Navona Records artist Clipper Erickson presents a solo piano album of works by composers Richard Brodhead (1947-), David Finko (1936-), and Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) entitled Tableau Tempest & Tango. The mostly Russian-themed album climaxes with Erickson's masterful interpretation of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. The original version for solo piano precedes the iconic orchestrations by many composers, most notably Maurice Ravel. For Erickson, the piano is his orchestra, and he conducts it marvelously through every movement, down to the famed finale, The Great Gate of Kiev. Stellar, too, is Erickson's interpretation of Finko's Fantasia on a Medieval Russian Theme, which is inspired by a grievous poem about the oppression of the Russian people. Finko's Sonata No. 1 Solomon Mikhoels is next. It has folk roots-budding from the composer's interest in Yiddish and Slavic cultures. Erickson executes the polarity in dynamic contrast and rhythmic complexity with incredible manual dexterity. Finko writes that his Sonata No. 2 "expresses the acute feelings of a sensitive intellectual who goes through several stages of personal sufferings and struggle." Finko's Sonata No. 3, composed in 2009, is evocative of the evolution of the composer's technique since his first sonata in 1964. Erickson, too, shows an evolution - the melodies become more fluid, the separation between each note more precise. The listener is transported to Brazil where Erickson presents Richard Brodhead's Una Carta de Buenos Aires, a truly dark tango. It is mysterious and vacant, but Erickson handles it like a delicate flower. The finale is Brodhead's Sonata No. 2, Sonata Notturna, dark, too, in it's presentation, but Erickson's light shines on the meditation of terrors we hear at night. As evidenced on his previous recording, 2015's My Cup Runneth Over, Professor Erickson's prodigious performances are not only products of his superior musicianship, but also the in-depth studies he completes on every work performed. This is the best collection of such works to date. Tableau Tempest & Tango is a must-have for the collections of piano dilettantes and savants alike. As the LA Times notes, Erickson plays "with extraordinary dash and power and he never let[s] flamboyance obscure art."

Tracklist:

Fantasia On A Medieval Russian Theme
Piano Sonata No. 1 "Solomon Mikhoels": I. Burlesco, Rubato
Piano Sonata No. 1 "Solomon Mikhoels": II. Energico
Piano Sonata No. 1 "Solomon Mikhoels": III. Concentrato
Piano Sonata No. 1 "Solomon Mikhoels": IV. Animato
Piano Sonata No. 2: I. Affannosamente Acuto
Piano Sonata No. 2: II. Largo Assai, Debole
Piano Sonata No. 2: III. Allegro Duramente
Piano Sonata No. 2: IV. Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 3
Piano Sonata No. 2 "Sonata Notturna"
Tango Sonatina "Una Carta De Buenos Aires"
Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade I
Pictures At An Exhibition: I. The Gnome
Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade II
Pictures At An Exhibition: II. The Old Castle
Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade III
Pictures At An Exhibition: III. Tuileries
Pictures At An Exhibition: IV. Bydło
Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade IV
Pictures At An Exhibition: V. Ballet Of The Chickens In Their Shells
Pictures At An Exhibition: VI. Samuel Goldenberg & Schmuÿle
Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade V
Pictures At An Exhibition: VII. The Marketplace At Limoges
Pictures At An Exhibition: Viiia. Catacombae (Sepulcrum Romanum)
Pictures At An Exhibition: Viiib. Con Mortuis In Lingua Mortua
Pictures At An Exhibition: IX. The Hut On Fowl's Legs "Baba-Yagá"
Pictures At An Exhibition: X. The Great Gate At Kiev

UPC: 896931004701
Label: Navona
Release Date: 7.13.18
Format: CD

Mussorgsky / Erickson - Tableau Tempest & Tango (2 CD)