Carter Pann is just 28 years old, but already he has won several prestigious awards and generally grabbed the attention of the music world with his amiable compositions. His music is quite eclectic and he is prone to shamelessly quote from the works of others to make a point. The last movement of the Piano Concerto is titled “Concert”, and it contains a bit of the third movement of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony to enhance the idea of a melee and a grand, grand ending. The Dance Partita makes a direct quote from Ravel’s La Valse and even throws in Beethoven’s “Emperor” concerto while making allusions to different dance styles, including Copland’s Americana works. The Deux séjours sound like newly discovered Gymnopédies by Satie and are the most beautiful music on the CD, their melodies hovering like morning mist or evening shadow over gently swaying accompaniments.
All of Pann’s works are good-natured and his musical jokes do work in a larger context rather then merely calling attention to themselves. The composer’s piano teacher at Eastman, Barry Snyder, plays the concerto with exuberance, poetry, and authority, and the orchestra plays with flair and accuracy for composer/conductor José Serebrier. The recorded sound is excellent, and, in sum, this is a recording of contemporary music that can be enjoyed by any listener.
