Search - Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Alan Marks :: Gottschalk: Piano Music for 2 Hands

Full of Charm and Panache

Walter Fekula | New York, NY USA | 04/06/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Why not I said to myself, I know little of Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1820-1869) and never heard of Alan Marks. No, Louis Moreau is not a German or Frenchman, he was a Creole, born in New Orleans. He picked up the slave culture and its tunes and rhythms along with American folk music which worked their way into his compositions. He came from a well-to-do background and was 12 years old when he arrived in Paris to study musical composition. He became an accomplished pianist and extensively toured Europe where he did very well financially. He was elegant, talented and a womanizer. This combination resulted in him eventually fleeing his homeland to Brazil where he died at the tender age of 40. Fortunately, he kept a diary and there are several good biographies on him.His music, while on the light side, is a pleasure to listen to and contains many familiar tunes which are brilliantly played by Alan Marks. The Nimbus recording is well done and brings out Marks' deft touch and clean playing. Much enjoyment is to derived from this full hour recording which was made in 1984."