Search - Ruth Crawford Seeger, Jenny Lin, Timothy Jones :: The World of Ruth Crawford Seeger

Ruth Crawford Seeger had a brief life (1901-1953) and an even briefer career as a composer. After her String Quartet of 1931, she gave up composing to concentrate on folk music studies. She wrote only brief pieces for piano, and they make a difficult listening program. As soon as you become adjusted to the comfortable idiom of her early little pieces, you are plunged into music in a more advanced style. These too are little pieces, including a bold Sonata that lasts less than six minutes and a fascinating series of 11 Preludes. This disc is a fine presentation. Jenny Lin never shies away from dissonance or aggressiveness, while playing in a musicianly manner with particularly beautiful tonal qualities. Narrator Timothy Jones is clear and dignified in the text of the delightful "The Adventures of Tom Thumb," but the recording is seriously defective, underbalancing the voice so that you need to read the booklet to understand what he is saying. Overall, this is a fascinating byway in the history of American music, highly recommended to the adventurous listener. --Leslie Gerber