Tenement Rhapsody

"It's a perfect example of a voice that marries a lifetime of inhaling the world's piano literature, with jazz idioms and propulsive rhythm. Like the first movement, a whirlwind of Prokofieff-spiked colors peppered with chunky blue notes ... or the lyrical second movement, soaked in open mid-century American-harmonies-almost like a rippling reflection of Barber's Nocturne... or the energetic closing movement's homage to Mr. Gershwin." (Jonathan Newman)

Harberg’s TENEMENT RHAPSODY brings both the percussive and the expressive potential of two pianos to life in a work depicting her experience living in New York City. Subway is a jagged, jazzy dance full of virtuosic and contrapuntal interplay. At Home offers the emotional center with melodic and lush materials. At Play features a humorous energy inspired by life behind the composer’s apartment door as her 14-month-old explored his universe with eager eyes and the swagger of a drunken sailor. A recording of TENEMENT RHAPSODY can be found at https://youtu.be/EOTlYTKeZi8 .

 

"It's a perfect example of a voice that marries a lifetime of inhaling the world's piano literature, with jazz idioms and propulsive rhythm. Like the first movement, a whirlwind of Prokofieff-spiked colors peppered with chunky blue notes ... or the lyrical second movement, soaked in open mid-century American-harmonies-almost like a rippling reflection of Barber's Nocturne... or the energetic closing movement's homage to Mr. Gershwin." (Jonathan Newman)

"It's a perfect example of a voice that marries a lifetime of inhaling the world's piano literature, with jazz idioms and propulsive rhythm. Like the first movement, a whirlwind of Prokofieff-spiked colors peppered with chunky blue notes ... or the lyrical second movement, soaked in open mid-century American-harmonies-almost like a rippling reflection of Barber's Nocturne... or the energetic closing movement's homage to Mr. Gershwin." (Jonathan Newman)