Kaleidoscope: Encores

Œuvres de E. Bentz Woods, F. Behr, S.Rachmaninov, J.Hofmann, M.A. Hamelin, F. Blumenfeld, J. Offenbach, J. Gimpel, J. Massenet, M. Moskowski, F. Poulenc, A. Casella, A. Glazounov... / Marc-André Hamelin, piano

This may be the only recorded classical piano recital in which you're likely to burst into "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli," since the music of the Marine Corps' anthem stems from an Offenbach operetta duet, performed here in Hamelin's edition of Jakob Gimpel's piano arrangement. That's an indication of the fun you'll hear among the 20 piano miniatures in this recital. There's also a truckload of superior salon music: tuneful, often sentimental pieces favored by 19th century pianists and audiences. And there are plenty of pianistic fireworks, too, as in Hamelin's gloss on a Paganini-Liszt étude and Josef Hofman's dazzling Kaleidoskop, which gives the disc its title. Throughout, Hamelin plays with his usual virtuosity, demonstrating mastery of various styles, from waltzes to technical exercises and even jazz, as in Kapustin's Toccatina. Several works on the disc are by composers even keyboard buffs will not have heard of, but everything clicks. First-rate sonics, too. Piano fanciers won't want to miss this one. --Dan Davis