 Click on cover for high-resolution image
|
Phillip Ramey: Piano Music, Volume Two, 1966–2007
Catalogue Number: TOCC0077
Recorded under the supervision of the composer
Diversions Mirian Conti, piano The piano music of the American composer Phillip Ramey (b. 1939) is rooted in the motoric athleticism of Prokofiev and Bartók, to which influences he has blended sober lyricism, spicy modernist dissonance and a fresh approach to the grand Romantic gesture. This second Toccata Classics album of his piano music presents the first recordings of the early Slavic-inflected Diversions and the dark, dramatic Piano Sonata No. 4. The other works include the loosely dodecaphonic Epigrams and the Leningrad Rag, a satiric take-off on Scott Joplin written for the legendary Vladimir Horowitz. This varied recital concludes with the recent, rip-roaring Primitivo, a succinct study in sophisticated barbarism. Booklet texts (PDF) |
Track Listing, MP3 Downloads and Streaming Samples
| Track No. | Track Title / Details | Duration | Sample | Add to Cart | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOWNLOAD COMPLETE ALBUM | 63:57 | ||||
| 1-8 | Diversions (1966) Phillip Ramey, composer Mirian Conti, piano (first recording) |
10:17 | |||
| 1 | No. 1, Sarcasm (Allegro moderato) | 0:41 |
|
||
| 2 | No. 2, Solitude (Adagio) | 1:37 |
|
||
| 3 | No. 3, The Mouse and the Bear (Moderato con moto) | 0:49 |
|
||
| 4 | No. 4, Night (Andante) | 1:49 |
|
||
| 5 | No. 5, Petrushka (Allegro moderato) | 1:15 |
|
||
| 6 | No. 6, Specter (Moderato con moto) | 1:37 |
|
||
| 7 | No. 7, Windmills (Allegro) | 0:39 |
|
||
| 8 | No. 8, Homage to Prokofiev (Allegro festivo) | 1:50 |
|
||
| 9-19 | Epigrams, Book One (1967) Phillip Ramey, composer Mirian Conti, piano (first recording) |
12:24 | |||
| 9 | I. Calm | 0:57 |
|
||
| 10 | II. Sarcastic | 0:39 |
|
||
| 11 | III. Flowing | 1:15 |
|
||
| 12 | IV. Declamatory | 0:49 |
|
||
| 13 | V. Dream-like | 1:00 |
|
||
| 14 | VI. Singing | 1:02 |
|
||
| 15 | VII. Jaunty | 0:46 |
|
||
| 16 | VIII. Somber | 1:17 |
|
||
| 17 | IX. Vigorous | 1:11 |
|
||
| 18 | X. Dispassionate | 1:50 |
|
||
| 19 | XI. Angry | 1:38 |
|
||
| 20 | Leningrad Rag (Mutations on Scott Joplin) (1972) Phillip Ramey, composer Mirian Conti, piano |
2:39 |
|
||
| 21 | Winter Nocturne (2003) Phillip Ramey, composer Mirian Conti, piano (first recording) |
4:11 |
|
||
| 22 | Toccata No. 1 (1986) Phillip Ramey, composer Mirian Conti, piano (first recording) |
2:29 |
|
||
| 23 | Ode for F. D. R. (2004) Phillip Ramey, composer Mirian Conti, piano (first recording) |
5:27 |
|
||
| 24 | Toccata No. 2 (1990) Phillip Ramey, composer Mirian Conti, piano |
4:21 |
|
||
| 25-26 | Piano Sonata No. 4 (1987–88) Phillip Ramey, composer Mirian Conti, piano (first recording) |
20:35 | |||
| 25 | I. Monologue with Arabesques | 6:31 |
|
||
| 26 | II. Fantasy-Ballade | 14:04 |
|
||
| 27 | Primitivo (2007) Phillip Ramey, composer Mirian Conti, piano (first recording) |
1:34 |
|
||
Artists
Phillip Ramey, composer
Mirian Conti, piano
Reviews
’The Diversions are a cavalcade of angular grotesqueries [… with] a romantic sensibility coloured by the piano music of Bartók and Prokofiev’, and the Leningrad Rag ‘a sort of cross between Kapustin, Joplin and 1960s Copland […] written for Horowitz of all people
Rob Barnett MusicWeb International
These compositions make huge demands on the performer (Copland thought of him [Ramey] as a modern-day Liszt) but their rewards for the listener are legion. The dazzling Mirian Conti guides us on a journey from serialism and atonality through to colour effects and tone clusters in a collection which includes the glorious "Leningrad Rag", a brilliant subversion of Scott Joplin.
Stephen Pritchard The Observer
Comments
0 comments – add a comment