Barry Douglas - Schubert: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 7 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Ensemble La Flora - Canoro Pianto Di Maria Vergine [COMPACT DISCS] date 06/03/2003

Piano Interrupted is the brainchild of London-based pianist and composer Tom Hodge and French electronic producer Franz Kirmann. Their working process involves digital manipulation of musical phrases on the piano, or any sounds that the pair find interesting to sample and process sonically. Last year's The Unified Field was well-received and critically acclaimed, finding it's way onto a number of Inchbest of the yearInch lists. Now, 2015 brings a stunning remix of the album featuring reinterpretations by Hidden Orchestra, Floex, John Lemke, Saffronkeira, Origamibiro, Franz Kirmann, and Second Moon of Winter.

This sixth volume in Barry Douglas's acclaimed Schubert series features two major works. The Sonata in A minor, D 845 was completed in 1825, just before Schubert started work on his 'great' Symphony in C major. As in so much of his later writing, Schubert is pushing at the boundaries of sonata form, particularly in terms of the harmonic variation he introduces throughout the piece. The second movement takes the form of a theme and variations, as does the third piece of the second major work on the album, the Four Impromptus, D 935. Published after his death in 1828, they were composed in 1827 and, like the Sonata, show all the trademarks of late Schubert. The program is completed with Liszt's transcription of Schubert's 'Ave Maria' - a sparklingly virtuosic homage to this famous theme, demonstrating once again Barry Douglas's extraordinary technical facility. The album was recorded on a Steinway model D in the Curtis auditorium of the MTU Cork School of Music in Ireland.