Liner Notes
Cat. No. NWCRL339
Release Date: 2010-11-15
Daniel Stepner, violin; Michael Strauss, violin; Peter John Sacco, viola; Thomas Mansbacher, cello; William Westney, piano
The use of tone clusters, secundal harmonies, metrical irregularities and other unusual effects in the Three Moods was extraordinary at such an early time and from a man of Leo Ornstein's conventional background and education. Ornstein said in a recent interview: “I still wonder at the age of eighty what the dickens, suddenly, why should I have thought of that? Why that thing came into my head, I'll be blessed if I know! And as a matter of fact, I really doubted my sanity at first, because it was so completely removed from any experience I had with music.”
The Quintette, composed in 1927, is one of Ornstein's major works. It was sponsored by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge and is dedicated to her. The work shows Ornstein in a less abstract, more romantic style than he had displayed in his earlier, experimental pieces. It is charged with vitality, spontaneity, and passion while retaining not only an inner logic, but extraordinarily complicated harmonic and rhythmic structures. There are long, sweeping melodies, tunes reminiscent of Russian and Cossack songs, and driving rhythmic patterns. All of these are transformed throughout the three movements of the work. There is no key center, but the piece might be described as multi-tonal rather than atonal; the harmonic structure is complex and the textures are thick. There is a quality of integrity here, as there is in each of Ornstein's works, which derives from his determination to express his own life and feelings with utmost honesty.
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Full liner notes are accessible via the link above.
The use of tone clusters, secundal harmonies, metrical irregularities and other unusual effects in the Three Moods was extraordinary at such an early time and from a man of Leo Ornstein's conventional background and education. Ornstein said in a recent interview: “I still wonder at the age of eighty what the dickens, suddenly, why should I have thought of that? Why that thing came into my head, I'll be blessed if I know! And as a matter of fact, I really doubted my sanity at first, because it was so completely removed from any experience I had with music.”
The Quintette, composed in 1927, is one of Ornstein's major works. It was sponsored by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge and is dedicated to her. The work shows Ornstein in a less abstract, more romantic style than he had displayed in his earlier, experimental pieces. It is charged with vitality, spontaneity, and passion while retaining not only an inner logic, but extraordinarily complicated harmonic and rhythmic structures. There are long, sweeping melodies, tunes reminiscent of Russian and Cossack songs, and driving rhythmic patterns. All of these are transformed throughout the three movements of the work. There is no key center, but the piece might be described as multi-tonal rather than atonal; the harmonic structure is complex and the textures are thick. There is a quality of integrity here, as there is in each of Ornstein's works, which derives from his determination to express his own life and feelings with utmost honesty.
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Full liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Music of Leo Ornstein
| MP3/320 | $7.99 | |
| FLAC | $7.99 | |
| WAV | $7.99 | |
| CD-R | $7.99 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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Three Moods: I. Anger
Leo Ornstein
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Three Moods: II. Grief
Leo Ornstein
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Three Moods: III. Joy
Leo Ornstein
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Quintette for Piano and Strings, Op. 92: I. Allegro barbaro
Leo Ornstein
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Quintette for Piano and Strings, Op. 92: II. Andante lamentoso
Leo Ornstein
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Quintette for Piano and Strings, Op. 92: III. Allegro agitato
Leo Ornstein
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