Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881-1950)
1-4. String Quartet No. 12 In G Major, Op. 77 (1947)
5-8. String Quartet No. 13 In A Minor, Op. 86 (1949)
Cover – Boris Kustodiev, Bathing, 1921
Taaneyev Quartet :
Cello – Josif Levinzon
Viola – Vissarion Solovyev
Violin – Grigory Lutsky, Vladimir Ovcharek 
Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881-1950)
1. Sonata No. 2 In F Sharp Minor Op. 13 (12:37)
2. Sonata No. 3 In C Minor Op. 19 (12:10)
3-5. Sonata No. 4 In C Minor Op. 27 (22:29)
Credits :
Piano – Lydia Jardon.jpg)
When Leo Ornstein died in February 2002, the musical world lost a fascinating composer, quite possibly the oldest of all time (the year of his birth is uncertain, but he was probably 109 years old). Ornstein had an extraordinary life: he was a child-prodigy pianist in his native Russia, a refugee from anti-Semitism, an avant garde American composer and a virtuoso pianist of international renown in his early twenties. However, at the height of his fame he voluntarily turned his back on the limelight and took sanctuary in increasing obscurity, and having been almost entirely forgotten, he lived long enough to take satisfaction in the re-emergence of an interest in his music—of which this CD is early testimony.
Ornstein's early piano works were unlike anything else in music. He employed the piano as a percussion instrument, pounding out savage rhythms and ferocious cluster-chords with a raw primal energy. He embraced atonality independently of Schoenberg and rhythmic primitivism unaware of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. The titles of his pieces—among them Danse sauvage and Suicide in an Airplane—reflected the extremist brutality of the music and rapidly gained him notoriety. By his early twenties he was one of the most highly reputed of contemporary composers.
The music on this CD comes from each end of Ornstein's improbably long creative career. The shorter works were written at its outset, while the large-scale, kaleidoscopic Eighth Piano Sonata, his last composition, was finished in September 1990, when he was in his late nineties.
The ever-inquisitive Marc-André Hamelin gives commanding performances of these supremely demanding works. The result is a stunning disc that reveals one of the twentieth century's most original and quirkily imaginative creative minds. Hyperion
Leo Ornstein (1892-2002)
1. Suicide In An Airplane (3:46)
2. À La Chinoise (4:59)
3. Danse Sauvage (2:48)
4-13. Poems Of 1917 (17:03)
14-22. Arabesques, Op. 42 (10:22)
23. Impressions De La Tamise (7:57)
24-29. Piano Sonata No. 8 (30:12)
Credits :
Painting – Monika Giller-Lenz
Piano – Marc-André Hamelin
While the piano is a western invention, it has come to occupy a special position in Chinese musical life. The earliest Chinese piano pieces date from the first half of the twentieth century; many remain popular in the concert hall today. This latest release in Naxos' Chinese Classics focuses on piano works from the Republican period (1911-1949), featuring Jie Chen, Bronze Medal Winner of the 2005 Santander Piano Competition. The music draws on well-known ancient melodies or folk-tunes, as reflected in the titles. naxos
Tracklist :
1 Liu Yang River = 瀏陽河 3:50
Arranged By – Wang Jian-zhong
Composed By – Tang Bi-guang
2 A Hundred Birds Paying Respect To The Phoenix = 百鳥朝鳳 5:52
– Traditional
Arranged By – Wang Jian-zhong
3 Silver Clouds Chasing The Moon = 彩雲追月 3:10
Arranged By – Wang Jian-zhong
Composed By – Ren Guang
4 Flute And Drum At Sunset = 夕陽簫鼓 8:25
– Traditional
Arranged By – Li Ying-hai
5 Autumn Moon Over The Calm Lake = 平湖秋月 4:00
Arranged By – Chen Pai-xun
Composed By – Lu Wen-cheng
6 Glowing Red Morningstar Lilies = 山丹丹花開紅艷艷 5:03
– Traditional
Arranged By – Wang Jian-zhong
7 The Second Spring Bathed In Moonlight = 二泉映月 7:45
Arranged By – Chu Wang-hua
Composed By – Hua Yan-jun
8 Celebrating Our New Life = 翻身的日子 2:01
Arranged By – Chu Wang-hua
Composed By – Zhu Jian-er
Children Suite = 兒童组曲
Composed By – Ding Shan-de
9 I. Going To The Suburb = 郊遊 1:27
10 II. Butterfly Chasing = 撲蝶 0:59
11 III. Jumping Rope = 跳繩 1:41
12 IV. Hide And Seek = 捉迷藏 1:45
13 V. Holiday Dance = 節日舞蹈 2:47
14 The Sound Of Big Waves = 濤聲 7:52
Composed By – Wang Li-san
15 Farewell = 陽関三疊 4:50
– Traditional
Arranged By – Li Ying-hai
16 Soldiers Of The Southern Sea = 南海小哨兵 3:54
– Traditional
Arranged By – Chu Wang-hua
Credits :
Piano – Jie Chen
These new pieces meticulously build on the fierce energy and creativity of the first suite (“For the Love of Fire and Water”, ROG-0119), mak...
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