RUSSIAN PIANO MUSIC SERIES, VOLUMES 2 & 3     DIVINE ART DDA25081 & DDA25083

Described by The New York Times as ‘a man whose nature was designed with pianos in mind’, Liverpool-born Anthony Goldstone is one of Britain’s most respected pianists. A sixth-generation pupil of Beethoven through his great teacher Maria Curcio, Goldstone was born in Liverpool and studied with Derrick Wyndham at the Royal Manchester College of Music and with Curcio in London. His career has taken him to six continents and the Last Night of the Proms (where he was much praised by Benjamin Britten) as well as many broadcasts and nearly seventy CDs. He is also one half of the brilliant piano duo Goldstone and Clemmow with his wife Caroline. The second volume of his Russian Piano Music Series features works by Vladimir Rebikov, who was born in Siberia in 1866 and died in 1920. In addition to many piano works Rebikov wrote numerous orchestral, vocal and stage pieces, including ‘musico-psycholographic dramas’ in some of which he experimented by combining spoken and sung text to a musical accompaniment. He wrote in a bewildering array of styles and was admired by other composers, including Janáček, Debussy and Grieg, but despite his considerable achievements - he as been called ‘the father of Russian modernism’ - Rebikov has been driven to the margins of musical history. This is borne out by the fact that, as far as can be determined, out of this recital programme only a piece of two minutes’ duration has previously been recorded. Volume three of the series, originally available on Olympia, features the rather better known Reinhold Gliere, who was born in Kiev and by 1913 had won fame both as a composer and conductor. For over twenty years from 1920 he was Professor of Composition at the Moscow Conservatory and was probably the greatest musical survivor of his time as well as being a highly respected teacher. The Preludes included here have memorable melodies ranging from the virtuosic to the intense to intimate and are considered to be the most important of Gliere’s solo piano pieces. Anthony Goldstone’s formidable playing on both discs is technically superb and articulate, revealing all the passion and colour in this little heard music.

CHOPIN FOR PIANO DUO         DIVINE ART DDA25070

The internationally renowned Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow formed their piano duo in 1984 and have given many two-piano and piano-duet recitals as well as double concertos, taking in major festivals in Europe and the USA. Their concert repertoire mixes well-known masterpieces and rarities, often including first hearings of unjustly neglected works, and their recordings include many world premières. On this new CD the British husband and wife duo play compositions by Chopin arranged for two pianos or piano duet, including the Second Piano Concerto in a version for two pianos by Chopin himself and his pupil Carl Mikuli – a world première recording. In all there are six such premières on this CD. As well as the Second Piano Concerto the pieces included are Chopins Rondo in C major, Op. 73 for two pianos; Variations on a Theme of Rossini, transcribed for piano duet; Valse-Paraphrase (daprès Chopin composed by Eduard Schütt) Op. 58 No 1, for two pianos; Valse in D flat major, Op. 64, No. 1 transcribed for two pianos (arr by Frederick Corder); Nocturne in E flat major, Op. 9, No. 2 transcribed for two pianos (arr Ottilie Sutro); Etude nach Fr. Chopin (Brahms) transcribed for two pianos; Variations on a National Air of Moore for piano duet (compl. Goldstone); Revolutionary Raindrop Rag (Goldstone) for two pianos. A fascinating exploration of rarely heard music played with dazzling virtuosity and verve.

HAYDN - PIANO TRIOS, VOL. 2       HYPERION CDA67757

Early ‘Piano Trios’ tended to have the same overall shape as a sonata. Initially this consisted of three movements, though some of Haydn’s have only two. The piano trios of the Classical era, especially those of Haydn, are dominated by the piano part. The violin only plays the melody some of the time and the cello often just doubles the bass line in the piano. This practice was related to the sonority of the instruments of Haydn’s day, when the piano was fairly weak in tone and benefited from the tonal strengthening of other instruments. Mozart’s earlier trios were also dominated by the piano part, though Beethoven’s were able to take advantage of the increase in power and sonority of the piano to allow all three instruments to contribute more equally. Haydn’s piano trios may have become underrated partly because of the limitations of the instrument in his day and partly because they have a ‘domestic’ reputation, being intended originally for playing at home, often by women. In fact these elegant and lively works are all well worth listening to and the later ones are masterpieces, as Haydn experiments in ways that he was reluctant to risk with more public works. Among the women pianists whom Haydn met while he was in London in the 1790s, one of the most highly-regarded was Therese Jansen, a pupil of Clementi. Haydn named her as among the capital’s most important pianists and wrote for her a set of three piano trios published in London in 1797, two of which are included on this disc. The challenging piano parts suggests that she must have been a very fine performer and indeed the string-writing is equally demanding. This is the second disc of Haydn piano trios from The Florestan Trio in which the Edinburgh-born pianist Susan Tomes is joined by Anthony Marwood (violin) and Richard Lester (cello) in wonderfully graceful and expressive performances of this life-enhancing music.

CHOPIN MASTERWORKS, VOLS. 1 & 2       WCJ 2564687174 & 2564687147

Frédéric Chopin was born 1810 in the village of Żelazowa Wola, in the Duchy of Warsaw, to a Polish mother and French-expatriate father, who played the flute and violin. Frédéric’s mother played the piano and gave lessons to boys in the elite boarding house that the Chopins ran so he became conversant with music in its various forms from an early age. He received his first piano lessons from his older sister, Ludwika, and professional lessons from the age of six. His skills soon surpassed those of his teachers, and seven-year old ‘little Chopin’ began giving public concerts that prompted comparisons with Mozart as a child as well as with Chopin’s older contemporary, Beethoven. He composed two Polonaises, in G minor and B-flat major when still only seven years old and continued to write primarily for the piano as a solo instrument throughout his short life (he died in 1849). Though technically demanding, Chopin’s style emphasises nuance and expressive depth rather than virtuosity.  He invented musical forms such as the ballade and was responsible for major innovations in the piano sonata, waltz, nocturne, étude, impromptu and prelude, and his works are now a standard part of the 19th-century Romantic classical music repertoire. Chopin was an arch-improviser. What he wrote down was the tip of his creative iceberg, and perhaps it was this ability that sparked such structurally ground-breaking works as the 24 Préludes, the four Ballades and the Polonaise- Fantaisie. Combine that originality with the purity of Mozart and the contrapuntal lines of Bach - Chopin’s two favourite composers; add a passion for bel canto Italian opera, especially the mellifluous coloraturas of Bellini; and a dash of virtuoso glitter from Chopin’s sometime friend, sometime rival, Franz Liszt; and we begin to understand something of what he was all about. ‘As soon as you know a piece from memory,’ Chopin told a pupil, ‘practise it all night in the dark. When the eyes can see neither notes nor keys, only then does the hearing function with all its sensitivity.’ Nothing is more detestable, he added, than music without hidden meaning. These two 5-CD boxsets include both Chopin’s piano Concertos (played by Maria-Joăo Pires with the Orchestre National de l’Opéra de Monte Carlo), Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3 (the wonderful György Sebok), the complete Nocturnes (Elizabeth Leonskaya), 27 Etudes (Boris Berezovsky) 24 Preludes (Nikolai Lugansky), 14 Waltzes, 4 Ballades and 4 Scherzi (Cyprien Katsaris), 7 Polonaises, the Cello Sonata in G minor (François-René Duchable, piano, and Frédéric Lodeon, cello) and two Chants polonais (Halina Czerny-Stefanska, piano, and Teresa Zylis-Gara, soprano). ‘After playing Chopin, I feel as if I had been weeping over sins that I had never committed,’ - Oscar Wilde. Also released this month by WCJ are LISZT: PARAPHRASES ON BELLINI AND VERDI OPERAS (2564 69074-8) played by the excellent Giovanni Bellucci, and VIRTUOSI (2564 68530-7) - delightful music by Vivaldi, Paganini, Geminiani, Verdi, Giuliani and Castelnuovo-Tedesco performed by guitarist Liat Cohen with the Talich Quartet.

JOHN R. WILLIAMSON - MUSIC FOR PIANO, VOLUMES. 1, 2 & 3           DIVINE ART

John R. Williamson was born in 1929 in Manchester and studied composition under Richard Hall and piano with Hedwig Stein at the Royal Manchester College of Music. He also studied briefly with Lennox Berkeley and has himself taught music in a variety of schools and colleges in England and Wales. Ccompositions include five piano concerti, an extensive amount of solo piano music, twenty five sonatas for many combinations, chamber music, orchestral pieces, a symphony and a cello concerto. His unique style, which he describes as ‘palindromic’, makes frequent use of pentatonic and palindromic harmonic and melodic idioms. He has a special affinity with English songs and has written more than 140, about 90 of them being settings of A E Housman poems. Volumes One and Two of Williamson’s Piano Music were originally released on the Dunelm label, but their release now on Divine Art makes them generally available for the first time. Volume Three has not been issued previously. In these recordings, pianist Murray McLachlan - Head of Keyboard Studies at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester and tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester - gives eloquently persuasive performances of Williamson’s unusual and finely crafted works, including three sonatas and a series of preludes.

