Seascapes
Seascapes
Artist: Janice Weber
Composers: Arthur Farwell, Sergei Bortkiewicz, Emil von Sauer, Theodor Leschetizky, Eugène Guillaume, Alec Rowley, Alec Templeton, Bedrich Smetana, Ernest Bloch, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Leo Sowerby, Cyril Scott, Felix Blumenfeld, Marcelo de Manziarly
Format: 1 CD
DSL-92188
The sea has always been a powerful inspiration for composers and musicians, as the piano’s seven-plus octaves provide an ideal vessel for oceanic music. Seascapes is a collection of some of the finest and most interesting pieces in piano literature influenced by or written for the ocean. Each piece in this collection evokes a different sense of the sea’s limitless moods and splendor. The diversity of colors and styles are evident even in just the titles: Bedřich Smetana’s Am Seegestade (On the Seashore), Sergei Bortkiewicz’s Caprices de la mer, Eugène Guillaume’s At the Sea, Suite for Piano (Shining Morning, The Rocky Beach, Rough Sea), Alec Rowley’s Moonlight at Sea, Emil von Sauer's Flammes de Mer (Meeresleuchten), Felix Blumenfeld’s Sur Mer, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Alghe (from Sea Pieces), Ernest Bloch’s The Sea Pieces: Waves, Chanty, At Sea, Marcelo de Manziarly’s Impressions de mer La grève (The Beach), Par une journée grise (On a Gray Day), Par une journée claire (On a Clear Day), Arthur Farwell’s Marine, Leo Sowerby’s The Shining Big Sea-Water, Cyril Scott’s Sea-Marge: Meditation for Piano, Theodor Leschetizky’s Jeu des Ondes (Play of Waves), and Alec Templeton’s Skye Variations. From peaceful meditations, dramatic reflections of violent waves, to a depiction of marine luminescence, the pieces in Seascapes and Janice Weber’s unique playing truly encompass the vast possibilities for creation that the majestic sea can inspire.
Janice Weber's New York recital debut, performed under the pseudonym Lily von Ballmoos, was an early indication of the eclecticism and fluency for which she has become known. Janice has performed at the White House, Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, National Gallery of Art, and Boston's Symphony Hall. She has appeared with the Boston Pops, Chautauqua Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Hilton Head Orchestra, Sarajevo Philharmonic, and Syracuse Symphony in concertos of Hanson, Sowerby, Stenhammar, Bernstein, and Leroy Anderson as well as the standard repertoire. She has performed at the Bard, Newport, La Gesse, Husum, and Monadnock summer festivals and has twice toured China under the auspices of the American Liszt Society. Her interest in the uncommon avenues of the piano literature led to a world premiere recording of Liszt's 1838 Transcendental Etudes. Time Magazine noted that “… few can liberate the prophetic music they contain as masterfully as Janice Weber does here." Other recordings include: A recording of Leo Ornstein's radical works for the Naxos Label. She is heard in Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time on Ongaku Records and her album, Cascade of Roses for Sono Luminus. She is a member of the piano faculty at Boston Conservatory and MIT.
Track List
Bedrich Smetana
1. Am Seegestade 4:58
Sergei Bortkiewicz
2. Caprices de la mer 3:11
Eugène Guillaume
At the Sea
3. Shining Morning 2:36
4. The Rocky Beach 2:29
5. Rough Sea 3:44
Alec Rowley
6. Moonlight at Sea 3:19
Emil von Sauer
7. Flammes de Mer 3:19
Felix Blumenfeld
8. Sur mer 4:37
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
9. Alghe 3:37
Ernest Bloch
Poems of the Sea
10. Waves 4:15
11. Chanty 2:44
12. At Sea 4:11
Marcelo de Manziarly
Impressions de mer
13. La grève 3:21
14. La journée grise 2:34
15. La journée claire 3:17
Arthur Farwell
16. Marine 4:03
Leo Sowerby
17. The Shining Big Sea-Water 5:23
Cyril Scott
18. Sea-Marge 3:20
Theodor Leschetizky
19. Jeu des Ondes 1:51
Alec Templeton
20. Skye Variations 9:06
Total time: 75:55
Release date: April 28, 2015
UPC: 053479218827
Quotes & Reviews
Janice Weber has not gone for the cliche, but unearthed some seldom heard works that are worthy of an extended listen.
Mel Martin, Audiophile Audition
Artistic Quality/Sound Quality: 10/10
…brilliant and underrated pianist…
…sane musicianship and unambiguously transcendental technique…
Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com
“Pianist Janice Weber came to the National Gallery armed with an awesome dexterity, unshakeable concentration, and a delightful way with a rubato.”
“Her performances were exemplary, presenting the broad outlines of the music in bold relief, filling in the details with care and devotion, playing with an enthusiasm for the music that could not be faulted.”
“Maximum virtuosity with minimum gesture is a particular Weber talent...no bravura gestures divert attention from the music Weber creates. She is a musician’s musician - and a listener’s musician.”
