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Kenneth Fuch's Piano Concerto Spiritualist (After Paintings by Helen Frankenthaler)
Reviews
* FUCHS: Piano Concerto; Poems of Life; Glacier; Rush
Timothy McAllister, sax; Nussbaum Cohen, ct; DJ Sparr, g; Jeffrey Biegel, p; London Symphony/ JoAnn Falletta Naxos 559824 — 77 minutes
Kenneth Fuchs's Piano Concerto (2016) is subtitled Spiritualist and is inspired by the paintings of Helen
Frankenthaler. As the composer admits, there is no avant-garde abstraction in this splendidly earthbound piece.
The outer movements are sprightly and joyous, the central framed by a sensitive Gymnopedie too romantic for Satie
and interrupted by playful reminiscence of the first movement. The language is crisply American and brilliantly
orchestrated. Mr. Biegel is impressive. This is a must have for anyone still wondering where the best composers
are in our country today. This is a joy. The Piano Concerto is the main event— very much worth your time.
I loved it, as I do most of this composer's work these days. Don't miss this. Brilliant performances, good sound,
notes by the composer. - Allen Gimbel
American Record Guide - March 2019 - online (subscription required)
* K Fuchs: Concertos, etc.
"This latest Fuchs/Naxos disc, marking 15 years of his recording with conductor Falletta, bears
real gems. The animated piano concerto is a delightful flight of fancy. 4 stars."
BBC Music Magazine - December 2018 - print edition
* Review: Fuchs: Piano Concerto and Other Music
"What a blithe spirited work is Fuchs' Piano Concerto. The first movement bears the same name as the work as a
whole. It breathes joy and does so slowly. This is alternated with passages of intoxicating and breathless zest.
Bringing an "innocent ear" to the listening room, I found the music freewheelingly enjoyable. I came to this
conclusion knowing that all three movements, each of which bears the name of one of Helen Frankenthaler’s
paintings (Spiritualist, Silent Wish, Natural Answer), were inspired by Frankenthaler’s visual images.
Crudely, and that's all I can manage, the idiom is like a gentle mix of lambent Ravel and 1940s pastoral Copland.
The second movement is a sort of self-hypnotic Gymnopédie but every now and then the composer throws in a
stone and the ripples produce wild and whooping results. Natural Answer marks a return to the foot-tapping
exuberance of the first movement. The superb recording facilitates an equally superb work. Apart from
the intrinsic joys of this sensationally attractive music the disc has also introduced me to this painter
and her work. Strange how music has, for me, often been the key to appreciation and knowledge of the other
arts; poetry, novels and paintings/illustrations."
Rob
Barnett - MusicWeb International - November 2018
* Review: Fuchs: Piano Concerto and Other Music
"Pianist Jeffrey Biegel, for whom the work was written, is an exemplary choice in this engaging concerto. It has
an almost filmic drama with accessible musical language that makes it an excellent entry into this program."
"The album opens with the Piano Concerto 'Spiritualist (2016). Fuchs has written three earlier pieces that took
inspiration from the art of Helen Frankenthaler. For this concerto, he has used a more traditional three-movement
form, with modified sonata-allegro first movement, and rondo forms for the subsequent movements. The titles of
the movements refer to the paintings which inspired the work: Spiritualist, Silent Wish, and Natural Answer.
The first movement has a wonderful sense of play and an opening rhythmical theme that invites the listener in to
the soundworld. A contrasting lyrical idea has some lovely writing as well in a Neo-Romantic swath of beauty.
The style here is in a modern Americana feel with hints of jazz rhythms and syncopations (an update to some of
Antheil's mid-century works). The central movement opens with sparse string clusters and a piano theme that
sets up a reflective Nocturne-like idea. There is a feel of Satie here in this reduced orchestral accompaniment
that requires careful harmonic sway against the piano. A more energetic burst breaks this with brass glissandi
that brings us closer to jazz styles with a dash of serialism. The music is quite gorgeous though in these
reflective moments. They are interrupted by an almost Stravinskian flurry. Ideas from the previous movements
are revisited in the airy and exciting celebration of the final movement. Pianist Jeffrey Biegel, for whom
the work was written, is an exemplary choice in this engaging concerto. It has an almost filmic drama
with accessible musical language that makes it an excellent entry into this program."