CHOPIN - ETUDES & SIX POLISH SONGS (LISZT)       AVIE AV2161

Chopin’s Études revolutionised piano playing radically when they appeared for the first time. Opus 10, the first group of 12, were composed throughout 1829 and 1832, and were published in 1833, in France, Germany, and England. The 12 Études of Opus 25 were composed at various times between 1832 and 1836, and were published in the same countries in 1837. These pieces represent some of the most challenging and evocative of all the works in concert piano repertoire and are amongst the most often performed in concert. Some are so popular they have been given nicknames - most notably the Revolutionary Etude (Op. 10, No. 12). Romanian pianist Luiza Borac, whose award-winning discography includes music by her compatriot George Enescu back to 19th century masterpieces by Schumann and Liszt, returns to Avie Records with this recording of Chopin’s groundbreaking Études. These virtuoso works were showcases for Chopin’s friendly rival Franz Liszt, who went on to transcribe six of the former’s charming Polish Songs, also played on this CD by Luiza Borac. For her, this recital has musical as well as personal significance as it pays tribute to her long-time supporter and producer, the late John Barnes. He also introduced several other young artists to the Avie label and this Chopin was his last studio recording. Luiza Borac plays with great subtlety and delicacy, revealing the power and the poetry in these marvelous works.

AMY BEACH PIANO MUSIC, VOL. 2     GUILD GMCD 7329

The prolific American composer and pianist Amy Beach was born as Amy Marcy Cheney into a distinguished New England family in 1867. A child prodigy, she was able to sing forty tunes accurately by the age of one, taught herself to read at three, and began composing simple waltzes age only four. She began formal piano lessons with her mother at the age of six, and a year later started giving public recitals, playing works by Handel, Beethoven, Chopin, and her own pieces. She made her professional debut in Boston in 1883 and shortly afterwards appeared as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Opera. Following her marriage in 1885 to Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach she limited her performances to one public recital a year, and at her husband’s request, she devoted herself to composition. With the success of her Mass in E Flat Major in 1892, Amy Beach was recognised as one of America’s finest composers. After her husband died, she toured Europe as a pianist, playing her own compositions, before returning to America to use her status to further the careers of many young musicians. Kirsten Johnson follows up Volume 1 of her series of the complete works of Amy Beach with this album containing one of her most important works, Variations on Balkan Themes, as well as all of the piano pieces composed at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. The brilliant Serenade shows her mastery of virtuoso piano writing and Eskimos displays her ability to create delightful vignettes. Moderato and Children’s Album are world première recordings. Exquisite attention to detail, lovely tone colours and an amazing technique make Kirsten Johnson’s recording indispensable.

KEN ELKINSON - LINK     AUGUST SON  AS-61170-7

Born in Cedar Grove, New Jersey in 1972, Ken Elkinson played piano in Atlanta bars and restaurants before moving to New York City to further his musical career and release his first two albums. He later moved to Los Angeles, California, where he released several more albums. His latest release, Link, is another relaxed and engaging mix of jazz and classical music. All twelve compositions are by Ken Elkinson and his mellifluous piano style is heard to great effect on tracks such as the mysterious title song, the wistful Juniper, the soulful Dry Lake Bed, the lovely Sunlight Through Trees, darkly thoughtful Doubt, and the lovely Sway. This excellent album would make ideal background music for a romantic dinner or create an intimate vibe to help you unwind after a hard day, though the reflective music also rewards careful listening. The funny and quirkily confessional sleeve notes are an unexpected bonus. Also recommended are Ken Elkinson’s previous albums: Midnight Conversation (1997), Revelry (2000), Opal (2004), (Cue 2006) and Generations of Yuletide (Christmas songs, 2008). Also available as a digital download is an excellent collection of covers, Borrowed Tracks, featuring such classics as the Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby, Blue (Joni Mitchell), After The Gold Rush (Neil Young), Redemption Song (Bob Marley) and Send In the Clowns (Stephen Sondheim). Website: www.kenelkinson.com

THE PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD COLLECTION         WCJ 2564 69149-2

The French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard was born in 1957 in Lyon. He denies that he was ever a Wunderkind but by the age of seven he was able to play the dauntingly complex pieces of music of Arnold Schoenberg, and aged 12 he entered the Paris Conservatoire as a pupil of Yvonne Loriod. In 1973, he was awarded the chamber music prize of the Conservatoire and that same year won first prize at the international Olivier Messiaen Competition. In 1977, still aged only 19, Pierre Boulez invited him to become a founding member of the elite Ensemble InterContemporain contemporary music group. His close associations with Messiaen and Boulez (one of Messiaen’s pupils) changed his life, vastly widening his already spacious horizons, and enriching his musicianship, both spiritual and technical. In his successful career as a concert pianist, conductor and recording artist, Aimard is particularly committed to contemporary music and has appeared as the soloist in premieres of important works such as Répons by Pierre Boulez, Klavierstück XIV by Karlheinz Stockhausen, and the eleventh and thirteenth piano études of György Ligeti, who described him as ‘the leading performer of contemporary piano music today’. He has also made acclaimed recordings of music by Mozart and the five Beethoven piano concertos with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, excerpts from which can be heard on this wide-ranging double CD collection. Other highlights include Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit, part of Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie, Charles Ives’ Piano Sonata No.2, part of a live recording of Dvorák’s Piano Concerto in G minor, Alban Berg’s Piano Sonata, Op.1, and works by Ligeti (Études: No.17: À bout de souffle / No.18: Canon), Steve Reich (Music for pieces of wood) and Elliott Carter (Two Diversions). This is the ideal introduction to the work of a musician who combines adventurous musical virtuosity with modesty and an interest in Zen Buddhism.

KEN ELKINSON – CUE     AUGUST SON  AS-65105-2

Ken Elkinson’s album contains eleven original piano compositions and includes a debut vocal track, Beautiful Sadness, featuring the voice of acclaimed singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tom Freund. The album also features cover artwork by Mark Rothko and has a booklet with a poem by award-winning poet Elizabeth Spires. This is an elegant mix of jazz, classical and new age sounds, with highlights that include the opening track, Portenos, the beautiful title composition, the carefree Wanderlust, strangely-named Tetherball, the gently drifting January and Beautiful Sadness, where Elkinson’s distinctive piano combines with Tom Freund’s wonderfully smoky voice to winning effect.

JOHN PITTS - 7 AIRS & FANTASIAS     CD.TP/IPM08

This new album, released with support from the PRS Foundation for New Music / The Bliss Trust, features music for piano by John Pitts beautifully played by Steven Kings. Changes is a minimalistic counting duel for 20 nifty fingers, which starts with the skeleton of a short repeated phrase then moves through two enormously tricky sections in which the two pianists have overlapping bars of different lengths before the duet finally builds to a dramatic climax. Toccata is a tour de force of driving energy, based on wild jazz-infused harmony: technically demanding, mentally strenuous, the music's energy is regulated until the final release in the last section, where all the thematic fragments converge, and uninterrupted momentum is achieved. The seven ‘intensely pleasant’ Airs & Fantasias for solo piano were written between 1992 and 2007. The airs are essentially melody-dominated and the fantasias are pieces in free form with a minimalistic use of repeated and rotating patterns. The pieces are intended to be performed individually or in numbered pairs, or as a complete collection. The subtitles are largely programmatic or self-explanatory, other than Air 3 (On an anagram) which uses a melodic motif based on the letters of a name. The performance of Fantasia 2, based on the famous Westminster Chimes, uses optional piano preparations (a small plastic ruler secured loosely in place over middle C to the E above, another ruler wedged between 2 of the 3 F strings, and a bent metal ruler from the next C up over a further octave). An extra track, ‘Are You Going’ for thirty nifty fingers (six hands at a single piano), is available as a download only at cd.tp/ipm08a. Steven Kings plays with great assurance, revealing the subtlety of music that ranges from excitingly virtuoso pieces to serene, melodic reflections.

J S BACH - THE WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER     HYPERION CDA67741/4

In 1722, the year after Johann Sebastian Bach completed his first set of twenty-four Preludes and Fugues, The Well-Tempered Clavier, he left the court of Anhalt-Cöthen to become  Kantor of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig. During succeeding years he wrote a vast amount of music, including cantatas, motets, masses, passions and oratorios, as well as the ‘Goldberg’ Variations and another set of twenty-four Preludes and Fugues. He left no definitive copy of what is now known as Book II of ‘the 48’ and it wasn’t until 1801 that a complete edition was published. The Preludes in the second book are on a much larger scale than in Book I and hints of the ‘sonata form’ can be heard in many of  them. Book I may have more familiar pieces but the composer’s maturity and genius are more evident in the final volume. In Bach’s time the word ‘clavier’ might refer to any keyboard instrument, including harpsichord, clavichord, spinet or virginal, or even the organ. Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt has travelled to twenty-one countries on six continents since 2007 giving celebrated performances of the Well-Tempered Clavier to highly appreciative audiences. The performances were often accompanied by a masterclass or lecture. In this four-CD box set of new 2008 recordings she plays the complete Well-Tempered Clavier using the ‘new-found freedom’ that she discovered in her later performances, and especially her use of Fazioli pianos, ‘whose luminous, powerful, and also ever so delicate sounds opened new worlds to me and allowed my imagination to take flight’. These are poised, vibrant and thrilling performances of some of the most demanding and rewarding music ever written ‘The pre-eminent Bach pianist of our time’ - The Guardian.

