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Pianist Andrew Armstrong is best known as the frequent accompaniment to violinist James Ehnes. Here, he steps out with a debut album that is pleasingly original in conception, in contrast to the majority of debuts. The pieces have various kinds of extramusical content; the five movements of Aaron Jay Kernis' Before Sleep and Dreams take for their theme the moments before a child falls asleep, while Armstrong's own She Fell for a Flyfisher depicts the experience of fishing in some detail. Yet the album's title indicates how the pieces are linked; all have a bluesy tinge common to a wide range of American music. This is not restricted to the Gershwin masterpieces included, although those are distinctive; the Three Preludes receive an unusually energetic reading, and the Rhapsody in Blue (marking the exact 100th anniversary of its premiere) is heard in its comparatively rare piano arrangement. The blues lurk in the two works by African American composers William Grant Still and Julia Perry and even in Kernis' piece, which often has a popular tinge. It makes sense, and it causes the listener to hear something new. Rubicon Classics' church sound is not right for the music but does not distort it badly, and upon finishing with this, one wants to hear more from Armstrong, both in performance and in composition.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Before Sleep and Dreams (Aaron Jay Kernis)
Aaron Jay Kernis, Composer - Andrew Armstrong, Piano, MainArtist
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
Aaron Jay Kernis, Composer - Andrew Armstrong, Piano, MainArtist
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
Aaron Jay Kernis, Composer - Andrew Armstrong, Piano, MainArtist
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
Aaron Jay Kernis, Composer - Andrew Armstrong, Piano, MainArtist
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
Aaron Jay Kernis, Composer - Andrew Armstrong, Piano, MainArtist
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
Andrew Armstrong, Piano, MainArtist - Julia Perry, Composer
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
Three Preludes (George Gershwin)
George Gershwin, Composer - Andrew Armstrong, Piano, MainArtist
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
George Gershwin, Composer - Andrew Armstrong, Piano, MainArtist
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
George Gershwin, Composer - Andrew Armstrong, Piano, MainArtist
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
Andrew Armstrong, Composer, Piano, MainArtist
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
George Gershwin, Composer - Andrew Armstrong, Piano, MainArtist
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
William Grant Still, Composer - Andrew Armstrong, Piano, MainArtist
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
William Grant Still, Composer - Andrew Armstrong, Piano, MainArtist
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
William Grant Still, Composer - Andrew Armstrong, Piano, MainArtist
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
George Gershwin, Composer - Andrew Armstrong, Piano, MainArtist
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
Album review
Pianist Andrew Armstrong is best known as the frequent accompaniment to violinist James Ehnes. Here, he steps out with a debut album that is pleasingly original in conception, in contrast to the majority of debuts. The pieces have various kinds of extramusical content; the five movements of Aaron Jay Kernis' Before Sleep and Dreams take for their theme the moments before a child falls asleep, while Armstrong's own She Fell for a Flyfisher depicts the experience of fishing in some detail. Yet the album's title indicates how the pieces are linked; all have a bluesy tinge common to a wide range of American music. This is not restricted to the Gershwin masterpieces included, although those are distinctive; the Three Preludes receive an unusually energetic reading, and the Rhapsody in Blue (marking the exact 100th anniversary of its premiere) is heard in its comparatively rare piano arrangement. The blues lurk in the two works by African American composers William Grant Still and Julia Perry and even in Kernis' piece, which often has a popular tinge. It makes sense, and it causes the listener to hear something new. Rubicon Classics' church sound is not right for the music but does not distort it badly, and upon finishing with this, one wants to hear more from Armstrong, both in performance and in composition.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 15 track(s)
- Total length: 01:09:01
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Andrew Armstrong
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Rubicon
- Genre: Classical
2024 Rubicon Classics Ltd. 2024 Andrew Armstrong
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