Joanne Polk, noted pianist and champion of music by female composers, makes her debut on the Steinway label with an irresistible collection of Chaminade’s piano works.

Recorded by Grammy-winning producer Steven Epstein, this album celebrates an underrated composer whose music deserves a wide audience.
 

Coming of age in Paris in the second half of the19th century, Cécile Chaminade’s major models were Berlioz, Meyerbeer, Gounod, Bizet, and Franck—all renowned composers of serious Romantic music. When she reached her own compositional maturity in the 1880s, she made her first mark writing in genres associated with these recognized masters. Yet her true voice emerged later, writing smaller character pieces for piano. Her so-called “salon” pieces are the same kind of short works that Brahms and Chopin made popular — many are true virtuoso works, equal in technical difficulty to any of the concert etudes of Chopin or Liszt. Based on this small collection of Chaminade’s music, we can only wonder why she has had to wait so long to be admitted to the pantheon of great French Romantic composers.

“Polk's technique and interpretive abilities bring Chaminade's sonata to life in 17 pleasant minutes. It should be heard far more often.” 

American Record Guide

 

“Joanne Polk plays all of these pieces with the necessary virtuosity, lightness and élan.” 

ClassicsToday.com

 

“Chaminade’s music, rooted in Mendelssohn and Schumann with a dash of Lisztian virtuosity, is ripe for rediscovery...this is a welcome addition to the small but growing corpus of recordings of Chaminade's music.”

AllMusic Guide


“Chaminade's works continue to be marvelous revelations, especially in the hands of a virtuoso like Polk... So often dimissed as merely decorative or charming, [they] are shown here to have depth, and incredible technical demands within the beauty.” 

The WSCL Blog


“There is a considerable amount of very well-made music that stands firmly within the French Romantic tradition, played with strong commitment and understanding by Polk and highlighting a voice with enough individualistic qualities to make listeners wonder what other neglected Chaminade pieces may lie out there.” 

Infodad
 

“It's welcome that someone as accomplished as Joanne Polk delivers such an enjoyable survey as this one. Polk is totally at ease when Chaminade throws difficulties at her that might have daunted Moritz Moskowski (who happened to be Chaminade's brother-in-law). Both the piano and recorded sound are impressive.”

Fanfare 
 

ALBUM CREDITS

The Flatterer / Joanne Polk • STNS 30037

Release Date: 09/09/2014

Recorded January 6–8, 2014 at the Concert Hall of the Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, State University of New York
Produced and Recorded by Steven Epstein

Executive Producers: Eric Feidner, Jon Feidner
Art Direction: Jackie Fugere
Design: Oberlander Group
Piano: Steinway Model D (Hamburg)

About the Artist

Pianist Joanne Polk received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music Degrees from The Juilliard School, and her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from Manhattan School of Music. In 2014, Joanne Polk was named as one of Musical America’s Top 30 Professionals of the Year in an article titled, “Profiles in Courage.” Ms. Polk’s profile focused on her work promoting the music of women composers.  

Ms. Polk recently completed a five-city, three-week concert and master class tour of Taiwan and China. This album and Ms. Polk’s CD, Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn, were included on New York City’s classical radio station WQXR’s Essential Piano Recordings in 2019. Polk is a member of the piano faculty of Manhattan School of Music, and is an exclusive Steinway artist.

About Steinway & Sons label

The STEINWAY & SONS music label produces exceptional albums of solo piano music across all genres. The label — a division of STEINWAY & SONS, maker of the world’s finest pianos — is a perfect vessel for producing the finest quality recordings by some of the most talented pianists in the world.