CHOPIN - PIANO SONATAS NOS. 2 & 3         HYPERION CDA 67706

Frédéric Chopin gave piano concerts at the age of eight and was hailed as a musical genius when as a teenager when he composed a series of brilliant pieces - polonaises, waltzes, nocturnes, and poetic ballades and etudes. His first published musical work, a rondo, appeared when he was just fifteen years old and he was soon recognised as the leading pianist of Warsaw as well as a talented composer. After Poland’s failed revolt against its Russian rulers in 1830 Chopin decided to go to Paris, where he spent the rest of his life among poets, musicians, wealthy Parisians and Polish exiles. Among his many compositions he wrote only a few sonatas, including the two included on this album. His four-movement Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor was composed mainly in 1839, although the famous funeral march third movement had been written two years earlier. This sonata confused contemporary critics and Robert Schumann suggested that Chopin had simply bound together four of his most unruly children. The funeral march was played at the graveside during Chopin’s own burial at Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris and has since been used at many state funerals, including that of John F. Kennedy. Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, written in 1844 and dedicated to Countess Emilie de Perthuis, was his last sonata for piano solo and may have been an attempt to address the criticisms of the previous one. It consists of four movements, with a lyrical largo replacing the funeral march. Acclaimed French-Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin here gives technically brilliant and wonderfully assured performances of both sonatas, as well as several shorter Chopin works: Berceuse in D flat major, Two Nocturnes and Barcarolle in F sharp major. ‘One of the most adventurous and certainly the most courageous pianists of recent times.’ - International Piano Quarterly.

SIMONE DINNERSTEIN - THE BERLIN CONCERT     TELARC 80715

The remarkable American pianist Simone Dinnerstein has fast been gaining international attention since making a triumphant New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 2005, performing Bach’s Goldberg Variations. She has also performed in Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, at the Aspen and Ravinia festivals, in San Francisco, Paris, London, Copenhagen, Vilnius, Bremen, and at the Stuttgart Bach Festival. On November 22 in 2007 she made her debut at the Kammermusiksaal of the Berlin Philharmonie, performing Bach’s French Suite No. 5, the world premiere recording of contemporary American composer Philip Lasser’s Variations on a Bach Chorale, and Beethoven’s Sonata No. 32, Op. 111. The concert was recorded live and is now released here on Simone Dinnerstein’s second album for Telarc. This is a stunning recital in which she plays with passion, marvelous technical virtuosity and an entirely appropriate sense of spontaneity that expresses the energy and tenderness of this exhilarating music. Highly recommended.

J S BACH - THE WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER     HYPERION CDS44291/4

In 1722, the year after Johann Sebastian Bach completed his first set of twenty-four Preludes and Fugues, The Well-Tempered Clavier, he left the court of Anhalt-Cöthen to become  Kantor of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig. During succeeding years he wrote a vast amount of music, including cantatas, motets, masses, passions and oratorios, as well as the ‘Goldberg’ Variations and another set of twenty-four Preludes and Fugues.  He left no definitive copy of what is now known as Book II of ‘the 48’ and it wasn’t until 1801 that a complete edition was published. The Preludes in the second book are on a much larger scale than in Book I and hints of the ‘sonata form’ can be heard in many of  them. Book I may have more familiar pieces but the composer’s maturity and genius are more evident in the final volume. In Bach’s time the word ‘clavier’ might refer to any keyboard instrument, including harpsichord, clavichord, spinet or virginal, or even the organ. August 2007 sees the start of Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt’s Bach World Tour in which she will bring her celebrated performances of The Well-Tempered Clavier to twenty-five countries on six continents. Concurrently, Hyperion is releasing this limited edition box set of her iconic recordings of ‘the 48’ - held by many critics to be the definitive piano version of Bach’s incomparable masterpiece. The acclaimed pianist brings her customary lucidity, intelligence and sensitivity to this timeless music, making it sound warm and wonderfully natural. ‘The pre-eminent Bach pianist of our time’ - The Guardian.

A CENTURY OF DOMESTIC KEYBOARDS, 1727-1832     ATHENE ATH23026

Period-instrument specialist Joanna Leach takes us on a journey through the development of keyboard instruments used in wealthy homes, from a spinet through three square pianos, each instrument being contemporary with the music played. The four instruments on this disc span a period of just over one hundred years. It was a century which saw huge change in the tone of keyboard instruments, from the then familiar sound of the harpsichord and spinet to the new and exotic timbre of the fortepiano. The instruments chosen are typical domestic instruments of the period. While the harpsichord, and later the grand piano, was to be found in theatres, assembly rooms or larger houses, the spinet and the square piano were designed for a more ordinary domestic setting - though, due to the expense, they would be found only in rather upmarket homes. The music is by Couperin (Les Barricades Mystérieuses, Les Folies Françaises), Byrd (Pavan - The Earle of Salisbury), Handel (icluding his Toccata in G minor), J. S. Bach, Soler, Mozart (Adagio in B minor), Schubert (Six Dances) and Mendelssohn (including two Venetian Gondola Songs). This unique recital of elegantly played music vividly brings to life the sounds of another age.

MOZART - PIANO SONATAS         EROICA JDT 3403

Although they are perfect examples of classical form, Mozart’s piano sonatas are not as well known as they should be. Like Haydn, he wrote much of his keyboard music with the option for it to be played on either the harpsichord or the piano, which was only invented thirty years before his birth. The piano sonatas were a relatively late addition to his work, the earliest surviving one being his Sonata in C, K.279. This dates from 1775, when Mozart was nineteen and in Munich supervising the production of La finta giardiniera. The brilliant Turkish-born pianist Zeynep Ucbasaran begins this double CD with a sparkling performance of that first sonata and also plays six other early Mozart sonatas. Like the composer, Zeynep Ucbasaran’s musical talents were apparent at a very early age. She entered the Istanbul Conservatory when only four - among the youngest students ever to be admitted - and also studied in the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest as well as at Hochschule für Musik, Freiburg, Germany, and at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Since 1996 she has lived in Santa Barbara, California, and become internationally acclaimed for her solo recitals, concerts and chamber music performances. Mozart sonatas can be almost boring when played badly but the performances here are excellent - natural, inventive, spontaneous and deeply satisfying. Zeynep Ucbasaran’s vibrant interpretations of these diverse works elegantly captures the essential poetry in the music.  Eroica have also released a second double CD (JDT 3404) by Zeynep Ucbasaran, featuring six of Mozart’s late piano sonatas. Both albums are highly recommended.

HAYDN - COMPLETE PIANO SONATAS       WARNER 2564-69620-6

Although better known for his string quartets and symphonies, Franz Joseph Haydn also wrote around 51 sonatas for piano as well as several other short pieces for the instrument He was not himself a pianist and most of these works date from his early years, with only three of the sonatas being written in the last twenty years of his life. The majority follow a three-movement structure but reveal a great deal of experimentation as well as his great gift for melody. Haydn transformed the keyboard sonata from a simple drawing-room divertimento to the level of high art, and the greatest among his sonatas have an intellectual rigour and a dramatic sweep that were rarely equalled by Mozart, and not surpassed until Beethoven revolutionised the form in the closing years of the eighteenth century. The Haydn sonatas cover a vast range of musical styles and material, from short, simple works to more complex thematic developments and variations. This splendid 10 CD box set features German virtuoso Rudolf Buchbinder, who was the youngest student ever to be admitted to the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna. He has gone on to perform internationally with some of the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors and this fine set presents his thoughts on the Haydn sonatas, in excellent sound, from the mid 1970s.

