Concord
Neuma, 2023
8/10
The esteemed pianist Phillip Bush brings his interpretative vision to Concord Sonata, where Charles Ives and Marion Bauer’s selections take help from Jennifer Parker-Harley.
Ives’ “Piano Sonata No. 2 ‘Concord, Mass., 1840-60’” opens with highly firm key patterns emitting both tension and beauty across 4 very well thought out chapters. As the composition progresses, the piano can be dizzying, nearly chaotic, before retreating to calm gestures, and much later it embraces the dreamy flute from Parker-Harley.
Bauer’s “Six Preludes For Piano, Op. 15” occupies the back half of the disc, where waves of intimacy and swirling dynamics populate the rumbling, pretty and even mysterious moments of meticulous, timeless finger acrobatics.
Bush has been playing the piano for over 3 decades, and he retains the romantic spirit of these works that benefit much from the sparing but effective flute, and will surely impress anyone with an ear for classical piano sounds.
Travels well with: Collin J Rae/Red Gnein Sextet- Pandemia; Gilbert Galindo- Terrestrial Journeys