Edward Joseph Collins (1886-1951) was a Chicago composer who enjoyed local acclaim and some occasional performances outside his home region. He had started as a touring virtuoso pianist but had studied composition in Germany with Engelbert Humperdinck and Max Bruch. His music could be described as tonal, lyrical, impressionistic, rhapsodic, and occasionally with an American flavor.This disc contains a varied program of solo piano music, a couple of songs, and most prominently his Piano Trio, Op. 1. It is not clear when the 35-minute-long Trio was written although there exists a manuscript that is marked 'revised 1921'. That manuscript bears the notation 'Geronimo' but there are no obvious American Indian tunes or rhythms; it is not clear what Collins may have meant, then, by 'Geronimo.' The Trio is in four movements. I. Allegro non troppo - begins with sotto voce rumblings but soon develops into a sprightly allegro that reminds one perhaps of some early English impressionist music by, say, Frank Bridge. II. Allegretto (poco) vivace - is a graceful and lilting waltz with a delicate trio section. III. Andante lugubre/Adagio lamentoso - features lyrical, melancholic outpourings by cello, then violin, underpinned by solemn piano accompaniment. IV. Allegro vivace - scurries, declaims, sings before reaching a triumphant finish.There are thirteen piano pieces here, played by Anna Polonsky (who is also the pianist in the piano trio along with violinist Arnaud Sussmann and cellist Julie Albers) or by Jeffrey Sykes. There are Four Waltzes, Op. 15; two selections from Six Valses Caractéristiques, Op. 18; an homage to Chopin, albeit impressionistic, entitled 'Frédéric François'; a vigorous treatment of 'Joshua Fit the Battle ob Jericho'; and 'The 5:48' which describes the run of a locomotive across a section of Wisconsin where Collins had a summer home. Most impressive (and longest) of the piano pieces is 'Nocturne', a five-and-a-half minute impressionistic depiction of night.There are two songs, sung by Patrice Michaels: 'Again the Year Has Come to the Spring', a dramatic aria from Collins's opera about the Civil War, 'Daughter of the South', and 'June Night', whose lyric "Night has descended upon the earth/All sounds of life are hushed...", is wreathed in impressionistic harmonies.Having heard two CDs of orchestral music by Collins Music of Edward Joseph Collins, Vol. 4 and Music of Edward Joseph Collins, Vol. 6, but nothing else, it was nice to hear some of his works for smaller forces.Scott Morrison