SALONEN, STUCKY & LUTOSLAWSKI - PIANO MUSIC     TELARC 80712

Gloria Cheng is widely admired as a leading interpreter of contemporary music, having earned universal acclaim for her colourful performances and her unassuming virtuosity and musicality. She has premiered dozens of new compositions, including works composed specifically for her by John Adams, Pierre Boulez, Terry Riley, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and many others. Her solo discography on Telarc includes Piano Music of John Adams and Terry Riley and Piano Dance: A 20th-Century Portrait. On this new album, Gloria Cheng performs world premieres of works by three leading contemporary composers: Esa-Pekka Salonen, Steven Stucky and Witold Lutoslawski. American Steven Stucky’s contemplative Four Album Leaves and Three Little Variations for David are his first fully realized piano pieces written since his childhood. The three works by the Finnish composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen are Three Preludes, Dichotomie (specially written for Cheng) and Yta II, which explores the subtleties of the piano, as well as the virtuosity of the musician playing it. Witold Lutoslawski, arguably Poland’s greatest composer since Chopin, wrote his attractive piano sonata in 1934 while he was still a composition student at the Warsaw Conservatory but the work was never published during his lifetime. Gloria Cheng’s recording is based on a combination of three sources: the Polish music publishing company PWM edition, a photocopy of a manuscript of the sonata written in the hand of the composer’s late wife, Danuta, and detailed discussions with Charles Bodman Rae, a leading expert on Lutoslawski's music. Gloria Cheng’s virtuosity, sensitivity and understanding reveals all the subtleties in this enjoyable and accessible contemporary music.

TALES OF CUMBRIA – ALEXANDER CLARKE      

Alexander Clarke trained in classical piano and jazz and has composed works for piano, orchestra, choirs, music theatre, schools and jazz groups. His first piece was composed when he was 7 years old and his first significant large-scale work at the age of 18 - his Requiem for choir, soloists, orchestra and rhythm section, which was broadcast on BBC Radio. He has also written a great deal of piano music, for beginners to advanced pianists, and divides his time between teaching and performing. His music is beginning to be appreciated across the globe, and he is travelling increasingly further afield performing his own works. Tales of Cumbia is a testament to the imagination and technical skill of his playing, drawing inspiration from the awesome scenery of the English Lake District. the album is a collection of imaginative pieces that reflect the monumetal beauty of those mountains, valleys and lakes, as well as the beautiful rural countryside of Cumbria. Some of the pieces are moments of tranquility,  such as Lonely Road, and others are works of climaxing drama, such as Workington Life. Each depicts an element of the wonder of Cumbrian scenery. These accomplished, impressionistic pieces vividly evoke the Lake District landscape and are beguilingly played by the composer himself. Website

DEBUSSY - PIANO PRELUDES, BOOKS 1 & 2         PARATY 108 205

Claude Debussy’s Préludes pieces for solo piano are divided into two livres, or books, containing twelve preludes each. Unlike previous cycles of twenty-four preludes, such as Chopin’s, Debussy’s follow no set pattern of key signatures, but instead move arbitrarily through the possible keys. The first book was written between 1909 and 1910, and the second between 1911 and 1912. Debussy never intended the pieces to be performed in a series, considering them rather as individual works. The titles were given by the composer to create images or sensory associations for the listener. Several are poetically vague: for example, the meaning of Voiles is ambiguous (in French it could mean either ‘veils’ or ‘sails’). The titles are written at the end of each movement, allowing the performer to discover impressions for himself, without being guided by Debussy’s own thoughts. The mood of the pieces varies from the profound calm of La cathédrale engloutie to the unrestrained virtuosity of Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest, and from the mysterious Brouillards, to the explosive Feux d’artifice. The most famous are both from the first book: the beautiful La fille aux cheveux de lin and La cathédrale engloutie, inspired by the legend of the sunken city of Ys. A rising star in Paris, the young American pianist Ivan Ilić is gaining international recognition for his ‘unique blend of a Gallic touch, a Slavic soul and a mathematician’s precision.’ A disciple of the legendary François-René Duchâble, he studied music and mathematics at the University of California before leaving for Paris. He was admitted to the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris, where he took a Premier Prix in piano performance, and now has a successful solo career that has taken him to countries throughout Europe and to America. His fine interpretations of these remarkable preludes show him to be a pianist of both discernment and virtuosity.

SAYGUN - PIANO MUSIC         NAXOS 8.570746

Ahmed Adnan Saygun (1907-1991) was one of the most important composers in Turkish music history. As he was growing up in Turkey he witnessed radical changes in his country’s politics and culture as the reforms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk replaced the Ottoman Empire with a secular republic based on Western models and traditions. As Atatürk had created a new cultural identity for his people and newly founded nation, Saygun found his role in developing what Atatürk had begun. A master of the neoclassical form, his works are rooted in Western musical practice yet incorporate traditional Turkish folk songs and culture (he was Bela Bartók’s colleague on an Anatolian song-collecting trip). Saygun usually adds this folk element by picking one note out of the scale and weaves a melody around it using a Turkish mode. His extensive output includes five symphonies, five operas, two piano concertos, concertos for violin, viola and cello, and a wide range of chamber and choral works. His piano music includes works that explore characteristic ‘limping’ rhythm, Turkish dance-forms and, in Inci’s Book, children’s pieces of great charm and simplicity. This recording also includes Anadolu’dan (From Anatolia), 12 Preludes on Aksak Rhythms, 10 Sketches on Aksak Rhythms and his characteristic Piano Sonatina, all played with subtle elegance by the acclaimed Turkish pianist Zeynep Üçbasaran.

BENEDETTI-MICHELANGELI - PIANO ARCHIVES       TAHRA 631

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was born in Brescia, Italy, in 1920. He began music lessons at the age of three, initially learning the violin but soon switching to the piano. He entered the Milan Conservatory at the age of ten and studied medicine for a brief period before beginning his international musical career by entering the 1938 Ysaÿe International Festival in Brussels. A year later he earned first prize in the Geneva International Competition, where he was acclaimed as ‘a new Liszt’ by Alfred Cortot, a presiding judge. Apart from his musical activities, Michelangeli claimed to have been a qualified doctor, pilot, racing car driver and member of the anti-Fascist resistance during the Second World War, although he is known to have served in the Italian armed forces. He also is said to have traced his ancestry back to St. Francis of Assisi. Although regarded as among the most commanding and individual piano virtuosos of the 20th century, along with Horowitz and Richter, his repertoire was surprisingly small pianist of such stature. Owing to his obsessive perfectionism relatively few recordings were officially released during Michelangeli’s lifetime, but these are augmented by numerous bootleg recordings of live performances. This new album features recordings made in the mid-1950s of concertos by Schumann (with the Orchestra della Radiotelevisione della Svizzera Italiana, conducted by Hermann Scherchen), Liszt (No. 1, with the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale di Firenze and Dimitri Mitropoulos) and Rachmaninov: (No. 4, with the Orchestra di Roma della RAI, and Franco Caracciolo - previously unissued). The liner notes were written by Professor Clémenty, a cardiologist who operated on Arturo Benedetti-Michelangeli following his heart attack during a recital he gave in Bordeaux in 1988. They soon became friends and Professor Clémenty draws a sometimes intimate portrait of the famous pianist. Other new releases in Tahra’s excellent Piano Archives series include CLARA HASKIL PLAYS MOZART (TAH 628) with performances of his piano concertos Nos. 19 and 20 and CORTOT & PERLEMUTER (TAH 610) with recordings of Beethoven’s Piano concerto No. 1 (previously unissued and the only known one of Alfred Cortot playing this work), Ravel’s Trio for piano, violin and cello in A minor (with Vlado Perlemuter, Jeanne Gautier and André Lévy) and a marvelous interpretation by Perlemuter of two Legends by Franz Liszt.

AMY BEACH – PIANO MUSIC, VOL 1       GUILD GMCD 7317

Apart from the Mass in E flat Major, her compositions include the Gaelic Symphony, a violin sonata, a piano concerto, the Variations on Balkan Themes, a piano quintet, several choral and chamber music compositions and the opera Cabildo, as well as many songs and piano pieces. Her writing is mainly in a Romantic idiom, often compared to that of Brahms, although in her later works she experimented by moving away from tonality. This compact disc contains all of Amy Beach’s early works for piano, written from childhood through her mid-twenties. Mamma’s Waltz, Menuetto, Romanza, Petite Valse, Air and Variations and Bal Masque are world première recordings. The pieces are fresh and accessible, full of charm and grace. Pianist Kirsten Johnson masterfully captures the essence of the music with flair and imagination, backed by her extensive research into this repertoire. This CD is a must for serious collectors, but is also a treat for all who enjoy listening to piano music composed in the romantic style.

