Aaron Copland: Music for Piano (2003)

Raymond Clarke plays the larger and more important of Aaron Copland's piano works on this disc with remarkable strength and skillfulness. Putting the pieces in chronological order, as they are here, gives insight into Copland's evolution as a composer. He was able to move away from strict tonality in these pieces because they were not necessarily meant to appeal to a wider audience, as his ballets were. He also moved toward clearer textures, with less forward movement and more exploration of the piano's tonal capabilities. ... Read More

Raymond Clarke plays the larger and more important of Aaron Copland's piano works on this disc with remarkable strength and skillfulness. Putting the pieces in chronological order, as they are here, gives insight into Copland's evolution as a composer. He was able to move away from strict tonality in these pieces because they were not necessarily meant to appeal to a wider audience, as his ballets were. He also moved toward clearer textures, with less forward movement and more exploration of the piano's tonal capabilities. Copland's piano music may not be as melodic or obviously tonal as his more popular orchestral works, but these are unmistakably by Copland. His characteristic use of spiky passages immediately followed by lyric passages and of anchoring chords held under lighter, higher motifs is found throughout most of these works. Clarke's strength works well for Copland's spikiness and percussive use of the piano, particularly in the Piano Sonata and Piano Fantasy. Clarke creates crashing waves... Read Less