contemporaries. Davis has been associated with two other recordings on Newport Classic that have defined previously unacknowledged American roots music, John Davis Plays Blind Tom, (the works of the Georgia slave pianist, Thomas Wiggins) and Marshfield Tornado: John Davis Plays Blind Boone.

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CD Reviews

Brilliant View of Mark Twain and Music

MO' Twain | 07/17/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are a fan of Mark Twain - or just the Gilded Age - you will be enchanted by Halley's Comet: Around the Piano with Mark Twain. (Twain was born in 1835, the year Halley's comet scored its way across the sky; he died in 1910, the year of the comet's return.) John Davis is a concert pianist and a master at dusting off and performing the works of forgotten piano geniuses like Thomas Wiggins and John "Blind" Boone. Here, he presents a compendium of classics enjoyed by Twain and inspired by him. Halley's Comet is a great find for fans of both music and the spoken work, not only due to Davis's brilliant musicianship, but because he includes quotations from, and about Twain and music. Each song is introduced with an excerpt from a novel, letter or other source commenting about Twain's love or in the case of the banjo -- his detestation -- of music. (He wasn't particularly fond of the accordion, either.)

Davis offers here a broad selection of works from the classic Victorian hymn "Nearer My God to Thee" to a Schubert impromptu. But an extra bonus in Halley's Comet comes from hearing some of the less familiar music in Twain's life. He was fascinated by the playing of "Blind" Thomas Wiggins, a former slave who was a brilliant performer and composer but whose bizarre stage behavior attracted Twain's attention. (Wiggins may have been autistic.) Davis, an expert in the life, times and music of Wiggins, presents on this CD the little-known Blind Tom compositions, "The Battle of Manassas" and "The Rain Storm," two tone poems popular during the late 19th century, but rarely performed today.

Don't miss this compilation: this year marks the 175th anniversary of Twain's birth - and there's not better way to celebrate than with Halley's Comet and John Davis."