David Rakowski's music in general, and his continually expanding collection of solo piano Etudes in particular - at this writing 48 of what he projects ot be 50 or more have been composed - are laced with examples of his agile mind and sheer delight in his ability to, as he puts it, "play games with the ways that notes get put together." It seems particularly felicitous to invoke the name of Haydn when discussing the music of David Rakowski. Like Haydn, Rakowski combines a genuine seriousness of purpose and absolute command of a highly sophisticated technique with flahses of humor that is by turns wry, more than a little bent, whimsical and even, at times, outrageous. Obvious manifestations of this can include not only the punning titles of so many of Rakowski's pieces, including those of the Etudes on this disk, but also the performance indications in the score themselves ("Allegro troppo" - too fast"; "pipistrello in uscita dal inferno" - "bat out of hell"). Pianist Amy Dissanayke makes her recorded debut with stunning performances of twenty-two of Rakowski's Etudes, many receiving their premiere recordings. This disc is for fans of virtuoso pianism and new music that is simultaneously subtle, richly complex and teeming with ideas, yet lucid in structure and distinctive in profile.
Reviews:
“David Rakowski’s Études for piano show near boundless creativity harnessed to a delightful sense of humor, and we all know how rare this last quality is, particularly in contemporary music. Excellent sonics round out a marvelous disc that piano fanciers should snap up without hesitation.” - ClassicsToday.com
“Amy Briggs’s performances are fiery and passionate, capturing all the quirkiness of Rakowski’s ideas. She has a deft soft touch for the slow études, and an authentic jazzy feel for the jazzy ones. Her control of four layers of repeated notes, each with independent dynamic swells must be heard to be
believed.” - NewMusic USA
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David Rakowski, composer
Etude #20, Fourth of Habit
Etude #15, Third Third, Man
Etude #17, Keine Kaskadenjagd Mehr
Etude #16, Ice Boogie
Etude #18, Pitching from the Stretch
Etude #19, Secondary Dominance
Etude #12, Northpaw
Etude #11, Touch Typing
Etude #36, Purple
Etude #13, Plucking A
Etude #14, Martler
Etude #21, Twelve-Step Program
Etude #29, Roll Your Own
Etude #23, You Dirty Rag
Etude #24, Horned In
Etude #30, A Gliss is Just a Gliss
Etude #26, Once Bitten
Etude #27, Halftone
Etude #35, Luceole
Etude #28, You've Got Scale
Etude #22, Schnozzage
Etude #25, Fists of Fury
Amy (Dissanayake) Briggs, piano
BRIDGE 9121
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