Paul Stewart - Complete Piano Sonatas 1 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Lagniappe (la ·gniappe) noun 'lan-?yap,' - 1. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. 2. Something given or obtained as a gratuity or bonus. Launched in 2005, the blog Aquarium Drunkard has become a daily destination for many on a never ending quest for musical discovery. In 2011, Aquarium Drunkard established The Lagniappe Sessions, featuring some of the site's favorite artists covering some of their favorite artists. Released for RSD Black Friday in 2016, InchThe Lagniappe Sessions Volume 1Inch brought these sessions to vinyl for the first time. Aquarium Drunkard has now teamed up with ORG Music for a second volume of the series, featuring an eclectic group of artists including Kevin Morby, Mikal Cronin, Mountain Goats, Damien Jurado, and many more. The record, limited to 1,500 copies worldwide, comes pressed on clear vinyl exclusively for Record Store Day 2020.

Japanese pressing. 2020.

This new is the penultimate volume in this acclaimed series of Medtner's Complete Piano Sonatas performed by series pianist Paul Stewart. Medtner's 14 piano sonatas, the most significant achievement in this genre by any major composer since Beethoven, span his career. The Sonata-Ballade explores a tempestuous musical allegory - the triumph of Light over Darkness, of Faith over Doubt; while the Sonata in A minor is cast in a single, terse movement, with folkloric elements and frequent use of bell-like features that exude Russianness. By contrast, the 'Night Wind' Sonata is a monumental epic of exceptional complexity that stunned Rachmaninov and led composer and critic Sorabji to call it 'the greatest piano sonata of modern times.'