Critics’ choice

‘Port of Call: New England’ Ives Piano Sonata No 2, ‘Concord, Mass, 1840-1860’, Op 19 MacDowell New England Idyls, Op 62 Louise Bessette pf ATMA Classique ACD2 2902 One couldn’t imagine two Americans so different as the shaggy, forward-looking Charles Ives and the neat, conservative Edward MacDowell. Yet by juxtaposing the former’s monumental Concord Sonata and the latter’s New England Idyls, pianist Louise Bessette sheds light on these composers’ shared penchant for evoking natural landscapes in sound. The MacDowell cycle holds particular interest, if only because it receives less attention in concert and on record. Bessette evidently views these pieces as more than mere lightweight charmers; her full-bodied sonority and expansive projection elevate these miniatures from the salon to the stage. There’s an almost Brahmsian cast to the richness Bessette elicits…

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International Piano (Digital) - 1 Issue, Spring 2025

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