FORTHCOMING GENIALITY

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

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Forthcoming Geniality

In his own insightful notes to the impressively varied Piano Music of Jack Gallagher (Centaur CRC 3522) (www.centaurrecords.com ) the composer returns more than once to the word “affability” to describe several of the seven compositions that felicitously occupy the album’s 22 tracks. But, beyond the forthcoming geniality and melodic variety that Gallagher’s music possesses, his compositions reveal an artistry and technical knowledge of the tools of the composer’s trade far beyond those of a mere tunesmith.

In spite of writing in an unabashedly Romantic vein, Gallagher composes music that never lapses into predictability. And, without any academic posturing, this gifted artist fully commands the severe structural challenges of the various forms he adopts.

In Sonata for Piano (1973/2005) the composer makes his work both demanding and rewarding in all three movements, especially in the fiercely challenging closing Allegro.

In Evening Music he adopts a nocturnal tone where moody melody predominates above all else.

In Sonatina for Piano, Gallagher uses the Classical sonata form, as he does in the opening tracks, but this time scaled down in scope and duration, though not in its enticing technical hurdles, as in the final Vivo.

Again and again, the works are dedicated to friends both living and departed, to family, to births, to birthdays, imbuing the compositions with intense sentiment that nevertheless retains elegance throughout, never lapsing into banality or sentimentality.

Six Bagatelles is charming, mercurial in its moods, unpretentious and inventive in its adaptation of Baroque forms.

Pastorale is a brief and bucolic homage to Maurice Ravel, filled with unpredictable harmonies.

Six Pieces for Kelly is designed for young performers, albeit for youngsters with significant pianistic skills, as it cleverly mines for rhythms from everywhere from Scotland to the Balkans.

Malambo takes the Argentine country dance form that juxtaposes diverse driving rhythms, giving the pianist a workout and the recording a possible big finish. However, the composer prefers to end the CD with the quietly gentle, Happy Birthday, April.

Frank Huang is the protean pianist in the recording. His playing is remarkable throughout, rock solid in the daunting Allegro of the Sonata for Piano with its crisscrossing octaves, most impressive in the no-holds-barred approach to the daunting Malambo, and gentle of touch in the many lyrical passages in Nocturne and Pastorale.

The CD is well-packaged, replete with program notes and impeccably engineered by Joshua Sauvageau. More about the artists may be read in www.crossovermedia.net , in www.jackgallaghermusic.com  and in www.frankhuangpiano.com

Rafael de Acha

 

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”