CONTENTS

CONGRATULATIONS TO . . ., 3
RECENT DEATHS, 3
CORRECTIONS, 4
LEGATO NOTES: Reviving the Lost Art of the Soiree, 5

LIVE EVENTS
(JANUARY-MAY '03)

Veddy British Music (Kraft) <> Going Into 'Understated Drive' (Kroll), 6
The Music in the Metrics (BLC) <> From Rags to Riches (BLC), 7
Coming Together in New York (Pierson), 8
A Wide Ranging Melange (Cleary) <> "Circles" in the Square (von Bingo), 9
In Search of 'Miraculous' Rock Idols? (Kroll), 10
Das ist Schene (Cleary) <> From Motown to Our Town (BLC), 11
Dropping in on the Global Village (Cleary) <> Time to Remember (Dzik), 12
… and Don't Forget the Publisher (BLC), 13
A Bond Between Composer and Performer (BLC), 14
A Visit to St. Peter's (BLC) <> Observing Movers and Shakers (BLC), 15

DOTTED NOTES from … Kraft, Kroll, Greenfest, Hickey, BLC, 16

SPEAKING OUT! Thoughts on the Pulitzer Prize, 17

AN INTERVIEW WITH … David Holzman, 19

THE PRINTED WORD Berger's Reflections (Kraft), 20

THE SCOREBOARD Sperry's Encores (Drogin), 21

RECORDINGS

Mini but Not Mousy (Cleary) <> Bell's Echoes of Bela (Cleary) <> Just a Few Will Do (Cleary), 22
Many Voices - One Developing Vision (BLC), 23

RECENT RELEASES, 24

THE PUZZLE CORNER, 25

COMPOSER INDEX, 27

BULLETIN BOARD, 27

WEB SUPPLEMENT

A John Adams biography and an interview

LIVE EVENTS

Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Alea III.: The Contemporary Piano
Memorial Concert for Edward Cohen
Variety for Its Own Sake?
More Masters from China
Steele by Finegold, et al Show Their Mettle
A Rave for "Vera"

CD REVIEWS

Angel Shadows: Laurel Ann Maurer
Gloria Cheng: Piano Dance
Viola Aotearoa: Timothy Deighton
Dream Journal
David Felder/Morton Feldman
Eric Moe: Sonnets to Orpheus & Siren Songs
Eclipse: The Music of Bernard Rands
James Sellars: 6 Sonatas + 1 Sonatina
E. Smaldone: Scenes from the Heartland
Robert Starer: String Quartets Nos. 1-3

Review of CD

GLORIA CHENG: PIANO DANCE, A 20th CENTURY PORTRAIT

Joan Huang, "Red Ribbon Dance" from Reflections after a Rainbow; William Albright, "Sleepwalker's Shuffle" from Dream Rags; Claude Debussy, "Golliwog's Cakewalk" from Children's Corner; Samuel Adler, "Like a Tarantelle" from The Road to Terpsichore; Paul Hindemith, "Shimmy" from Suite 1922; Bohuslav Martinu, Polka in E Major; Gyorgy Ligeti, Hungarian Rock for Harpsichord (Chaconne); Bela Bartok, Rumanian Dance, Opus 8a, No. 1; Igor Stravinsky, Tango; Samuel Barber, “Hesitation-Tango” from Souvenirs; Per Norgard, A Tortoise's Tango (Without Jealousy); Leo Ornstein, Waltz No. 7; Alexander Scriabin, Mazurka in D-flat Major, Opus 40, No. 1; Francis Poulenc, Valse-Improvisation sur le nom de BACH; Maurice Ravel, "Waltz IV" from Valses nobles et sentimentales; George Antheil, "Percussion Dance" from La Femme de 100 Tetes; Philip Glass, Modern Love Waltz; Henry Cowell, Lilt of the Reel; Sergei Prokofiev, "Rigaudon" from Ten Episodes for Piano, Opus 12; Federico Mompou, Cancion y Danza, No. 6; Alberto Ginastera, Danzas Criollas, No. 1; Donald R. Davis, Illicit Felicity; Miguel del Aguila, Conga

Gloria Cheng, piano

TELARC CD-80549

This often charming release can be seen as a broad ranging compendium of 20th century dance-derived piano encores. Twenty-three short entries, some being individual movements from larger pieces, appear.  Composers included run the gamut from prewar standard names (Bartok, Debussy, Stravinsky) to lesser-knowns of the same period (Antheil, Cowell, Mompou) to postwar notables (Samuel Adler, Alberto Ginastera, Per Norgard) to youngish unknowns.  Including at least one entry from the serialist wing of the past hundred years, such as a movement from the relatively approachable Suite Opus 25 of Schoenberg, would have been appreciated, though.

While the post-1950 selections tend to be rather weak on this disc, a few worthy exceptions should be noted, specifically William Albright’s stylish, personable "Sleepwalker’s Shuffle" from Dream Rags (1970), Leo Ornstein's heartfelt, sophisticated Waltz No. 7 (1966), Philip Glass' warm, becoming Modern Love Waltz (1977), and Gyorgy Ligeti's obsessive, energetic Hungarian Rock for Harpsichord (Chaconne) (1978) arranged by the soloist for piano and synthesized piano.

Gloria Cheng's playing here is excellent, featuring sensitive melodic shaping, able technique, and a bright sound that nicely balances energy and taste.  Production and sound are top-flight.

--David Cleary