Lavard Skou-Larsen - Werk Fur Streichorchester - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Sviatoslav Richter - In the 50's Vol. 1 [COMPACT DISCS] date 01/21/1997

With their sweet, polished harmonies, cat-eye makeup and beehive hairdos, The Ronettes added a tough, New York street flavor to the girl group model of the early 60s. Spector originally employed them as backup singers for other Philles artists, but when their first single InchBe My BabyInch became an international sensation in late 63, they quickly became Philles leading group.

Though he died in his mid-forties Benjamin Godard, a child prodigy who had entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of ten, wrote prolifically in almost all genres. Stylistically he adhered to models such as Schumann and Chopin rather than aligning himself with Wagner, as did many of his French contemporaries. His piano works are gracious and witty, sometimes spiced with unusual harmonies, and balance perfectly the differing demands of the salon and the concert hall. Spanning the breadth of Benjamin Godard's compositional life this selection of piano music includes the gracious and warm Nocturnes, which show some Chopin influence, and the Trois Fragments Poétiques, Op.13 with their long-spun lyrical melodies. His sparkling vivacity and more virtuosic side can be savored in the late Fantaisie en trois parties, Op. 143.