Posted on 12/31/2015 4:56:26 PM PST by WhiskeyX
Leo Ornstein (1893-2002) (Russie/USA)
Piano Concerto (1921/23) **MUST HEAR**
Pianist : Alain Feinberg
Dir : Leon Botstein
American Symphony Orchestra
1- Moderato assai -- Allegro con moto (16.50)
2- Andante (8.02)
3- Allegro (9.51)
« A pyrotechnical dazzler, Ornstein's Concerto was clearly written by a pianist with a physical passion for hammering every inch of the keyboard. From the first note, the writing for piano teems with raw virtuosity. Using a traditional three-movement concerto form, the work glories in chromatic runs and gapped scales, as well as chords built of fourths and fifths (no tame triads for Ornstein). Rapid-fire runs and octave gymnastics alternate within toccata-like sections and passages of static repetition. Defying the reputation of modernists for taking their art too seriously, this work brims with fun and wild daring. Like watching a high-diver, it leaves the listener breathless, wondering if a safe landing is possible. »
Carol J. Oja
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leo Ornstein (born Lev Ornshteyn; Russian: Лев Орнштейн; c. December 2, 1893 – February 24, 2002)[1] was an American composer and pianist of the early twentieth century. His performances of works by avant-garde composers and his own innovative and even shocking pieces made him a cause célèbre on both sides of the Atlantic.
Ornstein was the first important composer to make extensive use of the tone cluster. As a pianist, he was considered a world-class talent.[2] By the mid-1920s, he had walked away from his fame and soon disappeared from popular memory. Though he gave his last public concert before the age of forty, he continued writing music for another half-century and beyond. Largely forgotten for decades, he was rediscovered in the mid-1970s. Ornstein completed his eighth and final piano sonata in September 1990 at the age of ninety-six, making him the oldest published composer in history (a mark since passed by Elliott Carter).
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Ornstein
Post
thanks for posting
He lived to age 108!
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