Cinemusical blog
- 17 Oct 2018
* Review: Superb collection of works by Kenneth Fuchs
"The opening piano concerto is in three movements each of which represents a large-scale painting by Helen
Frankenthaler. The final movement, with its jazzy syncopations and barnstorming finale is particularly
successful. The excellent soloist Jeffrey Biegel copes with the technical demands of the work with impressive
mastery and relates to the orchestra perfectly. This is an outstanding recording both in terms of the
excellent Naxos engineering and the the quality of the soloists, orchestra and conductor. JoAnn
Falletta and the London Symphony Orchestra seem to gain a closer affinity with the music of Kenneth
Fuchs with each new release. All music lovers should give this album a try – Kenneth Fuchs is a
master of orchestration and he writes tonal music of great imagination, some of which is not too far
removed from film music."
iClassical.co.uk
- 25 Sept 2018
* CD Review: FUCHS, K.: Piano Concerto, "Spiritualist" / Poems of Life / Glacier / Rush (Biegel, A.N. Cohen, Sparr, McAllister, London Symphony, Falletta)
"Opening with a Piano Concerto in the conventional three movements, it relates to the impact that three
paintings of Helen Frankenthaler has brought to Fuchs, his musical canvas being wide both in dynamic range
and colours. It was composed at the request of Jeffrey Biegel, who is the soloist on this disc. Often
testing his technical virtuosity, the finale calls for prodigious dexterity in the fast flowing finale."
By David Denton - David's Review Corner - August 2018
* Review: Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Jeffrey Biegel premiere Fuchs concerto
"The evening's centerpiece was the eagerly anticipated world premiere performance of
Kenneth Fuchs's "Piano Concerto 'Spiritualist' After Paintings by Helen Frankenthaler"
with Jeffrey Biegel, a favorite guest of the SSO, at the keyboard.
The twenty minute piece was cast in three movements which took their titles from three
Frankenthaler canvases, "Spiritualist," "Silent Wish," and "Natural Answer." Fuchs's
harmonic language borrowed from French impressionism and American jazz, moving with
easy insouciance through progressions of seventh and ninth chords via chains of thirds.
He managed minimal melodic materials with Beethovenian economy and invention, stretching
the influence of motives by means of teasing canons and other contrapuntal devices.
The outer movements featured vivacious, motoric underpinning to a charming, lyrical
façade. The middle movement contained the most extroverted drama, with a collision
between the piece's overarching diatonicism with a burst of angular serialism shot
through with saucy trombone glissandos and clattering percussion.
The relationship between soloist and orchestra was always conversation, never
altercation, and Fuchs's piano writing rang true to the canon of classic concertos,
capitalizing on the virtuosity of Biegel, his soloist and former Juilliard schoolmate.
Clifton Noble Jr. | Special to The Republican (Springfield, MA) -
MassLive.com - 12 March 2016
* Review: Wheeling Symphony Orchestra; André Raphel, conductor; Jeffrey Biegel, Piano
Important new American piano concerto premiere in Wheeling. A break from the French repertoire brought pianist
Jeffrey Biegel
to the stage to present the premiere of the Piano Concerto by Kenneth Fuchs, completed in 2015, the Wheeling Symphony
Orchestra being one of two co-commissioning orchestras presenting premiere performances.
Fuchs' music is immediately accessible – rooted in tonality but sounding contemporary. Like other contemporary
American composers such as Richard Danielpour and Roberto Sierra, he is not afraid to write in an idiom that speaks
to the heart as well as the head.
Subtitled "Spiritualist," the new piano concerto is in three movements, each inspired by an abstract painting by
the American artist Helen Frankenthaler. The first movement, after the painting "Spiritualist," has a bright palette
and features several themes that could be described as "striving." The movement ends quietly, followed by the
next one inspired by the painting "Silent Wish." This is the emotional centerpiece of the concerto, evoking the
human desire for simplicity and beauty in the face of harsh reality. This beauty/simplicity was characterized
by solo piano phrases reminiscent of Erik Satie's Gymnopédies, contrasted by outbursts by the full
orchestra, replete with brass and percussion ejaculations of sound. The movement ends quietly but on a
seemingly unresolved note, leading to the final movement inspired by the painting "Natural Answer." Here,
the "striving" themes of the first movement return, accompanied by jaunty, syncopated piano writing that
conveys a sense of optimism and good spirits. The concerto ends with an exhilarating flourish.
Jeffrey Biegel's performance was impressive. Clearly, he has the full measure of this music, manifested by
technical mastery, effective contrasts and tight alignment with the orchestra. On the basis of tonight's
performance and the warm audience reception, it is easy to imagine this work joining the ranks of important
contemporary American concertante works.
Philip
Nones | Bachtrack.com - 21 May 2016
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