BROWNS IN BLUE – THE 5 BROWNS       RCA RED SEAL 88697-11322-2

The 5 Browns clean-cut Browns are a classical music phenomenon who first caught the public’s attention in 2002 when People magazine called them the ‘Fab Five’ - the first quintet of siblings to study simultaneously as the prestigious Juilliard School. After appearing on 60 Minutes and Oprah, they released their hugely successful debut album in 2005 and were hailed by Entertainment Weekly as ‘five young Mormons who all play scorching piano. Thundering down on five Steinways together, they’re button-down cute and somewhat otherworldly’. Ryan, Melody, Gregory, Deondra and Desirae are now back with a new album of romantic and jazz-inspired piano music drawn from a wide variety of sources and performed with their usual sublime virtuosity. With Browns In Blue, The 5 Browns extend their individual and collective mastery of the piano and their command of classical repertoire through a series of emotionally complex interpretations of works ranging from the romantic tonalities of Rachmaninoff (Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,18th Variation), Chopin (Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48), Debussy (Clair de lune), and Saint-Saëns (Carnival of the Animals: ‘The Swan’ and ‘Aquarium’, featuring violin virtuoso Gil Shaham) to the jazz-influenced contemporary masterpieces of Gershwin (Embraceable You and from An American In Paris, Home Blues) with special guest performance by trumpeter Chris Botti) and W.C. Handy (Aunt Hagar’s Blues) to the fiery dynamics of Piazzolla (Tango) and the brooding smoldering passion of Brahms (Intermezzo, Op. 118 No. 2). Included as a special bonus track is the newly recorded ‘Everybody Loves Somebody’ featuring the vocals of Dean Martin. The 5 Browns also play newly-commissioned five-piano piece, John Novacek’s sparkling, folk-inspired Reflections on Shenandoah. These gifted young pianists play with remarkable virtuosity, blending classical and jazz traditions together to produce a unique sound that is pure music.

MARTINU – COMPLETE PIANO MUSIC, VOL. 3     NAXOS  8.557919

The Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959) was educated in the classic romantic style and was much influenced by Twentieth Century neo-classicism as well as Czech folk songs and jazz. He was extraordinarily prolific, writing many chamber and choral works, 6 symphonies, concertos (including five for the piano), 15 operas and 14 ballets, becoming with Dvorák, Janácek and Smetana one of ‘The Great Four’ Czech classical composers. Most of his orchestral works include a prominent part for piano, including his small concerto for harpsichord and chamber orchestra. This third release in the Naxos complete Martinu solo piano music series represents the most mature style of his work. It begins with two masterworks for the genre: the Fantaisie et toccata, written as he made his escape from Paris in 1940, and the solitary Sonata, his largest and last major work for solo piano. The three sets of Etudes and Polkas were composed while Martinu was living at Cape Cod. Although they hark back to Smetana, Dvorák, and Czech folk roots, they also bear the individual, distinctive voice of a mature Martinu, filled with both a post-War optimism and a longing for a native land to which he would never return. Volumes 1 and 2 of this series are available on Naxos 8.557914 and 8.557918. The Prague-born pianist on these recordings is Giorgio Koukl, who gives brisk, unshowy performances of this technically challenging music.

LIGETI-SCHUBERT – AN EXPERIMENTAL RECITAL     COL LEGNO 20102

György Sándor Ligeti (1923-2006) was a Jewish Hungarian composer born in Romania who later became an Austrian citizen. Many of his works are well known in classical music circles, but among the general public, he is probably best known for his opera Le Grand Macabre and the various pieces which feature prominently in the Stanley Kubrick films 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut. Ligeti’s earliest works are an extension of the musical language of his countryman Béla Bartók but his music also reveals the influence of composers and musicians from many different centuries, countries and cultures, from 15th century composer Johannes Ockeghem to American mavericks Harry Partch and Conlon Nancarrow. This experimental recital by the brilliant German piano duo of Andreas Grau & Götz Schumacher brings together Ligeti’s Three Pieces for Two Pianos, not in successive order, interspersed with two large-scale Schubert four-hand works (Fantasy in F minor and Sonata in B flat major). The contrast between Ligeti’s concentrated dynamism and Schubert’s more leisurely style is fascinating and provocative, and the performances by Grau Schumacher are stunning. Ligeti rocks! Also just released is another CD, WORKS FOR PIANO & HARPSICHORD (COL LEGNO 20501) featuring two capriccios written by the 19-year-old Ligeti, his ‘Musica ricercata’, the first volume of his legendary Ètudes, and three pieces for harpsichord, all brilliantly played by Erika Haase.

PETER WISHART – COMPLETE WORKS FOR PIANO       PRIORY PRCD881

The composer, conductor, accompanist and distinguished academic Peter Wishart was born in Crowborough, England, in 1921 and studied music at Birmingham University then with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. He taught at Birmingham University and the Guildhall School of Music before being appointed Professor of Music at the University of Reading in 1977. He was also an accomplished composer, writing several operas (most notably The Clandestine Marriage) as well as impressive orchestral, choral and chamber works.  His carol ‘Alleluya!’ is by far his most popular piece, having been recorded by many choirs throughout the world. After Peter Wishart's death in 1984, third wife, the mezzo-soprano Maureen Lehane Wishart, launched an annual festival dedicated to his memory and in 1993 the Jackdaws Educational Trust, a natural development of the festival, was founded. This recording, made in the excellent acoustics at St George’s, Brandon Hill, Bristol, is the first to feature all of Peter Wishart’s piano works: Opheis Kai Klimakes Op.35 (Snakes and Ladders), Partita in F sharp Op.10, and the Sonata for Piano Duet in B flat Op.5. The CD also includes CD premiere recordings of two pieces by Constant Lambert: Suite in three (continuous) movements, and Prize Fight, arranged for piano duet by the composer. The acclaimed pianist is Mark Tanner, joined by Allan Schiller for the three duets. These are subtle and diverting performances of music by a composer whose style was patrician yet often passionate.

RAMEAU – KEYBOARD SUITES           HYPERION  SACDA67597

French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau was born in Dijon in 1683 and spent the first half of his life mostly in the provinces. He was a violinist in the Lyons Opera and held organ posts in Avignon, Clermont and Dijon. During a visit to Paris he published his first book of harpsichord pieces and settled there permanently from 1722 until his death in 1764, teaching and writing harpsichord pieces, cantatas and music for the theatre. As well as being one of the most important music theorists of the Baroque era, Rameau replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera, provoking great controversy between the traditional Lullistes and the forward-looking Ramistes. Rameau’s treatise ‘On the Technique of the Fingers on the Harpsichord’ remains essential reading and his intellectualism combines in his music to produce passion and tenderness - in his own words ‘true music…the language of the heart’. Sixty of his keyboard works are known, sorted by key into five suites, and on this new disc from Hyperion the award-winning Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt performs three of them. Courtly dances (including the famous Tambourin) are included alongside more programmatic movements (such as Les sauvages - Rameau had just seen two Louisiana Indians performing at the theatre) in these engaging and deceptively catchy miniatures. Angela Hewitt was named Artist of the Year at the Gramophone Awards in 2006 and her playing here is stylish and mesmerising as she revels in the colour and energy of these infectious pieces. This excellently produced hybrid SACD can be played on any CD player.

GRAHAM WHETTAM – PIANO MUSIC           DIVINE ART 25038

Graham Whettam was born in 1927 and has devoted himself to composition since 1948. Self-taught, he studied the work of great composers, especially Bartok and Mahler, and found his musical ‘voice’ by listening critically to his works played by leading musicians and orchestras. J. Arthur Rank commissioned him to write the orchestral score for the famous film ‘Genevieve’ in 1953, and two years later a Children’s Film Foundation production with music by Whettam won a Premier Award at the Venice Film Festival. On this CD the husband and wife duo The Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow play five pieces by Graham Whettam: Night Music for  piano solo (Anthony Goldstone), Ballade hébraïque piano duet, Prelude, Scherzo and Elegy piano solo (Caroline Clemmow), Fantasy piano duet, and Prelude and Scherzo Impetuoso piano solo (Caroline Clemmow). Graham Whettam’s  exuberant yet accessible music deserves to be much more widely known and these exceptional performances should help bring that about. ‘Graham Whettam is that now rare kind of composer, a natural symphonist; his ideas fall readily into patterns of conflict and resolution’ - The Sunday Times.

DEBUSSY - THE COMPLETE PIANO MUSIC, VOL. 1       BRIDGE 918

Claude Debussy was one of the most important composers of the early 20th century and his harmonies, considered radical in his day, were influential on other major composers, including Stravinsky, Messiaen, Boulez, Steve Reich and Philip Glass. Debussy’s Children’s Corner suite for solo piano was completed in 1908 and dedicated to his daughter Emma-Claude, who was three years old at the time. The six pieces are wonderfully evocative of childhood, the last one - Golliwog’s Cakewalk - being the most famous. Debussy’s Préludes are two sets of pieces for solo piano, divided into two separate livres, or books, of twelve preludes each. The composer never intended them to be performed in a series, but thought of them as individual works. The titles, often poetically vague, were given to create images or sensory associations for the listener. This excellent CD is the first in a projected series by Bennett Lerner that will feature all of Debussy’s music for piano - a total of 83 works representing one of the great pianistic legacies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Included on this first volume are Book II of the Préludes, the Children’s Corner suite, and six other pieces, including Danse bohémienne, The Little Nigar, Rêverie, and the recently discovered Intermède, written in 1880. Bennett Lerner is well known as a performer of new music and has premiered works by composers such as Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber and Virgil Thomson.  His teachers have included the Chilean virtuoso Claudio Arrau, Arrau’s assistant, Rafael de Silva, and the Argentine virtuosa Arminda Canteros.  He has lived in Thailand since 1990 and currently teaches music at Payap University in Chiang Mai.

