In Blue—Andrew Armstrong (Rubicon 1112)
Andrew Armstrong’s debut album for Rubicon is a fascinating recital of American piano music. The great George Gershwin is represented by his Three Preludes, I Got Rhythm, and the sparkling Rhapsody in Blue, a work which turns 100 on Monday February 12. Two African American composers, Julia Perry and William Grant Still, are featured. Still’s suite Three Visions (including the popular Summerland), and Julia Perry’s earliest surviving work, a two-minute long Prelude. Aaron Jay Kernis’ s Before Sleep and Dreams is a 5-movement work from 1990, and depicts in music the process of putting a small child to bed, harkening back to music like Schumann's Scenes from Childhood or Debussy's Children's Corner. Finally, Andrew Armstrong’s own composition, She Fell for a Flyfisher is a beguiling, sparkling miniature.
Aaron Jay Kernis: Before Sleep and Dreams
Julia Perry: Prelude
William Grant Still: 3 Visions
George Gershwin: 3 Preludes, I Got Rhythm, Rhapsody in Blue (arr. George Gershwin)
Andrew Armstrong: She Fell for a Flyfisher