Tansman; N. Boulanger; Gershwin - Works for Piano & Orchestra (David Greilsammer)

Information

Composer: Alexandre Tansman; Nadia Boulanger; George Gershwin

• Tansman - Piano Concerto No. 2
• N. Boulanger - Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra
• Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue

David Greilsammer, piano

Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France

Steven Sloane, conductor

Date: 2010

Label: Naive

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Review

A good example of a release that gets points for its adventuresome attitude, this album brings an innovative program anchored by a work that was once internationally successful. Alexandre Tansman, born in what is now Poland and of Jewish background (he always identified himself as Polish), was a composer and an impressive virtuoso on the piano. He was drawn to Paris by the city's avant-garde musical atmosphere, and in 1927 he took his Piano Concerto No. 2 on the road to Boston. It's not generally known that George Gershwin, in attendance, threw his arms around Tansman and said, "Marvelous! Wonderful! Splendid! You are a genius!" Tansman became one of Gershwin's hosts during his Paris trip the following year. Another popular figure whose path crossed Tansman's was the concerto's dedicatee, Charlie Chaplin, who later helped get the composer out of France a step ahead of Hitler's dogs. Despite these all-star recommendations, one can understand why the work didn't hold up; it hit all the bases for the mid-'20s, and it was a keyboard-spanning and crowd-pleasing piece, but its different parts don't always feel as though they have much to do with one another. The best news here is the performance of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by Israeli-born pianist David Greilsammer, American conductor Steven Sloane, and the thoroughly Gallic Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. You might have thought the challenging Tansman score and the overall novelty of the program would have provided the musicians with ambition enough, but on top of this they offer an entirely fresh Rhapsody in Blue, with a rhythmically very free approach from Greilsammer contrasting with the played-straight orchestral parts. The Rhapsody in Blue has never felt more like jazz than it does here, and the major melody in the middle of the work, generally played for sheer emotional payoff, is approached and developed with unique subtlety. The Gershwin is worth the purchase price all by itself. Not so the Fantaisie for piano and orchestra of Nadia Boulanger, a rather academic work in the Franck style, but like everything else here it fits into the mood, and the entire project has an X factor of sheer freshness. Booklet notes, which include an interview with Greilsammer, are in French and English, and the live sound from the Salle Pleyel in Paris is excellent.

— James Manheim

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Alexander Tansman (12 June 1897 – 15 November 1986) was a Polish-born French composer. Born in Łódź to Jewish parents, he studied piano, composition and conducting before earning a law degree from Warsaw University. After moving to Paris in 1919, he gained recognition as a pianist and composer, influenced particularly by Stravinsky and Ravel. His international career included performances and tours across Europe, Asia and America. During World War II, he fled to Los Angeles with his family. Although he continued composing prolifically after returning to Paris, his neo-Classical style gradually fell out of favor.

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Nadia Boulanger (16 September 1887 – 22 October 1979) was a French conductor, organist and influential teacher. Trained at the Paris Conservatory under Fauré and Widor, she won 2nd place in the 1908 Prix de Rome before largely abandoning composition following her sister Lili's death. Boulanger became closely associated with the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau and was a pioneering female conductor, leading orchestras in Europe and the United States. She also promoted early music and taught extensively during World War II. Her distinguished pupils included Aaron Copland, Elliott Carter and Walter Piston.

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George Gershwin (26 September 1898 – 11 July 1937) was a pivotal American composer who combined classical training with popular styles such as ragtime and jazz. Collaborating closely with his brother Ira, Gershwin produced enduring Broadway works and songs, including Lady, Be Good and I Got Rhythm. His concert pieces, Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris and Porgy and Bess, blended jazz idioms with classical forms and gained international acclaim. Though his classical status remains debated, Gershwin is widely regarded as a significant musical innovator whose influence crossed genres and continents.

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David Greilsammer (born 10 August 1977) is an Israeli pianist and conductor. He studied at the Juilliard School with Yoheved Kaplinsky and later with pianist Richard Goode. Greilsammer has performed and conducted with major orchestras and opera companies worldwide. Since 2013, he has served as Music and Artistic Director of the Geneva Camerata, presenting innovative performances internationally. In 2022, he became Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Medellín Philharmonic. Celebrated particularly for his Mozart interpretations, he has performed complete cycles of Mozart's piano sonatas and concertos.

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