Joanne Polk - Social Flutterby (2021)

David Shenton's music has been described by critics as being immediately accessible, while maintaining immense depth, beautiful melodic writing, and incredible sophistication. There is something for every musical taste in these selections, brilliantly performed by pianist Joanne Polk. “Awesome on all fronts, Joanne Polk will engage and bedazzle like a mathematical puzzle in need of someone who can make a logical puzzle out of the notes with utmost care and consideration” (ConcertoNet.com). Joanne Polk is a member of the piano faculty of Manhattan School of Music, and is an exclusive Steinway artist.

About the music on this album David Shenton writes: "Many composers created so many wonderful forms of original piano compositions, yet I had never heard of nor played an “oddity,” so I wanted to create something new to add to the piano repertoire. The Six Musical Oddities, Op. 81 have a jazzy element to them. I wanted to convey a whimsical sentiment, to create piano music that is technically challenging and hopefully worth the effort.

I am a huge fan of Chopin and I’ve performed his first and fourth Ballades many times in public. The musical structure of these groundbreaking masterpieces is engrained in my subconscious so much so that this Ballade, Op. 80 follows a similar form.

The Sonata for Piano, Op. 77 is in traditional Romantic period sonata form, consisting of four separate movements: Allegro, Scherzo, Romanza, and Rondo. It is reminiscent in structure, of the great sonatas by Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, and others from this period.

When composing Variations on Santa Claus is Coming to Town (after Chopin's Etudes), I wanted to incorporate the basic elements of the 24 studies, maintaining the integrity of the patterns, the technical intentions, and as many of the original harmonies as possible while trying to weave in the melody of this great Christmas standard. The Studies by Chopin are generally less melody​-driven than his other group compositions, such as the Preludes or Nocturnes, so in many ways, they are more adaptable to transcriptions, since one can play the studies with different harmonies​, yet they will remain recognizable as the Chopin Etudes. The true challenge of playing this piece, aside from the obvious technical difficulties, is the realization that a pianist will have to ‘unlearn’ the original studies."

TRACKLIST

1. Joanne Polk - No. 1, Monkey Business
2. Joanne Polk - No. 2, In Full Swing
3. Joanne Polk - No. 3, Punch Line
4. Joanne Polk - No. 4, Gentle Misstep
5. Joanne Polk - No. 5, Broken Chords
6. Joanne Polk - No. 6, Social Flutterby
7. Joanne Polk - Ballade for Piano, Op. 80
8. Joanne Polk - I. Allegro
9. Joanne Polk - II. Scherzo
10. Joanne Polk - III. Romanza
11. Joanne Polk - IV. Rondo
12. Joanne Polk - Variations on "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" (After Chopin, Coots & Gille