| Aki Takahashi is a critically acclaimed virtuoso pianist playing a full spectrum of 20th century music. Aki has premiered many works by important composers as well as compositions written specifically for her. A prolific catalog of her recordings exists abroad including a couple of outstanding Feldman discs. Until now, her recordings have not been widely available here with the exception of her historic Piano Space set and other recitals on CP2, works of Peter Garland on New Albion and, of course, Feldman's Piano and String Quartet with the Kronos Quartet.
Morton Feldman's sound-world no longer needs an introduction. Feldman was especially fond of Aki's playing, so much so that he had selected certain works particularly for her. Together they toured this program, with Feldman speaking about the compositions and Aki performing them.
The CD contains selections from those recitals as well as works close to Aki's heart, many receiving their first recording or available on CD for the first time. Of particular note is the premiere recording of Feldman's earliest published composition--ILLUSIONS--which is unique in his œuvre: it is mostly loud and fast! The CD's release celebrates Aki's debut Lincoln Center recital in an all Feldman concert August of 1996.
In addition to this being the inaugural release in Mode's new Feldman Edition, it is also the beginning of a series featuring the tremendous talent of Aki Takahashi. Future releases will find her performing works by Iannis Xenakis and Luciano Berio, as well as recitals of ensemble music by Paul Bowles and Peter Garland with Essential Music. "Also worthy of exploration is a disc of Feldman's piano music played superbly by Aki Takahashi (mode 54), whose more expansive version of Piano Piece to Phllip Guston offers a different perspective. Takahashi includes two big later pieces, Piano and Palais de Mari, that no Feldman fan will want to be without."
---Dan David, Music & The Arts (comparing to the Feldman disc by
Ensemble Avantgarde) |
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