<<  -- 2 --  Ron Bierman    CLEVERLY DIFFERENT

Creston's Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra is the most recent work (1951). Though not quite in the class of the Poulenc, it's a fine composition. This is a first recording and that lends strong support to the idea that tonal works, especially by American composers, fell out of favor around the middle of the last century. Wonder what else we've missed out on? The piece is in three movements. The first comes closest to what I'll call the New-York-City-skyscraper sound, taking itself a bit too seriously. The slow second movement has some lovely melodies [listen -- track 6, 0:00-1:28]. The last movement is a suitably rousing finale [listen -- track 7, 4:48-6:09].

The pianists have all the technique these sometimes difficult pieces require and complement each other beautifully. Solid orchestral support completes the package. This is a most enjoyable disk.

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