Search - Richard Rodney Bennett, Carol Rosenberger, William Walton :: My Keyboard Friends: Piano Music of Bennett and Walton

Richard Rodney Bennett has composed piano music in a jazzy-pop- classical style for this disc, which is tailor-made for children. Each piece is introduced with a few spoken remarks. Before he performs the three movements of Suite for Skip and Sadie, for example, Bennett explains that the work was inspired by the two cats he keeps in his New York apartment. Before the third movement, we learn that what we are about to hear depicts in music the way Sadie dances around the house. It's all very accessible and felicitous, a good way to introduce kids to the way a composer's mind works in the creative process, and how to listen with the mind's eye. The performances here by Bennett and fellow pianist Carol Rosenberger also include some duets for children by William Walton. This is a perfect gift for a kid (and adults will enjoy it, too). -- Gwendolyn Freed