BACH - RUMMEL PIANO TRANSCRIPTIONS - 6       HYPERION CDA67481/2

Born in Germany in 1887, Walter (Morse) Rummel had a glamorous career in the early 20th century as a pianist and composer. He was the son of another well-known pianist, Franz Rummel, and his wife, Cornelia Morse, who was the daughter of the inventor of the telegraph, Samuel Morse. Walter Rummel spent part of his childhood in the United States of America, becoming a citizen there in 1907. His most important teacher was Leopold Godowsky and from his earliest concerts, the handsome and charismatic Rummel was a great success with both audiences and critics. A good friend of Debussy, he played all of the of composer’s music in addition to Bach, Beethoven, and the 19th century Romantic composers. He began composing at an early age and moved in intellectual and artistic circles that, in addition to Debussy, included Isadora Duncan, Ezra Pound, W B Yeats and Rabindrath Tagore. This sixth volume in Hyperion’s invaluable series of piano transcriptions of Bach masterpieces features the twenty-five surviving transcriptions by Walter Rummel. The majority are based on Bach’s choral works, with Rummel mastering the difficulties inherent in condensing numerous musical lines of a choir and orchestra into a meaningful piano score. Jonathan Plowright’s exquisite performances embody the tradition of that golden age of pianism from which these transcriptions emerged - in Rummel’s own words: ‘The composer bewitches music, holding it captive behind the prison of five lines; but the interpreter breaks the spell that holds the bewitched princess, he frees Music.’

PIANO MUSIC BY CHABRIER - ANGELA HEWITT       HYPERION SACDA67515

The composer, pianist, and conductor Emmanuel Alexis Chabrier (1841-1894) was born in the Auvergne region of central France. Although passionate about music, he was almost forty before he made composition his full time career after working at the Ministry of the Interior for eighteen years. Despite this late start and a lack of formal training, Chabrier’s music showed great brilliance and wit, influencing Maurice Ravel as well as Les Six, a group of young composers who typified the emerging French nationalism in the following generation. Before breaking free from his routine job, Chabrier had written only two works of note: the operettas L'Étoile and Une Éducation manqué. One of his first works after becoming a full-time composer was Dix Pièces pittoresques for piano (1881), the Idylle from which hugely impressed Francis Poulenc, who wrote, ‘Even today I tremble with emotion in thinking of the miracle that was produced: a harmonic universe suddenly opened in front of me, and my music has never forgotten this first loving kiss.’ He also described Pièces as being ‘as important for French music as the preludes of Debussy’. On this new album, Angela Hewitt performs the contrasting and evocative Pièces as well as several other charming short piano works by Chabrier, including Impromptu and Ronde champêtre. All are played with warmth, style and affection. As the composer was closely associated with the Impressionist painters and purchased the famous ‘Bar at the Folies-Bergère’ by his friend Édouard Manet, it is entirely appropriate that this delightful picture is reproduced on the cover of this disc, available as a conventional CD as well as in multichannel hybrid SACD format.

PAUL BADURA-SKODA - SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE RECITAL     KLEOS  KL5140

Paul Badura-Skoda is a legendary performer who has played in all the world´s great concert halls and for many years was the pianist who had the largest number of records available in the market. His musical personality is characterised by complete immersion in music, a passionate search for the essential, and a sense of artistic responsibility. he entered the Vienna Conservatory in 1945, two years later winning first prize in the Austrian Music Competition and a scholarship to study with Edwin Fischer. Wilhelm Furtwängler and Herbert von Karajan became aware of Badura-Skoda’s outstanding talent and invited him to play concerts that virtually made him a world-famous artist overnight. Since then, Badura-Skoda has performed regularly at the most important music festivals and been a soloist with some of the world´s most prestigious orchestras. In addition to Furtwängler and von Karajan, he has collaborated with conductors such as George Szell, Karl Böhm, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Georg Solti, Kent Nagano and John Eliot Gardiner. Badura-Skoda’s vast repertoire of recordings consists of more than 200 LPs and dozens of compact discs, including complete cycles of the piano sonatas of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. On this recording of a recital at the Sydney Opera House in 1982, he gives typically intelligent and beguiling performances of works by Bach, Brahms, Bartok and Debussy.

TZIGANE - ANTHONY GOLDSTONE       DIVINE ART 25033

Anthony Goldstone was born in Liverpool and studied with Derrick Wyndham at the Royal Manchester College of Music then in London with the great Maria Curcio, making him a sixth-generation pupil of Beethoven (Maria Curcio was a favourite pupil of Schnabel). His career has included many acclaimed broadcasts and recordings, and on this CD he shows both his virtuosity and musicianship in ten works with a distinctly Romany theme. Music is one of the ways in which gypsies have traditionally made a living, playing and singing in typically passionate and uninhibited style and inspiring many mainstream composers. There are four world première recordings here and three exciting arrangements by the performer, resulting a sparkling display of the highest quality. The works are by Kodály (Dances from Galánta), Haydn (Gypsy Rondo, with cadenza by Schubert), Liszt (Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6), Busoni (Chamber Fantasy on Bizet’s Carmen), Brahms (Hungarian Dance Nos. 11 & 2), Dohnányi (Rhapsody in F sharp minor), Falla (Fantasia Baetica), Holmés (Rêverie Tzigane) and Enescu (Romanian Rhapsody No. 1). This appealing, accessible music is played by a musician at the top of his form.

MOZART - ZEYNEP UCBASARAN         EROICA JDT 3222

The brilliant Turkish-born pianist Zeynep Ucbasaran entered the Istanbul Conservatory aged only four - one of the youngest ever to be admitted - and studied in the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, as well as at Hochschule für Musik, Freiburg, Germany and at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Since 1996 she has been living in Santa Barbara, California, and become internationally acclaimed for her solo recitals, concerts and chamber music performances. She has previously recorded the music of Liszt and Schubert and this new CD features assured and vital performances of two Sonatas and two Fantasias by Mozart, plus Variations on a Minuet by Duport. Zeynep Ucbasaran also plays with great poise on another new CD of piano works by Scarlatti and Beethoven, together with three twentieth century composers: Ahmet Adnan Saygun, Leonard Bernstein and Robert Muczynski (EROICA JDT 3223). Both discs feature virtuoso performances that are never too flamboyant or hurried from a pianist of world class.

PHILIP GLASS - METAMORPHOSIS         KHA 005

Philip Glass is perhaps the best known member from a school of American composers known as the minimalists. Others include Terry Riley, Steve Reich and La Monte Young, but Glass has been the most commercially successful due to his music’s accessibility and simple melodies. Glass was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1937. After graduating from the University of Chicago, where he majored in mathematics and philosophy, he moved to New York and Paris to study music. After researching music in North Africa, India and the Himalayas, he returned to New York, renouncing his previous music, and applying eastern techniques to his own work. As well as his opera, Einstein on the Beach, he has written music for dance, theatre, chamber ensemble, orchestra and film. His most recent film score for The Hours received Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. Metamorphosis, based on the book of the same name by Franz Kafka, is one of Glass’s most famous compositions for piano. On this recording it is played with expression and conviction by the gifted young Italian pianist Alessandra Celletti.

BACH - GOLDBERG VARIATIONS       CLAVES 50-2407

J S Bach’s ‘Goldberg’ Variations is the last of a series of keyboard music works that the composer published under the title of Clavierübung. Many people consider this the most serious and challenging composition that has ever been written for harpsichord. Based on a single bass theme, the variations prove Bach’s profound understanding of many musical styles as well as  his exceptional performing technique. This largest of all clavier pieces encapsulates the whole history of Baroque variation, as Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations later did for the Classical period. It requires a performer capable of virtuoso techniques and this outstanding recording the work is by the brilliant young Swiss pianist Cédric Pescia, gold medallist of the 2002 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition held in Salt Lake City. His performances during the competition also earned him a $30,000 prize, the peer jury prize, and worldwide concert and recital opportunities. As well as appearing at many leading music festivals he is a soloist with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, the Utah Symphony, the Festival Strings of Lucerne, and the Sinfonie Orchester Berlin.

PHILLIP SCHROEDER - MUSIC FOR PIANO       CAPSTONE CPS-8742

The Canadian-born pianist Jeri-Mae G. Astolfi gives assured performances of works for piano by Phillip Schroeder, who has been a guest composer, lecturer and performer at festivals, conferences and universities throughout the United States and Europe. Born in northern California, he has previously written music for orchestra, wind ensemble, live-electronics, chamber ensembles, choir, instrumental solos and voice. His music has a sparkling clarity allied to melodic peacefulness - qualities no doubt influenced by his interest in Taoism. The works here are Twelve Pieces for Piano, the serene No Reason Why, Floating (a sensual ‘sound painting’), From the Shadows of Angels, and Moons (the moon reflected in its four phases). This is resonant music played with exceptional grace.

