New works for a new century: that’s what the back cover of this CD proudly asserts. How much new can we expect from the composer of Fame? The orchestral music of Steve Margoshes sounds every bit like his famous musical–only worse, because what works in the context of a Broadway show sounds diluted, empty, and totally boring without the help of the lyrics and the stage. It’s hard to tell what’s the most miserable aspect of this music: its piercing and vulgar orchestrations, the complete absence of form, or the sheer ugliness of the tunes. Both the ballade for trumpet and orchestra, “Anything is possible”, and the rhapsody for piano and orchestra, “This is forever”, abound in unbearably sentimental tunes that would make a composer of elevator music blush. “America on Parade” lines up one after another all the common places of American outdoor music: noisy fanfare, hymn tunes, marching bands–without ever displaying the flavor of the true thing. Although it might be the best piece on the CD, the never-ending New Hungarian Rhapsody doesn’t have even a tiny bit of the excitement carried by any of the last century’s violinistic showstoppers. As for the Symphonic Suite from Fame, it only helps to uncover the mediocrity of Margoshes’ writing for orchestra. Is there something to add? Oh yes, the performances and the sound recording are nothing special either.
