Search - Blitzstein :: Selected Songs

Vava blitzstein

01/11/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is just.....so....fine. Nothing more to say, because it couldn't be better than it is. Blitzstein is a wonderful composer, and the performances are great, especially the bariton, Mr. Sharp. He never oversings, vibrato never gets out of hand, he's always down the center of the note in tune. His voice is lush, and it satisfies.From what I can tell, Blitzstein is a great composer who was deliberately marginalized. A movie has just been released about him entitled The Cradle Will Rock, but it hasn't got to the midwest yet. Now that I've heard this recording, I can't wait to see the movie. Maybe Blitzstein's day has come."

One terrific CD that will please you over and over!

Lori Laitman | US | 10/30/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wonderful music, wonderfully performed, this CD is a work of art."

A Superb Gem

Jay Young | Austin, TX USA | 09/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's highly unfortunate that this gem of a CD is out of print. It's the only commercially-available recording that I'm aware of of "Zipperfly," a hilarious song about a young man who wants, more than anything else, a new suit with a zipper fly. Marc Blitzstein was a unique composer who is perhaps most famous for the musical "The Cradle Will Rock," which was written during the Great Depression and tackled touchy labor issues head-on, at a time when unions were first gaining power. One song from that interesting show is included on this CD- "Croon Spoon". William Sharp and Karen Holvik both do an excellent job with the music, and have great voices. Sharp is in residence at the Peabody Institute, and Holvik now teaches at Eastman. If you enjoy good vocal jazz music, and hard-to-find songs, you owe it to yourself to find this CD. Yes, $124 is a lot to pay for a CD, even one as good as this. You can probably find it at a good academic music library, or even a good public library. There may even be some used music sellers on the internet selling it for a reasonable price. In any case, if you can find the CD, it's worth the effort."