 World Keys presents a series of brilliantly crafted piano works that traverse different world musics - from Turkish Aksak rhythms and Arabian Maqam to Peking Opera of China - and juxtaposes them with works in the Western piano canon. Just as the piano sound world of Prokofiev, Schumann and Liszt may evoke the instruments of the modern orchestra, the music from foreign lands calls forth instruments such as the Chinese pipa and Persian santour. This singular program is sure to stretch the ears.  Drawing on composers from North and South America, Fan makes brilliant work of major sonatas by Ginastera and Barber, along with "entertainments" by Gottschalk, Piazzolla and Villa-Lobos. Of particular interest are two little-known works by Amy Beach and the African-American composer Margaret Bonds.  World Keys presents a series of brilliantly crafted piano works that traverse different world musics - from Turkish Aksak rhythms and Arabian Maqam to Peking Opera of China - and juxtaposes them with works in the Western piano canon. Just as the piano sound world of Prokofiev, Schumann and Liszt may evoke the instruments of the modern orchestra, the music from foreign lands calls forth instruments such as the Chinese pipa and Persian santour. This singular program is sure to stretch the ears. | |
Reference Recordings are distributed in Australia by Rockian Trading