Album Notes

SERIOUS BROADWAY

Pianists have always had a love affair with the theater. From the days of Mozart and Beethoven, through the time of Chopin and Liszt, and into the twentieth century, hundreds of variations, fantasies, and transcriptions on operatic themes were written. Unfortunately, fewer new operas have captured the public's imagination. Also, a sort of musical puritanism evolved during the last century, which dictated that only "original" music for the piano was of any merit. As a result, few of these pieces--which were previously considered piano classics--were performed, and even fewer new ones created.

Today, when most people think of the theater, they think of Broadway and the movies. The advent of a more operatic type of musical theater prompted me to consider that fantasies and transcriptions could be written upon these themes. I looked back at decades of great musicals and saw a treasure trove of thematic material for new piano music which, being derived from the stage, would be inherently dramatic.

The music on this recording, which uses Broadway and film themes from the 1920s to the 1990s, is the result. The musical themes used here may be well known to you, but if that's not the case, don't worry--there are no prerequisites to your enjoyment. You only need to bring your love for the theatrical in music.

--Andrew Gentile