Howard Hanson: Piano Sonata Poemes Erotiques
Best-known for his unashamedly romanticcycle of seven symphonies, Nebraska-born Howard Hanson (1896-1981) was a formidable pianist in his youth (he seriously considered a career as a concert virtuoso). All but two items here predate Hanson's three-year residency in Rome (where he studied under Respighi after winning the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1921). In the threePoèmes erotiquesof 1917-18 (a fourth was lost), the ambitious Sonata in A minor (1918), and the Three Miniatures (1918-19), extravagant virtuosity goes hand-in-hand with a heart-on-sleeve emotional fervor. Both the Three Etudes (1920) andTwo Yuletide Pieces(1919) are cleaner-cut; indeed, the latter diptych has all the potential for popular appeal. Other stand-out items include the winsome miniatureEnchantment(1935), as well as Hanson's effective 1970 piano transcription of his own 1962 orchestral suite,For the First Time. Thomas Labé is a passionate, occasionally strident advocate of this rare repertoire. An enterprising anthology with excellent booklet notes and a decent recording, to boot--well worth snapping up at Naxos's absurdly low price.--Andrew Achenbach