It's not British, but...Alec Wilder's Piano Music

Alec Wilder is a composer whom I know little about. I connect his name to the Great American Songbook. Certainly, he worked with Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, along with many other big names. Well-known songs include I’ll be Around and While We’re Young. Conversely, there was a classical side to his achievement. The present disc introduces the listener to several collections of piano music. At the outset, this is a tricky CD to listen to, and to review. There are eight compositions, most of which are collections of small pieces. There are forty-four tracks in all. For example, Twelve Mosaics presents a dozen miniatures with the longest lasting 57 seconds and the shortest only 20 seconds. Listening to one after the other, they begin to blend into each other. And what is true for the Mosaics is true for the entire album. It all begins to sound the same. I did listen to each suite/number separately, with a gap between bouts, however, I was conscious of a sameness. If I am honest, I struggled to keep up enthusiasm. The only exception to this brevity is the Sonata Fantasy which is about 15 minutes long. It is well structured, with relationships between the four movements, especially the first and the last, which give a cyclic structure to the work.

Wilder’s pianistic writing is wide ranging. He uses elements of classical aesthetics, jazz tropes and popular songs. Typically, these styles are blended into a fusion. Melodically, each number is attractive, if not always memorable. There are often appealing harmonies. The short duration does not allow time for development. They are finished before the “exposition” has barely begun.

What does Wilder’s piano music sound like? The author of his biography on Classical Net suggests that it is a combination of George Gershwin, Francis Poulenc, and Heitor Villa-Lôbos. This may be a finger in the air evaluation, but it gives the listener a fair idea of what to expect. Yet, Wilder does not produce parodies or pastiche. It does seem to result from a clever personal synthesis of his models.

The liner notes give a good introduction to the composer and his music. Unfortunately, dates are not given for each work. The cover photo is a bit lugubrious. The performance of these Suites and the Fantasy are given sympathetic accounts by John Noel Roberts.

I guess that this CD will appeal to listeners who know Wilder’s “pop” songs, his film scores and maybe one or two of his numerous operas or stage shows. Each piece is quite charming, well stated and beautifully played. It will help the listener if they remember that Alec Wilder was beholden to no-one. He composed what he wanted to, and how he wanted to write it. If that did not please the jazz enthusiasts, the pop music groovers or the classical aficionados, then, it was just too bad.

Track Listing:
Alec Wilder (1907-80)
Sonata-Fantasy
Hardy Suite
Suite for piano I
Suite for piano II
Un Deuxième Essai
Suite for piano III
Suite for piano IV
Twelve Mosaics
John Noel Roberts (piano)
rec. 13-14June 2010 ACA Digital Recording Studio, Atlanta, USA
Albany Troy 1294

With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.