CHOPIN - COMPLETE PRELUDES           MANDALA 02

All Frederic Chopin’s Preludes are played immaculately on this CD by the brilliant young pianist Hsia-Jung Chang. They have been recorded in digital stereo on a rebuilt 1907 Pleyel piano, a make of instrument the composer is believed to have preferred for his music. Hsia-Jung Chang performs the works with great delicacy and refinement, allowing a wide spectrum of colour and moods to emerge in a way that appears effortless. Hsia-Jung Chang is currently based in New York City and has performed throughout the USA as well as in Scandinavia and Asia. She is active as soloist and chamber musician in addition to being a guest lecturer at the Manhattan School of Music and elsewhere. Her equally impressive recording of the complete Chopin Impromptus, Ballades, Berceuse is also available. For more information, visit the website at www.hsiajungchang.com.

SCHUBERT - FOUR-HAND PIANO WORKS, VOL. 2     SUMMIT DCD 404

Schubert wrote many piano works for four hands, the first such pieces dating from 1810 when he still was a child. During the summers of 1818 and 1824 he worked as a piano-teacher for Count Esterhazy in Hungary, where he wrote several of his finest piano works for four hands. An unusual feature in them is that the arms of the players often cross, probably an intentional way to make physical contact with the young Countess Karolin with whom Schubert had expressed affection. On this enjoyable double CD collection Claire Aebersold and Ralph Neiweem give elegant and compelling performances of the Divertissement a la Hongroise, Variations sur une Theme Original in A Flat Major, Six Grandes Marches et Trios, Vier Landler and the Sonata in C. Major.

THROUGH THE YEARS - DMITRY PAPERNO       CEDILLE CDR 90000 074

The Russian pianist, teacher and writer Dmitry Paperno (born in Kiev in 1929) emigrated to the USA in 1976 and has performed to acclaim throughout the United States and Europe. He has also recorded extensively and on this latest disc performs miniature masterworks by an extremely wide range of composers, from pieces by J S Bach (born 1685) and Jean Philippe Rameau’s ‘Bird Calls’ to Alexander Scriabin’s lyrical Two Poems and a delightful Humoresque by Rodion Schedrin (born 1932). Other works are by Domenico Scarlatti (Sonata in C minor), Beethoven (Andante in F major, ‘Andante favori’), Schumann (Intermezzo in D minor), Chopin, Liszt, Grieg (From Early Years), Debussy (Hommage à Rameau), Gottlieb Muffat/Béla Bartók (Fugue in G minor), Albéniz/Leopold Godowsky (Tango, from España), Borodin (‘In a Monastery, from Petite Suite) and Tchaikovsky (the bittersweet Dialogue, perhaps his last piano piece). ‘Paperno is unquestionably one of the major talents of his generation’ - Fanfare.

MUSIC FOR TWO PIANOS AND ORCHESTRA             KLEOS  KL 5121

The critically acclaimed duo-piano team of Joshua Pierce and Dorothy Jonas, together with the Polish Television and Radio Orchestra, perform Francis Poulenc’s beautiful Concerto in D minor as well as two world premier recordings: a Fantasie by the Russian composer, Nikolai Berezowsky, and a Concerto for Two Pianos by Paul Creston. Joshua Pierce and Dorothy Jonas have been playing as a piano duo since 1978 and many of their recordings and performances have featured world premieres, including works composed for them by Miklos Rozsa. Their performance on this album of Poulenc’s delightful concerto is passionate, witty and  exhilarating. Berezowsky’s energetic Fantasie and the excellent Creston Concerto are also played with great brilliance and virtuosity, making this an invaluable addition to this prolific duo’s recorded repertoire. ‘Crisp, clean performances...consistant high spirits. It was delightful to encounter it in a performance of this stature’ - The Chicago Sun-Times.

HAYDN - AIRS, VARIATIONS AND DANCES       BIS CD-1323/1324

Volume 10 of Ronald Brautigam’s pioneering survey of Haydn’s solo piano music features those works by the composer which are not labelled sonatas. These include an exciting mix of dances, marches and sets of variations – including a keyboard version of one of the most famous sets of variations in musical history, namely the one based on ‘Gott erhalte Franz, den Kaiser’ from the ‘Emperor’ Quartet. As well as such substantial works, there are many delightful miniatures, sometimes barely a minute long and often in the shape of dances. Haydn’s musical genius is readily apparent even in the smallest format, and Brautigam plays with consummate musical imagination and virtuosity. This exceptional CD set comprises three discs for the price of two and adds to the already glowing reputation of the series.

CHOPIN - COMPLETE BALLADES AND SCHERZI           MOVE MD3283

Internationally-renowned pianist Ian Holtham is no stranger to Chopin and impressed many Melbourne audiences with his marathon concert recitals of the complete etudes, which he has also recorded for Move (MD3134). For this outstanding new CD he turns to Chopin’s ballades and scherzi, undoubtedly among the composer's most individual, characteristic and dramatic works. As well as performing throughout Australia, England, Ireland, Switzerland, Italy, France, Austria, Hungary, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Korea, Ian Holtham has broadcast regularly with the ABC and is currently Head of Keyboard Studies and Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Music at The University of Melbourne. ‘Shows the mastery and control of the keyboard which makes Holtham such an exciting performer...Melbourne is indeed lucky to have such a resident talent’ - 3MBS-FM Libretto.

AARON COPLAND - MUSIC FOR PIANO       DIVINE ART 25016

This impressive CD features all the major solo piano works by one of America’s most revered composers, including his Passacaglia, Piano Variations, the hauntingly beautiful Piano Sonata and an ambitious Piano Fantasy. The pianist is Raymond Clarke, whose recordings so far have specialised in twentieth-century music, and on this new disc the four Copland works are played in chronological order. The performances throughout are exemplary, each note being played with great precision and delicacy. ‘For anyone who has yet to experience the wonders of Copland’s music for piano, here is the place to start’ - Musicweb. ‘Clarke’s impressive technique is placed entirely at the service of the music, bringing lucidity even when the page is black with notes, never diluting the percussive qualities of the Piano Variations, or smoothing the jagged quality of the Sonata’ - Yorkshire Post.

SIX DEGREES OF TONALITY - ENID KATAHN       GASPARO GSCD-344

This fascinating album, subtitled ‘A Well Tempered Piano’, is pianist Enid Katahn’s follow-up to Beethoven in the Temperaments (Gasparo GSCD-332). On this admirable new recording she explores six different historical tunings in six well-known classical compositions for piano - all performed with intelligent poise on the modern concert grand. The works are by Scarlatti (Sonata, D, K. 96), Mozart (Fantasie, D mi), Haydn (Sonata, Eb), Beethoven (Sonata, Ab, Op. 110), Chopin (Fantaisie-Impromptu) and Grieg (Glochengelaute). ‘The CD is a valuable addition to the library of all pianophiles, performers and listeners alike’ - American Record Guide.

STORIA - PHILIP AMALONG           EROICA JDT 3119

‘Storia’ means ‘history’ or ‘story’ in Italian, and the music played on this cleverly though out disc by Philip Amalong tells the story of the piano from Bach to the present day. The pianistic tradition has evolved through various eras and styles and many pieces have ‘extra-musical’ stories or ideas associated with them. The works here range from the B-flat minor Prelude and Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book I of J.S. Bach (composed around 1725) to Rondo Capriccioso, a piece written for Philip Amalong two years ago by Angelo della Picca. Other works include two of the Ballades, Op. 10 of Brahms, Sonata No. 1 by Alberto Ginastera, Romeo Bids Juliet Farewell, from Ten Pieces from Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev, and The Maiden and the Nightingale by Enrique Granados. When this enhanced CD is played on a computer drive an interactive window opens with a menu that offers program notes about the pieces and composers, as well as useful web links and additional credits. The CD also plays normally in any CD player.

REYNALDO HAHN - EARL WILD                   IVORY CLASSICS 72006

The remarkable, Grammy award winning Earl Wild gives masterful performances of works for solo piano by French composer Reynaldo Hahn. This world première two disc recording includes his  rare collection of 53 compositions entitled, Le Rossignol Éperdu (The Bewildered Nightingale). Recorded here in its entirety for the first time, these charming poèmes for piano were composed between 1899 and 1911. Each was inspired by great poets such as Verlaine, Molière, Baudelaire and Hugo. The Le Rossignol Éperdu consists of four suites: Premiere, Orient, Carnet de Voyage and Versailles. This extraordinary group of miniatures reflects varying impressions, sketches and thoughts during Reynaldo Hahn's countless travels and the music is played here with suitably passionate Belle Époque elegance. ‘Wild’s performances are exquisite in every category – technical, interpretive and aesthetic’ - St. Petersburg Times. ‘Not to be missed’ - American Record Guide.

