The American art music of the early twentieth century has a distinctive flavor. Pianist Ruthanne Schempf, based in upstate New York and Michigan, characterizes it as "German Romanticism practiced by New England composers," which is true enough. Yet there's a certain ambition they share that comes out when they're placed together as they are here. Schempf is technically solid: if the opening Piano Sonata of Charles Tomlinson Griffes needs more oomph, she has a very nice singing tone in the more lyrical pieces that follow. ...
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The American art music of the early twentieth century has a distinctive flavor. Pianist Ruthanne Schempf, based in upstate New York and Michigan, characterizes it as "German Romanticism practiced by New England composers," which is true enough. Yet there's a certain ambition they share that comes out when they're placed together as they are here. Schempf is technically solid: if the opening Piano Sonata of Charles Tomlinson Griffes needs more oomph, she has a very nice singing tone in the more lyrical pieces that follow. But her real accomplishment lies in bringing these pieces together; while none is exactly unknown, they're more often paired with European works. The segue from Griffes, whose sonata relies on a motif that's almost an abstract, artificial scale, to the highly sentimental Ethelbert Nevin may seem odd, but it underscores the fact that neither of these composers followed Continental models all that closely. Schempf follows with a set of Five Poems, songs without words, by Arthur Foote,...
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