Benjamin Hochman - Variations: Brahms Knussen & More - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Pianist Benjamin Hochman's fourth album for AVIE, Resonance, literally resonates with music spanning six centuries. Two late Beethoven sonatas are the pillars of the program, with two Renaissance works by Josquin des Prez and John Dowland, plus a masterpiece by one of today's most heralded living composers, George Benjamin, in between. Resonance opens with Beethoven's Op. 109, followed by Josquin's serene motet Ave Maria, arranged for piano by American contemporary composer Charles Wuorinen, the stylistic contrasts nevertheless resonating with a common tonal centre and rich counterpoint. Dowland's Flow my tears, arranged for keyboard by Downland's contemporary William Byrd, is a lamentation akin to the third movement InchArioso dolenteInch from Beethoven's Op. 110. The penultimate track is George Benjamin's 2001 Shadowlines. Subtitled InchCanonic PreludesInch, like Beethoven, Benjamin expands both sonic and emotional resonance to the limit.

Internationally acclaimed pianist Benjamin Hochman brings his new conductorial skills to the impeccable of two Mozart concertos, the joyful and lithe No. 17 in G major, and the dark and explosive No. 24 in C minor. Directing from the keyboard, Benjamin leads the finest Mozartian orchestra in the world, the English Chamber Orchestra. InchClassical music doesn't get any better than this.Inch (The New York Times) Inchoutstanding... lucid, exciting performances... exhilarating.Inch (The New York Times, The Best Classical Music Recordings of 2015) Inchelegant, polished, and heartfelt.Inch (Boston Globe) Album Tracks 1. Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major, Op. 9, K. 453 2. 1. I. Allegro 3. 2. II. Andante 4. 3. III. Allegretto 5. Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491 6. 4. I. Allegro 7. 5. II. Larghetto 8. 6. III. Allegretto

Album Tracks 1. Overture to An Italian Comedy - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 2. I. Lord Hereford's Delight - London Symphony Orchestra 3. II. Daphne's Delight - London Symphony Orchestra 4. III. Marlboroughs's Victory - London Symphony Orchestra 5. IV. Love's Triumph - London Symphony Orchestra 6. V. Jigg It a Foot - London Symphony Orchestra 7. VI. the Charmer - London Symphony Orchestra 8. VII. Nymph Divine - London Symphony Orchestra 9. VIII. the Tattler - London Symphony Orchestra 10. IX. Argyle - London Symphony Orchestra 11. Introduction - Barry Wordsworth 12. I. Miller's Reel - Barry Wordsworth 13. II. the Old Punk - Barry Wordsworth 14. III. the Bundle of Straw - Barry Wordsworth 15. IV. He Piped So Sweet - Barry Wordsworth 16. V. Fill the Bowl - Barry Wordsworth 17. VI. Pigeon on the Pier - Barry Wordsworth 18. VII. Calder Fair - Barry Wordsworth 19. VIII. Salamanca-Coda - Barry Wordsworth 20. 1st Movement Largo-Allegro - Barry Wordsworth 21. 2nd Movement Scherzo - Barry Wordsworth 22. 3rd Movement Adagio Appassionato - Barry Wordsworth 23. 4th Movement Introduzione-Allegro - Barry Wordsworth