Review by Choice Review
It seems incomprehensible that a thematic catalog of Alb'eniz's piano works (many of which are often performed as well as recorded) has not appeared sooner in print. Gabriel Laplane (Alb'eniz: sa vie, son oeuvre, 1956) did blaze the trail for such an undertaking, but his list of works was in no way considered complete. Even though this thematic catalog is considerably updated and expanded, Baytelman admits that it, too, is far from complete. The reasons are legion, but the primary cause seems to be that many of the works have simply been lost. The author has included some outstanding research on the composer and his piano works, and this alone is worth the price of the book. Also included are an excellent introduction that discusses the many fascinating problems of compiling such a catalog, a useful graded list of the pieces, a list of the compositions appearing in collections, and an up-to-date discography. This volume is a valuable addition to the "Detroit Studies" series, which is ably edited by J. Bunker Clark, and should be purchased for all serious music collections, both academic and public. J. R. Belanger; San Diego Public Library
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
