On her first Pentatone album, pianist Tamara Stefanovich presents a highly personal selection of solo works by Bach, Bartók, Ives and Messiaen. Influences shows how these extraordinarily original and idiosyncratic composers let themselves be inspired by the exterior world, thereby demonstrating how authenticity comes from looking outside as well as inside. The repertoire spans from Bach’s embrace of Italian musical elements in his Aria variata alla maniera italiana, Bartók’s incorporation of folk elements in his Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, and Messiaen’s use of Hindu rhythms in Cantéyodjayâ to the collage of marching bands, sounds of trains and machinery, church hymns, ragtime and blues in Ives’ first piano sonata. In all cases, the exterior influences lead to deeply original and personal sonic galaxies. In that respect, the pieces presented here underline how identity results from a constant dialogue with our surroundings, ever changing and enriching our perceptions of ourselves and the world.
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Reviews
Editor's Choice - Instrumental
"... The overall excellence of Tamara Stefanovich's interpretations is enhanced by a superb multichannel recording characterised by full-bodied ambience and concert-hall realism..."
Jed Distler - Gramophone magazine - April 2019
***** Coup de Coeur (Exceptional Album)
Romaric Gergorin - Classica magazine (France) - September 2019
“… The faster sections dazzle but the best comes last: the reworked version of the opening aria is gorgeous here, the closing cadence dispatched with such tenderness and warmth. Spectacular sound adds to this disc’s appeal.”
Graham Rickson – theartsdesk.com. 18 May 2019
Performance **** Recording *****
Anthony Burton - BBC Music Magazine - June 2019
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