Gershwin Music for Violin & Piano— Opus Two; Ashley Brown, soprano (Azica 71290)
Opus Two—violinist William Terwilliger and pianist Andrew Cooperstock—recorded this CD in Mixon Hall in 2013, and it was released last year. We’ve been waiting to feature it as an All-American July Choice CD. Jascha Heifetz’s arrangements of the Three Preludes and Porgy and Bess are old friends and they are wonderfully played here. New are arrangements by Eric Stern of a suite from the 1930 show Girl Crazy, and two songs, Love Walked In and Nice Work If You Can Get It, featuring Ashley Brown (of Broadway’s Mary Poppins). A real curiosity is a five-minute version of An American in Paris, in which Heifetz surely had a hand but which is credited to Ayke Agus, a name that sends one scurrying to Wikipedia (she studied with Heifetz, was his last accompanist and wrote a 2001 book, Heifetz As I Knew Him). All in all, another winner for Cleveland-based Azica Records!
Featured Mon 7/6, Wed 7/15, Fri 7/24