Liner Notes
Cat. No. NWCR717
Release Date: 1996-01-01
Columbia Symphony Orchestra; Zoltan Rozsnyai, Conductor; Bethany Beardslee, soprano; American Composers Orchestra; Gunther Schuller, Conductor; David Del Tredici, piano; William Masselos, piano; Robert Helps, piano
Although it has been said that the once well-known figure of the composer/performer has largely disappeared, Robert Helps is a prominent exception. A major pianist of traditional and new music, he has also achieved an important body of creative work that is notable for its intensity as well as its mastery of form. Helps' music belongs to a category that might be called American expressionism. It traces back to Carl Ruggles and Varese, the influence of Arnold Schoenberg and the personality of Roger Sessions who was Helps' principal teacher.
Robert Helps was born in Passaic, New Jersey, on September 23, 1928. He studied piano at the Juilliard School of Music and with Abby Whiteside, and composition and theory with Sessions at the University of California, Berkeley, and privately. He has been professor of piano or artist in residence at the New England Conservatory, San Francisco Conservatory, Princeton, Stanford, University of California at Berkeley and at Davis, Manhattan School of Music and the University of South Florida, Tampa. He has a long list of awards and commissions from the Guggenheim, Naumburg, Ford and Fromm Foundations, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has toured extensively as a solo and chamber music performer, specializing in new music, and he appears as a pianist and/or composer on RCA, Columbia (Sony), Deutsche Grammophone, New World, Desto, Son Nova, Argo and, of course, CRI.
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. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Although it has been said that the once well-known figure of the composer/performer has largely disappeared, Robert Helps is a prominent exception. A major pianist of traditional and new music, he has also achieved an important body of creative work that is notable for its intensity as well as its mastery of form. Helps' music belongs to a category that might be called American expressionism. It traces back to Carl Ruggles and Varese, the influence of Arnold Schoenberg and the personality of Roger Sessions who was Helps' principal teacher.
Robert Helps was born in Passaic, New Jersey, on September 23, 1928. He studied piano at the Juilliard School of Music and with Abby Whiteside, and composition and theory with Sessions at the University of California, Berkeley, and privately. He has been professor of piano or artist in residence at the New England Conservatory, San Francisco Conservatory, Princeton, Stanford, University of California at Berkeley and at Davis, Manhattan School of Music and the University of South Florida, Tampa. He has a long list of awards and commissions from the Guggenheim, Naumburg, Ford and Fromm Foundations, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has toured extensively as a solo and chamber music performer, specializing in new music, and he appears as a pianist and/or composer on RCA, Columbia (Sony), Deutsche Grammophone, New World, Desto, Son Nova, Argo and, of course, CRI.
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. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Music of Robert Helps
| MP3/320 | $17.00 | |
| FLAC | $17.00 | |
| WAV | $17.00 | |
| CD-R | $17.00 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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Symphony No. 1: I. Energico e marcato
Robert Helps
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Symphony No. 1: II. Adagio
Robert Helps
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Buy
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Symphony No. 1: III. Allegro con moto
Robert Helps
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Buy
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Gossamer Noons: I. March
Robert Helps
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Buy
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Gossamer Noons: II. Moderato: a bit clumsy
Robert Helps
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Buy
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Gossamer Noons: III. Fast
Robert Helps
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Buy
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Gossamer Noons: IV. Slow but flowing
Robert Helps
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Buy
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Three Etudes: Etude One
Robert Helps
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Buy
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Three Etudes: Etude Two
Robert Helps
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Buy
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Three Etudes: Etude Three
Robert Helps
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Buy
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Recollections
Robert Helps
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Buy
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Three Hommages: I. Hommage à Fauré
Robert Helps
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Buy
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Three Hommages: II. Hommage à Rachmaninoff
Robert Helps
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Buy
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Three Hommages: III. Hommage à Ravel
Robert Helps
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Buy
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