Release Date: 02 November 2018
Label: New World
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 093228080022
Genres: Classical Contemporary Classical
Description
Rory Cowal is a distinctive pianist, one who draws liberally on classical chops, ample experience with improvisation, and a predilection for the new and uncharted. This makes him especially attractive to composers who wish to blur the boundaries between traditional styles and genres.
Fanfare Magazine said of this recording: "Cowal has technique to burn... a dynamite pianist.......The recorded sound is clear and full."
A musical adventurer at heart, Cowal seems drawn to challenging and unusual projects. The eight pieces on this CD reflect this willingness to experiment, to not just play the same old (now canonic) warhorses of the American experimental tradition, but to expand our awareness of what that tradition might include over a large period of time, from Johanna Magdalena Beyer (1888 - 1944) to Kris Davis (b. 1980), with their adventurous colleagues Muhal Richard Abrams (1930 - 2017), Daniel Goode (b. 1936), David Mahler (b. 1944), Thomas Peterson (1931 - 2006), and James Tenney (1934 - 2006) somewhere in between.
The pieces recorded here span from 1931, a time characterised by "ultramodernism" and the theoretical exploration of dissonant counterpoint, to 2018, and the vast influences bombarding young composers in the twenty-first century's oversaturation of digital resources. None of the pieces included here has been previously recorded. Working therefore with no point of reference but the score, Cowal had the special challenge of envisioning them, and bringing them to life based solely on his own understanding of their possibilities.
Tracklisting
Ostrava New Orchestra, Owen Underhill, Ostravska Banda, Petr Kotik, Elision Ensemble, Arditti Quartet, Switch~ Ensemble, Jason Thorpe Buchanan
James Martin, Lynn Raley
Peter Gena
New World
New World
Mivos Quartet
Twilight String Orchestra; Fahad Siadat
Conrad Harris; Joseph Kubera
Uusinta Ensemble, Eija Kankaanranta, Maria Puusaari, Olga Heikkila, Kamus Quartet
Elizabeth Knatt, David Clements, Rachel Barnes, Scott Taylor
Robert M. Helmschrott
Robert M. Helmschrott
Kevin Juillerat (electronics), Cedric Pecia (prepared piano)
Kaya Han
Helene Breschand, Laurence Bancaud, David Joignaux, Wilhem Latchoumia, Christelle Sery, Fanny Vicens, Wang Ying-Chieh, Ensemble Cairn, L'arsenale
Gunter Schwarze
