Jerry Grossman, cello William Hicks, piano
Specially priced (2 CDs for the price of 1!)
In an attempt to understand the foundations of the modern American musical theater, we believe that it is best to start with an understanding of the man who has often been called the Father of the American Musical Theater. His name was Victor Herbert (1859–1924). Although he wrote two operas, forty-six works for the commercial theater, two cello concerti, one tone poem and many other serious works, he is little known to today’s artists, composers, and the public in general. We hope to change that.
We have no intention of recording everything he wrote, but we would like to provide major examples of the breadth of his work and its beauty. We would like to demonstrate how the next generation of composers built on Herbert’s theatrical groundwork. For this reason, we are beginning a new series of recordings highlighting American musical theater composers whose work pre-dates the 1943 production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! We call this series of releases “The Foundations of the American Musical Theater.”
For our first release in this new series, we have chosen a selection of Herbert’s compositions for the piano and cello, most of which is recorded here for the first time. In the decades surrounding the turn of the twentieth century, Herbert was one of several American composers who achieved success not only in larger symphonic forms, but also in shorter pieces for amateur music-making at home.
These so-called “parlor” genres are the focus of this set, and are works which reflect the genteel sensibilities of those who purchased this music and performed it with their family and friends. These pieces represent popular genres of the time: waltzes, ragtime, and shorter “character pieces” which are brief evocations of a particular scene or sentiment. Many earlier European composers had cultivated works in the forms Herbert used yet his overall style—its earnestness, its directness of approach, its preference for lyricism over pathos—marks it as reflective of an aesthetic common in American parlor music of the time.
Victor Herbert: Works for Cello and Piano/Solo Piano Works
| MP3/320 | $9.99 | |
| WAV | $9.99 | |
| 2xCD | $15.99 |
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Légende
Victor Herbert
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Pensée Amoureuse
Victor Herbert
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Berceuse
Victor Herbert
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Petite Valse
Victor Herbert
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Liebes-Scene
Victor Herbert
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Canzonetta
Victor Herbert
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Unpublished #2
Victor Herbert
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The Little Red Lark
Victor Herbert
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Romance
Victor Herbert
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Buy
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Unpublished #1
Victor Herbert
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Under the Elms
Victor Herbert
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Indian Summer
Victor Herbert
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Buy
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Scherzo
Victor Herbert
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Estellita (Valse Pathetique)
Victor Herbert
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Buy
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Devotion (a Love Sonnet)
Victor Herbert
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Buy
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Six Piano Pieces: I. Yesterthoughts
Victor Herbert
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Six Piano Pieces: II. Punchinello
Victor Herbert
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Six Piano Pieces: III. Ghazel
Victor Herbert
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Six Piano Pieces: IV. La Coquette
Victor Herbert
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Six Piano Pieces: V. On the Promenade
Victor Herbert
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Six Piano Pieces: VI. The Mountain Brook
Victor Herbert
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The American Rose
Victor Herbert
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Fleurette
Victor Herbert
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Al Fresco (Intermezzo)
Victor Herbert
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Ocean Breezes
Victor Herbert
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Pan-Amercan (Morceau Characteristique)
Victor Herbert
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