Samantha Ward -Landscape & Longing -Quartz Music CD Grooves.land/Playthek

Details / Tracklist:

Intermezzi Nr. 1-8 (1998)

01. "Nr. 1 Andante cantabile"

02. "Nr. 2 Allegro"

03. "Nr. 3 Very sloq and calm"

04. "Nr. 4 Allegro"

05. "Nr. 5 Andante"

06. "Nr. 6 Moderately fast, with flexibility"

07. "Nr. 7 Moderato"

08. "Nr. 8 Allegro con brio furioso"
Sonate Nr. 2 "Three days in 1988" (2011)

09. "1. Friday May 6th: Allegro ma non troppo"

10. "2. Thursday August 11th: Andante quasi lento"

11. "3. Monday August 29th: Allegro con moto"
Suite (1986)

12. "1. Pr?lude: Allegro ordinario"

13. "2. Fuge: Andante"

14. "3. Study in Fifths: Moderato"

15. "4. Jig: Vivace"

16. "5. The lonely cliff top: Lento, con rubato, sempre piano e legato"

17. "6. Listening to bells: Allegretto"

18. "7. Study in Sevenths: Andante legato"

19. "8. Humeur Espagnole: Allegro"

Number of discs:

Description:

Of the Eight Intermezzi, the composer writes: "The inspiration for these pieces stems from the late piano intermezzi of Brahms. Some of the textures deliberately correspond. For example, the arpeggiated flow of No 2 mimics a comparable feel in Brahms's Op 117 No 2. The repeated upper notes of No 3, with the melody in the middle of the chords, nod towards a similar, if faster, manner in Op 119 No 3 [likewise the earlier same-key middle section of Chopin's first Nocturne from Op 48]. Pianistically and emotionally, No 8 is intentionally larger scaled." Of the Suite the composer writes: "This is a collection of miniatures with differing inspirations but designed to be played as a continuous set. One or two (No 1 particularly) were meant to be of interest to my younger sister, Lucy, who at the time of their composition, in the mid-80s, was working towards her Grade 7. Others are intended to be descriptive. For example No 6, which recalls listening to the bells of Romsey Abbey in Hampshire from a few miles away in the Test Valley; and No 5, which imagines a spot along the Jurassic coastline between Swanage and Weymouth. Nos 3 and 7, the Studies in Fifths and Sevenths, were born out of a curiosity as to why Debussy didn't include these intervals in his piano Études." Samantha Ward puts a virtuosic spin on these compositions.

Recorded 21-24 August 2012 at Wathen Hall, St Paul's School, London

Manufacturer No.:

QTZ2126

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