Search - David Holzman, Stefan Wolpe :: Stefan Wolpe: Compositions for Piano (1920-1952)

Wolpe forged his musical thought at the piano, and most works in his wide-ranging catalogue include the piano. He composed an extensive repertoire for one, two, and three pianos, numerous songs, and pieces for instrumental ensembles of all sizes in which the piano is included. Wolpe's music for piano provides a chronicle of twentieth-century repertoire. His unique creative vision combines the stylistically inclusive modernism of Ferruccio Busoni, the revolutionary ideas of the masters of the Bauhaus, and the deconstructive experiments of the Dadas. But Wolpe did not look down on popular music as did many modernists. He could improvise in many popular styles, and he actively integrated into his music elements of the vernacular idioms of his successive homelands - Germany (1902-1933), Palestine (1934-1938), and the United States (1938-1972). Hailed as a "master pianist" (Andrew Porter, The New Yorker), David Holzman has won acclaim both for his recitals and his recordings. Concentrating his virtuosic talents on the 20th Century?s keyboard masterworks, Holzman has premiered more than 150 works by various composers and has made first recordings of many of them. Mr. Holzman has performed at festivals throughout the world including Darmstadt, Leningrad Spring, the Vienna Schoenberg Festival and Wolpe Festivals in Toronto and Northwestern University.