Search - Philip Martin :: Maiden's Prayer & Other Gems From Old Piano Stool

An entertaining collection of "guilty pleasure" piano works

Swami B | Harlem, NY USA | 11/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I enjoyed this album of "forgotten" piano works that are rarely performed in concert halls today, but were popular, especially among amateur performers, during the late 19th century, the "Golden Age of the Piano." In that prerecorded era of music, the piano was a central form of entertainment in many middle-class households. While many of the songs on this collection may not constitute great or lasting music ("The Maiden's Prayer" by Tekla Badarzewska is pilloried as "sentimental salon tosh," but it is perhaps the biggest-selling piece of piano music ever written), they are worthwhile as entertainments of a much lighter, less self-serious vein. Irishman Philip Martin offers many moments of tenderness on this collection, in the spirit of the dripping sentimentality often associated with some of these works. Gotta' love the Victorians!"