June 29–July 6, 2000

disc quicks|classical/new music

Amy Beach, Piano Concerto Piano Quintet.

Joanne Polk, piano; English Chamber Orchestra, Paul Goodwin, conductor; Lark Quartet.

(Arabesque Recordings)

Mrs. H. H. A. Beach — as she was known in her day, the turn of the 19th century — is undergoing a deserved revival. Joanne Polk’s ongoing survey of the piano music of Beach should cement a reputation as a composer of taut and lyrical music, especially in smaller formats. On this release, it is the darkly lyrical Piano Quintet that throws off the most sparks. The Concerto, premiered with the composer at the keyboard in 1900, finds Beach somewhat adrift, with wistful and artful material that does not fill out the big concerto framework. The Concerto is a long work (almost 40 minutes here), and is filled with compelling, originally conceived motifs with a Brahmsian late-romantic flavoring. It does ramble on, though, and Polk’s tempi may be too leisurely in general. The relaxed approach of Polk and the superb Lark Quartet find a better foil in the more concisely conceived Quintet, but all of this luscious music deserves a wider audience.

—Peter Burwasser