Ripe For Reissue: Philip Martin's Glorious Gottschalk Piano Works on Hyperion
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- čas přidán 7. 01. 2024
- I see that some individual albums are still available, but the lovely, 8-CD box seems to have vanished for reasons I cannot fathom. I mean, if you want more than one single disc you'll probably want the whole set, and the music of the United States' first major composer is simply delicious (as are the performances).
- Hudba
Great talk. While Gottschalk may not have been prolific in the production of the forms we have come to expect from 19th century composers, as you mentioned, he very much was one of the first to seriously integrate African American and Caribbean music into classical forms. In so doing he tapped into the probably most vital wellspring of many of the greatest American composers to follow (i.e Joplin, Gershwin, Ellington etc). And he did this in a very winsome way.
Great to see you reviving interest in this Gottschalk set. I am happy to listen to his music at length and Philip Martin's playing of it. I hope that he gets to see your review here. Martin himself is a fine composer with many songs and piano works to his name.
Here in Brazil, his "Fantasy about the Brazilian national anthem" is very popular. In 1973, during the military dictatorship, a process was opened to decide whether the piece should be banned from national territory because it was an "arrangement" of the anthem (which, in theory, is prohibited by law).The process was closed years later, after the opinion of a musician who explained to the commission the difference between "arrangement" and "variations".
The whole set is still available as download only directly from Hyperion, and quite likely it will have become available on streaming services no later than Spring this year, when Hyperion’s back catalogue streaming release program will have completed.
And unlikely ever to be re-released on CD, or vinyl or 78s! Hyperion has this set on their won website at a reduced price of 35 pounds (or around $45 USD). It may be available already on Presto streaming (they already have the digital download - for a lot more than Hyperion charge). Qobuz is gradually releasing the Hyperion catalogue.
I love that set. There's some dazzling playing of some really difficult music.
I even had the opportunity to cite Berlioz's positive opinion of Gottschalk when writing about Greta Gerwig's LITTLE WOMEN.
Gottschalk becomes 'Glazunov' at 3:51, David 😄. I know you have been working on Glazunov recently in the Concert Program series; so perhaps thinking of your next video in this series?
Dave, this is available for streaming today (or these few days, whatever)!
Does anyone know what happened to Ivan Davis's fabulous Gottschalk recital on Decca? It had all the flair, sparkle and rhythmic verve that I often find lacking in Martin's performances. Was it ever released on CD?
It's inside the big 49-CD box-set called Decca Sound Piano Edition.
There is a CD version: Try searching for “Ivan Davis Souvenir”. Good luck finding one at a reasonable price. Together with volumes 4 & 5 by Martin that takes care of my need for piano music by Gottschalk. So pleased that David drew my attention to this composer.
Bamboula is also a song by Ringo Starr