Michael Korstick - Piano Music 2 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Joseph Summer's WHO IS SYLVIA, is a collection of Shakespeare's works set to music that will make you question everything you thought you learned in high school English. Summer believes that the famous playwright's true identity is not William Shakespeare but rather Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford. Many of the songs found on WHO IS SYLVIA come from Summer's aptly-named The Oxford Songs, a collection of scenes, sonnets, songs, and Summer's original opera version of Hamlet. These are paired with music from the likes of Schubert and Schumann to create a dynamic and colorful musical experience worthy of the Bard himself. The sharp, aggressive cello attacks of InchSycoraxInch opens the album, peppered with edgy dissonances. This piece by Summer is one of many world premieres on this record, recorded at Worcester's legendary Mechanics Hall. Next comes three settings of Shakespeare's song InchWho is Silvia?Inch from The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Each one extracts a new layer of meaning from the tender, heartsick lyrics, the first employing mezzo-soprano and harp, the second featuring a downright bluesy violin and sung in German as composed by Adolphus Hailstork, and a third with music by Gerald Finzi. Just as Shakespeare was known for addressing the social and political situations of his day, Summer's world premier piece InchCome Thou Monarch of the Vine and Hearing TranscriptInch pairs Schubert's setting from Antony and Cleopatra with words taken from the 2019 Brett Kavanaugh hearings. After a song cycle by Schumann and several other pieces from other composers, the album concludes with three Shakespeare settings by Summer. This features the award-winning Ulysses Quartet, in residence at the Juilliard School of Music.

Along with Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Khachaturian, Dmitri Kabalevsky was one of the InchBig FourInch of Soviet music. Following our recordings of his four symphonies, complete works for piano and orchestra, cello concertos, string quartets, and complete piano sonatas, this again turns to his keyboard music featuring works for piano solo, this time focusing on his complete Préludes. Bach's idea to set a monument to the well-tempered system by writing two cycles of twenty-four preludes and fugues in all the major and minor keys has continued to fascinate composers of all succeeding generations, and Kabalevsky was no exception. His multifaceted preludes not only are obliged to Scriabin but also already reveal his own personal style and show him striving to develop new harmonic solutions. Yet another interesting rarity for piano fans!

Michael Korstick - Piano Sonatas [SUPER-AUDIO CD] Hybrid SACD date 03/27/2007