Norman Lloyd, Peter Mennin: Piano Music
(2014)
Naxos 8.559767
“An indispensable addition to the discography of American piano music.”
“Myron Silberstein gives convincing performances. … The disc is another milestone.”
[click below for full review]
“Myron Silberstein [is] a deeply adventurous and accomplished pianist. [T]his release [has] landmark status.”
Norman Lloyd (1909-1980) and Peter Mennin (1923-1983) both wrote small but significant bodies of piano music, none of which was recorded before this album.
Norman Lloyd’s work was closely associated with the midcentury modern dance movement made famous by Martha Graham. A faculty member at Juilliard for many years, and later dean at Oberlin, Lloyd is perhaps best known today as the editor and arranger of the Fireside Book of Folk Songs (1947) and as author of the Golden Encyclopedia of Music (1968). His music is largely bright and optimistic, and offers an infectious rhythmic vitality.
Peter Mennin won early fame for his Third Symphony, which the New York Philharmonic premiered while Mennin was still a doctoral student. His Piano Concerto was recorded by famed virtuoso John Ogdon. Mennin’s music is full of turbulent outcries and bold statements. His Piano Sonata (1963) is one of the greatest unrecognized masterpieces for the instrument.