The recording of the original version of the Albeniz Tango has made all others redundant. His Chopin, Brahms and Liszt are exquisite. And though very little of this output is available to be heard, I include him as one of the great pianist composers because I believe he belongs to that august fraternity. Oscar Levant composed string quartets, Orchestral works, with and without piano, and even an opera. But unlike Gershwin, he did ot take himself seriously as a composer of serious music, inspite of praise from the likes of Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson, Irving Kolodin, Gershwin himself, and Schoenberg. He knew Gershwin well and, like Gershwin, was very successful as a writer of songs and music for theatrical productions. Levant gave the first concert performance of the Rhapsody. Those of you who know this site will appreciate how unusual it is for me to say this, but aside from the pure joy of playing this music oneself on the piano, tere is really no earthly reason for anyone else to record it. The performance of the Three Preludes is simply amazing. Oscar Levant's Gershwin is second to none. Yet today, aside from a few Gershwin records - works of genius in my opinion - he is almost exclusively known as a comedic actor and broadcast personality. In the 1940s he was the top earning concert pianist in America and one of the top sellers of Columbia Records roster. He was a supremely accomplished pianist and a first rate musician. He performed under the batons of Toscanini, Beecham, Mitropoulos, Reiner, Monteux, and Ormandy, the leading conductors of his day. Oscar Levant studied piano with Sigismond Stojowski and composition with Arnold Schoenberg. OSCAR LEVANT American pianist (1906 - 1972)
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