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Ravel’s solo piano works, choral pieces by David Lang and Palestrina, and miniatures written for the pianist Adam Tendler are among the highlights.
Seong-Jin Cho, piano (Deutsche Grammophon)
Debussy 2017 record of Seong-Jin Cho was complete of bold colors and strongly delimited textures, which adapted perfectly to this composer. So I had wonderful hope for this set of piano works alone by Ravel. Surprisingly, leave a more combined impression. As elsewhere, Cho touches a remarkable sensitivity and responds without problems to the technical applications of music. However, the upper refinement of his pianism drains those works of his intensity and his expressive concentration.
“Jeux d’Eau,” for example, is beautifully articulated but muted in its sonority, missing the atmosphere other pianists have elicited. I loved Cho’s dignified, unsentimental approach to “Pavane pour une Infante Défante,” but that works less well in “Valses Nobles et Sentimentales.” The nightmarish atmosphere of “Gaspard de la Nuit” emerges only fitfully, though the control and dexterity are wondrous.
The five-movement “Miroirs” is a microcosm of this album’s strengths and weaknesses. The birdsong of “Oiseaux Tristes” has rarely sounded so desolate, and, with carefully layered dynamics, the bells of “La Vallée des Cloches” seem to drift in from another world. The more extroverted pieces leave less of an impression, as Cho seems determined to rein in “Une Barque sur l’Océan” and “Alborada del Gracioso.” There is so much to admire here, but I just wish Cho had found a bit more in music he plays so well. DAVID WEININGER
Crossing; Donald Nally, driver (Cantaloup)
With “poor hymnal,” David Lang wrote hymns for a faith that exists. There is no electronic adoration book or a confusing dogma. His only document is this hymn, which, on his back and back, proclaims the virtues of charity and compassion for the least rich.
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