What you really need (no irony) is a Neil Sedaka concerto
mainFrom the Lebrecht Album of the Week on scena.org:
What you really need to start 2016 – what you never imagined you’d ever need – is a piano concerto by Neil Sedaka.
Absolutely no irony here. Anyone who can write a novel or concerto start to finish without falling on his/her plot deserves all the credit going and a fair ride from reviewers. Sedaka, 75, made his name with a stream of teen hits in the late 1950s after attending Saturday classes at Juilliard. He hit the #1 jackpot with Oh, Carol, a tribute to his ex-girlfriend Carole King, and never looked back.
Except, perhaps, for a hankering to do some of the stuff he learned at Juilliard.
Read the full review here.
Can’t be any worse than one from Enaudi…
Heard it, or perhaps another Sedaka concerto, in Ottawa at National Arts Centre years ago. Derivative, inoffensive — not something I would pay for to play again.
Something for Lang Lang?
Thank you, Norman! Friends–don’t be fooled. This is not what you may have heard before or imagine to be a light pop piece. One thing is for certain, I am extremely careful about the choice of repertoire in concert and more so in recorded legacy. This is the real deal–the Real Neil. With Neil’s permission, I added ‘bells and whistles’ to fill out the piano part, and my arrangement of this is what is featured in this recording with Neil’s approval. It is a deeply personal musical reflection of New York City–past and present–which is apparent from the very opening haunting piano solo. For me, I can imagine the boats coming through the New York harbor in the beginning, bringing people from distant lands–for Neil, this would be his ancestors from Europe. This is a tribute to his musical heritage of all styles. This might be a big surprise for our friends: 1956–Neil Sedaka–http://www.wqxr.org/…
Thanks for that link! Extremely impressive. I hope a few of the commentators here have a listen….
Interestingly, in the 1960s Sedaka was supposed to participate in the Tchaikovsky Competition. But once the Russkies got a whiff of his pop music accomplishments, he was immediately disqualified.