White / Powell - Adventures at the Keyboard - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

What moved a Russian composer with a deep-seated antipathy to England and the English to write music for the stage works of the most English of playwrights? It is difficult to say exactly what it was about Shakespeare that Tchaikovsky found so fascinating, but it would certainly be a rewarding subject for study from the viewpoint of depth psychology. Undoubtedly the subtle expressivity with which the poet endowed his figures, the portrayal of their psychologically motivated actions, and their compulsive weaving together of the dramatically intensified and often fundamentally contingent threads of the plot appealed to the rather introspective Tchaikovsky. The present features the State Philharmonic Orchestra Minsk performing Tchaikovsky's Fantasy Overtures according to Shakespeare.

Georgiy Eduardovich Conus (1862-1933) is one of the astonishing number of gifted Russian composer-pianists who helped shape what is known as the 'Silver Age' of Russian music, but whose achievements have since been obscured by the music of Rachmaninov and others. This first-ever recording of his piano music reveals a composer with his roots in Tchaikovsky, a harmonic sophistication akin to Skriabin's and an emotional range that stretches from an easy-going charm to dramatic and powerful keyboard virtuosity. Jonathan Powell has established a reputation as one of the most fearless pianists currently active, spending his concert seasons touring blockbuster piano works. In the past decade he has presented the cycle of Scriabin's ten sonatas in single concerts, Messiaen's 'Vingt regards sur l'enfant Jesus,' Albeniz's 'Iberia,' Beethoven's 'Hammerklavier' Sonata, Reger's Bach Variations, and more. This is his sixth recording for Toccata Classics.

Sandro Gorli - Works [COMPACT DISCS] date 06/12/2007