The Elastic Heart Of Youth
Sono Luminus, 2025
9/10
Listen to The Elastic Heart Of Youth
The always impressive pianist Bruce Levingston interprets the work of Jean Sibelius, Leoš Janáček, Augusta Gross, Claude Debussy, W. A. Mozart, Domenico Scarlatti and Missy Mazzoli, where his adaptable playing is nothing short of stunning.
“Le Sapin, Op. 75, No. 5”, by Sibelius, opens and allows for Levingston’s fluid keys to radiate warmth and beauty, and “Sonata 1.X.1905, “From the Street”” follows with waves of intimacy and grace via Janáček’s vision.
Moving into the middle, Debussy’s “Étude pour les arpèges composés” has the keys swirling with a dizzying display, while Mozart’s “Fantasy in D minor, K. 397” display tremendous attention to detail thanks to the eloquent delivery.
Scarlatti’s “Sonata in A minor, K. 54” lands at the end and is full of melodic gestures, and the title track, by Mazzoli, exits with a mesmerizing quality that’s a bit mysterious and absorbing from beginning to end.
Levingston never ceases to amaze us, and this time he embraces tension, release, stillness, motion, loss and restoration into a body of work you’ll be in awe of.
Travels well with: Peter Scott Lewis- Pacific Triptych; Rachel Yonan- Kiss On Wood