Mathieu: Piano Concerto No. 3 - Gershwin: An American in Paris

Lovers of high-Romantic, heart-rending piano music will adore this stunning reconstruction of André Mathieu’s Third Piano Concerto, written in 1942 when the French-Canadian composer was just 13. Blending lyrical jazz with a full-blooded Russian style, the concerto is charming yet intense, and wears its second-movement wistfulness with an optimistic smile. Mathieu efficiently packs a vast array of influences including Rachmaninov, Poulenc, Ravel, and even French chanson into his brilliant creation. And to highlight its jazz connection, the Buffalo Philharmonic gives a terrifically breezy performance of Gershwin’s “An American in Paris.”