Search - John Corigliano, Aaron Copland, Ben [2] Weber :: New York Variations

An excellent survey of modern American composers

smaque@aol.com | Los Alamitos, California | 04/03/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recent disc by the already-legendary Stephen Hough will go down as a landmark recording of 20th century piano music. It introduces a very fine work: George Tsontakis' Ghost Variations, and features fabulous performances of Copland's Piano Variations as well as the world premiere of John Corigliano's long-neglected Etude-Fantasy. For anyone with an interest in modern American piano music, this is a wonderful disc to have."

The Tsontakis is a masterpiece

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 03/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How wonderful it is that British pianist, Stephen Hough, has made a recording on a British label, Hyperion, of recent American solo piano music. Well, the Copland isn't recent but it certainly is an important piece. For me the big discovery was the Tsontakis Ghost Variations. A big, eclectic piece with the 'ghost' of Beethoven and Mozart hiding behind modern compositional techniques; Hough has championed this piece all over the world, with good reason: it's a masterpiece. The Corigliano is an ambitious work that is just a notch below the Tsontakis in effect. Don't hesitate to plunk down your money for this disc."