Saturday, February 23, 2008

Samples of William Bolcom on You Tube posted by Anthony McCarthy

A reader wanted to know why I am so enthralled with William Bolcom.

The darkest, densest tango you are likely to have heard in a long time. The Dead Moth Tango.
I wish they had the Knock Stuck, dedicated to Curtis Curtis-Smith, my favorite of the Dance Portraits, but they don’t.

The justly famous Graceful Ghost Rag
And a concert variation on the same.

Another of the Ghost Rags, Poltergeist.

This is just a sample. William Bolcom is a wonderfully prolific and varied composer, mixing audacity, genius and great technical and musical competence. This is just an unrepresentative sample.