Kevin Oldham: Piano and Vocal Music
Karen Kushner (piano), Camellia Johnson (soprano), Susan Rosenbaum (soprano), Andrew Schroeder (baritone), Maria Russo (soprano), Carl Halvorson (tenor), Kevin Oldham (piano)
Tim Page tells Kevin Oldham's tragic story in the notes for this disc. "When I look back upon the mid-eighties and my apprentice years as music critic for The New York Times, it sometimes seems that I did only two things: cover debut concerts and write AIDS obituaries - alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, over and over again...Kevin Oldham was one of my debuts a handsome, vibrant, self-assured and splendidly virtuosic young pianist who played his first New York recital at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1985. Eight years later, he too would die from AIDS and I would write his obituary. But by then, he had become a composer, one who had fought a desperate battle to leave the world some fresh and lovely music...He died on March 11, 1993. In the case of Kevin Oldham, AIDS ended the life of a gifted composer who was just getting started. We'll never know what he might have created. We regret the music that will never be, and we mourn for Kevin a brave, funny, smart, articulate and compassionate man. But, through Kevin's own Herculean efforts, something has been saved. You hold the proof in your hands."f
Track Listing
| Title | Composer | Performer |
|---|---|---|
| Ballade, Op. 17 | Kevin Oldham | Karen Kushner, piano |
| Sleep and Dream | Kevin Oldham | Camellia Johnson, soprano, Karen Kushner, piano |
| Across the Sea | Kevin Oldham | Susan Rosenbaum, soprano, Karen Kushner, piano |
| Sarabande and Toccata, Op. 19 | Kevin Oldham | Karen Kushner, piano |
| Row, I Love to Row | Kevin Oldham | Maria Russo, soprano, Carl Halvorson, tenor, Andrew Schroeder, baritone, Karen Kushner, piano |
| Andante Tranquillo | Kevin Oldham | Karen Kushner, piano |
| Paint Me | Kevin Oldham | Maria Russo, soprano, Karen Kushner, piano |
| Not Even if I Try | Kevin Oldham | Carl Halvorson, tenor, Karen Kushner, piano |
| Two Nocturnes, Op. 15 | Kevin Oldham | Karen Kushner, piano |
| Gaspard de la Nuit, Op. 3 | Kevin Oldham | Susan Rosenbaum, soprano, Karen Kushner, piano |
| Variations on a French Noel, Op. 7 | Kevin Oldham | Kevin Oldham, piano |
Reviews
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"AIDS has robbed countless young musicians of the chance to achieve their full artistic potential. One such loss was Kevin Oldham, who died four years ago at age 33, a virtuoso pianist and a composer whose impassioned spirit was at odds with the impersonal machinations of modernism. As a performer, Oldham favored the grand Romantic tradition, and that same tendency is evident in his music. This disc intersperses piano works (lovingly played by his friend Karen Kushner) with vocal selections, and what emerges is a developing voice that while never stooping to maudlin self-pity is urgent and expressive."
*Album cover provided for Editorial use only. ©Albany Records. The Albany Imprint is a registered trademark of PARMA Recordings LLC. The views and opinions expressed in this media are those of the artist and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views and opinions held by PARMA Recordings LLC and its label imprints, subsidiaries, and affiliates.