Benjamin Lees Fantasia

[furtwaengler]

Benjamin Lees, an American composer...I think he's still among us: https://www.benjaminlees.com/
And he wrote this "Fantasia for piano solo" which I gave a rather volcanic performance of as an impulsive youth. I don't know if I can even locate a score to check for accuracy...but I enjoy hearing it enough, I've decided to pass it along to Pianostreet.  

So says the tape:
1998 Governor's School for the Arts
HONORS RECITAL
Friday, June 26, 1998

The piano is a Bösendorfer Imperial Grand.

Ha, I was 16 years old. I wish I had more performances from my youth.

There is another performance uploaded to this site by Ms. Adrienne. This too seems to be a throw back to an earlier time. That performance (actually the only other performance I've heard) can be found here: https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=32289.0

Enjoy!  

[rachfan]

Hi furtwaengler,

I enjoyed hearing your playing from an "earlier life".  At 16 you performed this difficult Lee piece with confidence, an effective technique, and with plenty of fire and flair.  It was well received by your audience too.  You showed much promise at a young age.  Thanks for posting this recording!

Down in the basement I have an old LP record of my playing from 1963 (at age 17), and recall transferring in 1994 Chopin's "Revolutionary Etude" to cassette tape, which I thought was lying around here somewhere... but I couldn't find it.  Otherwise, I would have put it up on the forum for fun.  

[furtwaengler]

Thanks for listening and commenting, David. I would love to hear your old Revolutionary!

[furtwaengler]

I've been spending a lot of time going through old tapes from that "earlier life" and have had quite a time. Unfortunately the great majority of it is improvisations, many of them quite wild because I was exploring all the sounds of a a Clavinova and some other equipment...but I just didn't record the music I was working on at the time, and I wish I had record of it. 

[retrouvailles]

I feel the need to comment on this, however a bit late, for Benjamin Lees has recently passed on. I have since listened to a lot of his music to reacquaint myself with his work, such as his symphonies, Concerto for Orchestra and his awesome fourth piano sonata. I reviewed the earlier recording that furtwängler linked to, and, then, I really didn't care a whole lot for the piece. At that time, I had mostly heard a lot of substandard student performances and had really gotten the wrong impression of the piece. However, I have since gotten the score and have sat with the piece for a while, so I feel that I know it a bit more now, and have grown to like it. That said, I think that your recording of this piece, furt, has revitalized my interest in both the piece and Lees' œuvre, which I own a large part of, but have always been on the fence about it's quality. This nice, young, and vibrant recording really hits at the inherent spirit of the piece. Thank you for this recording. I believe it has not had a commercial recording yet.

[furtwaengler]

I'm very sad to read of his passing. My experience with him is limited to this Fantasia and a score I bought a long time ago of some variations for piano and orchestra. It's accessible to performers and listeners alike, what I've seen. I will definitely check the 4th Sonata out, and see what's out there. I will soon listen to the Concerto for Orchestra as well. There's a whole era of American music I need sit down with and rediscover.

Thanks for you kind words on the old recording.

[emill]

hehhe...BOMBASTIC indeed !!!! , but very well played.

[furtwaengler]

hehhe...BOMBASTIC indeed !!!! , but very well played.

And ghostly too! Thanks for commenting.