BRAZILIAN MOSAIC - CLELIA IRUZUN/LONTANO         LONTANO LNT115

This album is filled with exhilarating compositions by Brazilian composers. With the exception of the first two pieces (Francisco Mignone’s beguiling Fantasia Brasiliera No. 3 for piano and orchestra, and the Bachianas Brasilieras by Villa-Lobos), the others are played solo by the distinguished Brazilian-born pianist Clélia Irizun. She is particularly effective in Edino Krieger’s classic-influenced Sonatina, with its alternating brightness and serenity. The other works here are by Villa-Lobos (‘the three Marias’), Barrozo Netto (Minha Terra), Ronaldo Miranda (Concertino) and Marlos Nobre (Concertante do Imgaginario). The Cuban-born, American-raised Odaline of la Martinez and her ensemble Lontano are also in impeccable form on this delightful panorama of Brazilian music.

BEETHOVEN PIANO SONATAS - PIZARRO           LINN RECORDS   CKD 209

The exceptional young pianist Artur Pizarro plays four of Beethoven’s most popular and impassioned sonatas:  the C minor Pathétique, C sharp minor Moonlight, D minor Tempest and F minor Appassionata. The performances throughout this exemplary album are wonderfully fresh and impeccably conceived.  ‘...he captures the uncanny quality of the pedalled recitatives in the Tempest, and his Pathétique is sterling’ - The Sunday Times.

PIANO GEMS & MASTERPIECES - RADOSLAVOVA             EROICA  JDT 3080

Bulgarian-born Pavlina Radoslavova plays a most enjoyable and accesiible selection of the world's best-loved miniatures and piano pieces. Inspired by Robert Schumann's work ‘From Foreign Lands & People’ (Scenes from Childhood), this recording features 23 works from 17 composers in 10 countries; ranging from the Baroque through to the modern. The music includes Bach’s Chorale ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’, Beethoven’s Fur Elise and Schubert’s Serenade in D minor, as well as pieces by Scarlatti, Mozart, Schumann, Brahms, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Khatchaturian, Bulgarian composer Pancho Vladigerov (Rustic Dance), Albeniz, Bartok, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov and George Gershwin (Prelude in E flat minor). Recorded in ‘The Great Hall’, Dartington, England this album captures a raw, unedited piano sound that reveals the nuances, power and rich depth of the instrument.

VIRTUOSO SCHUBERT - ZEYNEP UCBASARAN               EROICA JDT3108.
The gifted young pianist Zeynep Ucbasaran began her musical studies at the age of four at the Istanbul Conservatory. On this rewarding CD recorded at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, she plays two works by Franz Schubert: his profound and noble Sonata in A major and the visionary Wanderer-Fantasy. Both pieces are awe-inspiring in their scope and demanding for the performer but Zeynep Ucbasaran plays superbly and intelligently throughout.

EDWARD WOOD - 21 VARIATIONS ON A THEME           EROICA JDT 3095

The brilliant American musician Edward Wood plays 21 Variations on a Theme of Andrew Wood, a work composed by the pianist in honour of his son’s 21st birthday. Along with the theme iself, the inspired variations consist of Poco Allegro / Meno Mosso / Allegro /Meastoso / Barcarole / Energetic / Andante poco / Adagio Andante / Allegro / Twin: Andante / Twin: Andante / Homage to Rachmaninoff, from England: march / Fughetta / Commodo / Poco Allegro / Meno Mosso / Adagio / Allegretto / Allegro con Brio / Barcarole / Listesso Tempo / Andante Serioso. Edward Wood is well-known for his spellbinding performances of PIANISSISSIMO by Donald Martino, one of the most extraordinary and difficult pieces of music ever written.

KEYBOARD FANTASIES - CURT CACIOPPO           CAPSTONE  CPS-8713

This CD features three inspired fantasies for piano solo by the outstanding American composer Curt Cacioppo. These adventurous works are his Contrapuntal Fantasy on John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” (Kenneth Fearn, pianist), Ostinato-Fantasia on “All Creatures of our God and King” (Paul Orgel, pianist) and Fantasy-Choruses on “This Little Light of Mine” (Charles Abramovic, pianist). There are also two fantasy works written for the organ and played here by Robert Gallagher: “di cibo celeste” (ciaconna-fantasia on themes from Mozart's Don Giovanni) and Visione delle Crociate (Vision of the Crusades).

STEPHEN FOSTER - PIANO WORKS               PRO PIANO RECORDS PPR224535

Sara Davis Buechner, plays the Complete Piano Works and assorted transcriptions of Stephen Foster, one of America’s best-loved composers. The pieces include Three Melodies transcribed by Elinor Remick Warren (Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, Beautiful Dreamer, De Camptown Races), Old Folks at Home (Theme and variations), Maria Bach Waltz, The Tioga Waltz, Soirée Polka, The Village Bells, The Holiday Schottisch and Santa Anna's Retreat from Buena Vista. This rewarding CD also features Walter Niemann’s Louisiana Suite based on popular Songs from the Southern States of North America (The Mississippi Steam-boat's in Sight!, My Old Kentucky Home, The Interrupted Serenade, Longing for Home, Carnival in New Orleans).

SCHUBERT - FOUR-HAND PIANO WORKS, VOL 1             SUMMIT RECORDS  339.

This masterly recording is the first in a series that will feature all the piano music Schubert wrote for four hands. The workss here are played by Claire Aebersold and Ralph Neiweem, two musicians who are married to each other and have been closely associated with this repertoire for more than 25 years. On this first volume of Schubert’s four-hand works they lucidly perform six delighful pieces composed between 1818 and 1828, including the Rondo in A Major, Duo in A Minor (‘Lebenssturme’) and Fantasy in F Minor.

BENNO MOISEIWITSCH PLAYS CHOPIN, VOL. 2               APR 5576

This second volume of Benno Moiseiwitsch’s recordings from APR features tracks made between the years 1925 to 1952. There are outstanding performances of the Four Scherzi as well as Nocturne No. 19, Polonaise No. 9, Four Etudes, Ballade No. 3, the Barcarolle in F sharp minor, Waltz No. 14, Impromptu No. 1 and Moiseiwitsch’s last 78rpm record, the Fantasie-Impromptu in C sharp minor. These are rare recordings which will justly celebrate a brilliant performer.

MANUEL DE FALLA - MUSIC FOR PIANO                         ENSAYO ENY-CD-9735.

The spell-binding Spanish pianist Esteban Sánchez plays exhilarating music by Manuel de Falla, including Fantasía bética, Cuatro piezas españolas, Pour le tombeau de Paul Dukas, Serenata andaluza, Nocturno, Vals capricho, Canción, Canto de los bateleros del Volga.

CHOPIN PIANO WORKS, VOL. 1 - FELIPE BROWNE             CLAUDIO CR5149-2.

The superb young Chilean-born pianist Felipe Browne performs a thoughtfully chosen selection of works by Chopin. These include four Ballades, the Fantaisie Op.49 in F minor, Etude Op.10 No. 12 in C minor, Prelude Op.28 No.24 in D minor and Nocturne Op.48 No. 1 in C minor. The highly accomplished playing is intelligent and elegant throughout. ‘Browne dazzled the crowd with his keen sense of articulation, brilliant finger speed and tempering of power with eloquent sensitivity’ - The Washington Post.

ALBÉNIZ - ESTEBAN SANCHEZ                                   ENSAYO  ENY-CD-9731.

Esteban Sánchez, piano, gives a monumentally impressive performance of España by IsaacAlbeniz (1860- 1909). Other irresistible Albeniz compositions included here are Asturias, Córdoba, Cádiz, Granada, Castilla, Cuba, Mallorca, Sevilla and the wonderful La Vega. ‘Record of the Month’ - Ritmo Magazine

JUANA ZAYAS - PIANO                           EROICA  JDT 3096.
Cuban-born pianist Juana Zayas performs a well chosen selection of piano masterpieces. The music is by J.S. Bach-Busoni (Organ Chorale Prelude arranged for piano), W.A. Mozart (Sonata in C major), Ludwig van Beethoven (Sonata in F minor), Franz Liszt (Two Legends:. St. Francis of Assasi - The bird sermon and St. Francis of Paola walking on the waves) and Claude Debussy (L'Isle joyeuse). ‘Her playing is crisp, and she has enormous verve’ - The Art of the Piano.

JUANA ZAYAS - CHOPIN                           EROICA  JDT 3098.

The brilliant, internationally renowned pianist Juana Zayas is particularly well-known for her performances of works by Frederic Chopin. On this outstanding recording she plays his Sonata in B-Flat Minor (Marche funebre), Nocturne in C Minor, Trois Nouvelles Etudes, Berceuse and Sonata in B Minor. ‘Zayas simply must be heard by all who appreciate piano playing - and Chopin playing - on the highest level’ - American Record Guide.