Cafe Music

SEQUENZA 21

“A smooth blend of classical, jazz, klezmer and whimsy, Café Music is probably a little too easy to like but it goes great with an iced Café Latte.”

CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER

“Whoever is responsible, thank goodness this recording exists.  Five Schoenfield works reveal the American composer’s abundant wit, sterling craftsmanship and affectionate grasp of styles, some with Jewish roots.  The composer blends popular and classical forms with wizardly ease.  The performances couldn’t make a greater case for Schoenfield’s music.  Polyakin, a violinist as steeped in jazz as he is in classical music, plays with mounds of personality and shimmering tonal qualities.”  – Donald Rosenberg

AMAZON

Following the 1994 release on Argo of a program of Paul Schoenfield’s music, I thought we’d be hearing much more from this imaginative and appealing young composer. Sadly, this has not been the case, at least not on the scale that one would have hoped. The release of “Café Music” on the always-wonderful Innova label goes considerable distance to remedy the situation. Schoenfield has not publicly identified with John Zorn’s Radical Jewish Culture, but the spirit of the Yiddish Renaissance infuses nearly all of his music that I have heard. For the first time listener approaching Schoenfield’s music, I would describe him as a Post-Modern Gershwin or a Jewish Charles Ives. There is both a technical proficiency and an endearing sense of humor in his music. The opening suite, Café Music written after the composer had the opportunity to sit in as a cocktail pianist is a case in point. Bouncy rhythms, and terrifically challenging string writing shows Schoenfield’s style at it’s most accessible. Listeners familiar with Schoenfield’s Four Parables will recognize a number of the melodic licks as Ragtime, Yiddish song, Broadway melodies and Gypsy scales form a delightful musical goulash. Schoenfield’s interest in vernacular musical traditions date back to his student days and the composition of Burlesque, a warped ragtime romp. Its composition all the more incredible given that it was written during the heyday of the “Northeast Rationalist School” (i.e. Babbitt, Kirchner, Carter, et al). The Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano, originally commissioned by clarinetist David Shrifrin, continues Schoenfield’s Yiddish preoccupation and is given a spirited Klezmer-esque reading by clarinetist Charles Neidich. Previous Schoenfield collaborator, flautist Carol Wincenc (dedicatee of the Klezmer Rondos) champions the rather Stravinskian-sounding Suite, Slovakian Children’s Songs. The most “abstract” work on the program is a rather involved series of variations on the tune “Carolina in the Morning”, titled Carolina Reveille by the composer. A virtuoso setting if ever there was one, Carolina Reveille also reveals the composer to be a pianist of considerable gifts and sensitivity.

All in all, a highly recommended disc by a composer whom ought to be much better represented in the catalogue. Accolades are due the superb Innova label for this release! – Sue Leigh Waugh