Viktor Valkov - Piano Music - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

When playing and hearing BEBOP RIDDLE II the virtuosity, flexibility, and energy of superstar jazz upright-bass players Charles Mingus, Ron Carter, and Ray Brown leap to ear and mind. This force, intersected with other specific musical perfumes formulate a unique sonic palette. Thomas said, InchI love how music talks with music.Inch Imagine the pointillistic intricacy and contrapuntal, conversational, interlocking-lines of J.S. Bach's keyboard music crisscrossed with Bill-Evans-and-Thelonious-Monk-like harmonies, then further overlapped with the energy of bebop's fast tempo, rapid chord changes, mood shifts, and instrumental flair. Thomas braids these auras (there are no musical quotes in the composition) into a personal, nuanced amalgam that captures the spirit of improvisation, at turns whimsical, soulful, vivacious, reflective, and animated. Thomas said, InchThere is a lifeforce when one musician speaks in music with another. Even if from time to time one musician is silent, there is still an animated spirit and energy.Inch She writes on her score, InchFull of spirit; Enthusiastic inner-life for each note, line, and hocket.Inch This refined composition is a 7-minute conversation between cello and piano as well as a conversation between composer and some of her musical idols. Thomas is composing a series of InchBebop RiddlesInch all of which are completely independent, unique works. Bebop Riddle I is for solo marimba. Thomas dedicates this work with admiration and gratitude to Ellen Highstein to honor her longstanding leadership of the Tanglewood Music Center. Commissioned by the Tanglewood Music Center and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Leo Ornstein is as well known for his extraordinary longevity as for his music he was born in Ukraine in 1893 and died in Wisconsin in 2002, aged at least 108. His generous output of music, much of it for the piano, his own instrument, remains poorly known, although it can stand shoulder to shoulder with that of many better-known names. Many of the pieces here - which cover a span of over 60 years - have their roots in Debussy, Skryabin and Szymanowski, but Ornstein welds those influences into an edgy, energetic language very much his own. The Three Moods of c. 1914 are anger, grief and joy, but there is strength of feeling in all the music to be heard here. Indeed, the Nine Vignettes bear a misleading title they are substantial and powerful virtuoso essays which can flare up into moments of startling power and violence; hitherto unknown, they constitute a major contribution to the piano literature.

This product is an authorized manufactured on demand CD-R