Living Language
Furious Artisans, 2023
9/10
The pianist Jacob Greenberg brings us a body of work of meticulous attention to musical style and the shifting cultural legacy that comes with these timeless pieces by Béla Bartók, George Lewis, Frédéric Chopin, Wang Lu and Leoš Janáček.
“Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs” opens the listen with the very agile and intricate keys radiating warmth and beauty in the Bartók original, which can also be firm and swift, and George Lewis’ “Endless Shout” follows with a playful and upbeat demeanor that can find some lower registers, too.
Chopin’s “Four Mazurkas” lands in the middle, and presents melodic and flowing key acrobatics, while Wang Lu’s “Constellations Apart” focuses much on mood in the unpredictable album highlight. The final track, Janáček’s “In The Mists”, makes an impression, too, where a mild rumbling is met with very adventurous and dynamic playing.
Greenberg has seen global appreciation for his work in both solo and chamber settings, and his experience as a veteran member of the International Contemporary Ensemble certainly helps him interpret these works an unparalleled amount of precision and grace.
Travels well with: Mari Kawamura- Ma: Space Between; Icarus Quartet- Big Things