Of the many performances I attended but neglected to mention in this column, I really regret not writing up the November 30 CD release party for Ken Benshoof's 24 Preludes (Albany). Pianist Lisa Bergman fearlessly blazed through selections from Patti's Parlour Pieces and 24 Preludes—short, jazzy works that embed the vivacious élan of Gershwin within finely chiseled lapidary structures reminiscent of the 20th century's greatest miniaturist, Anton Webern. An enterprising conductor should commission Benshoof to transcribe a set of these adroit piano pieces for orchestra.
Indeed, I also regret that local orchestras don't team up or at least pool their players to offer an annual "all comers" reading session for local composers. Composers weaned on fake, stiff-sounding MIDI realizations would benefit from a real acoustic orchestral experience; listeners could see and hear the constituent parts of a symphony at work; and conductors may perchance discover an engaging voice that might otherwise go unheard. Many, but not all, good and great composers were hustlers; however, some need to be discovered, nurtured, and cultivated.
Finally, after crowing all year about several tremendous yet inexpensive Naxos discs in the "Robert Craft Collection," I neglected to tout another excellent low-priced budget line, Arte Nova Classics. In the 1990s, this German imprint packaged excellent recordings like Arnold Schoenberg: Choral Works with second-rate cover art and such inane tray-card captions as "The complete choral works of the (still?) embarrassing composer on one CD..."
Fortunately, the Arte Nova series has been refurbished by another label, Allegro Music, who ditched the lame covers and decided to include literate liner notes. I recommend the three volumes of intrepid yet lyrical orchestral works by French composer Henri Dutilleux and the forthcoming reissue Elliott Carter: Orchestral Works with the amazing pianist Ursula Oppens. CHRISTOPHER DeLAURENTI
