A Miscellany for solo piano (Incls 'Leprechaun's Leap' & 'Siberian Lament')

"A delightful recital that shows Mayerl's essential place in the piano repertoire. Pianist Leslie De'Ath finds exactly the right style for this joyful meandering miscellany. Virtuoso when required, he favours a laid-back, untroubled or sometimes pensive tone, letting the music sing. It's lovely stuff, and fascinating to read in the booklet-note that Mayerl, the toast of Britain, stayed away from the US because he was frightened of taking on Gershwin. What a rivalry that would have been!"
Editor's Choice Gramophone December 2008

Canadian pianist Leslie De'Ath, in an interlude from his acclaimed Dutton Epoch Cyril Scott series, presents an unmissable and toe-tapping survey of the syncopated popular piano music of British composer Billy Mayerl. De'Ath's virtuosity and light touch are on display throughout these twenty-four charming selections, all of which demonstrate his affinity with Mayerl's music. Mayerl once said, "I own quite frankly that I am a commercial composer... I am not rich enough to become a 'good' composer." De'Ath points out in his typically eloquent liner note accompanying the CD: "Implicit in this statement is his conviction that he possessed everything it took to become a serious composer except means, and deliberately chose otherwise. The world is richer for that decision, and it is pointless to speculate on what he might have accomplished had he pursued a different life course. His music is masterfully crafted and full of imaginative melodic, harmonic and rhythmic detail. But its great strength lies in its utter lack of pretence. This is light music at its finest." How true.