Postcards Records is pleased to announce the release of classical pianist Lara Downes' second release, American Ballads, the follow up to the critically acclaimed Invitation to the Dance. This time around, Lara takes a look at American composers that have been influenced by the aural landscape that surrounded them, namely popular song, jazz, and folk music. American Ballads features compositions by Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, Charles Ives and others, but one of the highlights of the CD is the world premiere recording of jazz saxophonist/composer Benny Golson's On Gossamer Wings, which Lara will debut at Lincoln Center in March 2001.

American Ballads comes on the heels of Lara's whirlwind schedule last year. Her debut recording was received with open arms in the classical community. With many concerts around the United States and Italy completed, some of Lara's shows in 2001 are at Lincoln Center in March, the EdgeWise contemporary music festival in May, which includes Philip Glass, Kronos and Steve Reich. Lara will also perform selections from American Ballads at museums around the country for the Smithsonian American Art Museum's touring exhibit "Scenes of American Life". Currently an artist in residence at the University of California at Davis, Lara's heavy performance schedule is augmented with a four-part series of concerts entitled "Perspectives".

As a concept album, American Ballads revisits a vanished but not-so-distant era in the United States. It celebrates the windswept, dusty sounds of the Midwest, the big-city sounds of the jazz age, the lean folk music of the Appalachian Mountains, the stoical self-reliance of the transcendentalists and the devotional.

Barber's Excursions, Op.20 are an exploration of Americana in four movements recalling distinct areas of the United States: A bustling city, the blues of the southern delta, the innocent prairie lullaby and the Appalachian hoedown. "I love the feeling of fun in these pieces," says Lara. "Here Barber is exploring the American musical landscape with an almost childlike curiosity, and his easygoing, affectionate mood is contagious. His romantic take on "The Streets of Laredo" is especially moving; you can't help but imagine a camp in the desert, the cowboys singing around the fire late into the night."

Even more focused are Copland's Four Piano Blues, which take the language of jazz and blues into an introspective and mellow state. "One day when we were in the studio recording these pieces, Bob Karcy mentioned the old saying: "The blues ain't just a sad song sung slow", and that really sums up the spirit of Copland's four blues, which range from a lovesick, slow lament to a jaunty, whistled tune. These pieces manage to touch me in a different way every time I play them, and I've noticed that they never fail to produce a long moment of breathless silence in the concert hall before the applause begins. There's something very personal and profound about them."

On Gossamer Wings follows, composed by jazz saxophonist Benny Golson. "Benny's gift for writing unforgettable melodies shines through in this beautiful, virtuoso piece, which is a joy for a pianist to play!" says Lara. It's floating, arpeggiated lines suggest flight and a spirituality that permeate all the works on American Ballads, and is a worthy addition to both the Classical repertoire and the composite of the composer's output. "It's a 'ballade' in the grand tradition of Chopin, Rachmaninoff and other Romantic composers. It's a tremendous honor inspiration for me to give this world premiere performance."

"The spare textures and haunting impressions of Roy Harris' American Ballads remind me of the photographs of Walker Evans in their loving but very honest depiction of a vanishing rural America. They're lyrical and charming, but at the same time gritty and true to life." Rzewski and Ives create similar takes on the American experience. The Third Movement of North American Ballads takes 'Down By the Riverside' as its theme, mutating it elaborately away from its humble beginnings. "It's a finger-busting fantasy on the traditional spiritual that was used as a popular protest song of the peace movement during the Vietnam War. We first hear the tune in a very simple, beautiful opening section, and then the composer takes off into more and more intense and complex musical territory." Similarly, "Ives' The Alcotts is one of the loveliest, most intimate pieces ever written by this most unconventional of American composers. It's a musical collage that incorporates elements as diverse as a peaceful Scottish hymn and the theme from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony to paint an affectionate portrait of the Alcott household in Concord Massachusetts." Lara's rendition of The Alcotts will also be featured on the National Association of Retail Merchants' (N.A.R.M.) classical sampler, to be released later this year.

Originally written as a film score, Virgil Thomson's The Plough that Broke the Plains creates an aural picture of depression-era life in the Midwest. Wrapped in the American folksongs and hymns that could be heard everyday, the suite tells the devastating story of the drought and hard times that affected the American prairie dwellers.

American Nocturne is the gentle yet passionate closer to the CD. As a popular composer, Dana Suesse wrote primarily for the stage, but her concert works have made a resurgence in recent years. Like On Gossamer Wings, American Nocturne is rhapsodic and understated at the same time, reflecting the unique mid-century American psyche of birth and rebirth in the face of adversity.