Sky Legends: The Music Of David Owens
Albany, 2025
8/10
Listen to Sky Legends: The Music Of David Owens
The composer David Owens turns the ancient Greek constellations of the zodiac into miniatures for four-hand piano, where Victor Cayres, Heeyeon Chi and Hyun-Ji Kwon lend their inimitable talents to the chamber listen.
“Sonata for Cello and Piano” opens with Cayres’ adventurous piano and Hyun-Ji Kwon’s strategic cello making for both animated and soft bouts of dynamic and cautious interaction.
The title track then occupies 12 movements, as Cayres and Chi’s finger acrobatics create distinct and atypical key progressions that can rumble with intensity and also reside in intimacy, while “Soliloquy II” pairs Cayres’ keys with Chi’s stirring strings for the album’s best that tugs on the heartstrings.
“Soliloquy VII” exits the listen and is a solo piano effort where Cayres’ illustrates much attention to mood amid the meticulous and memorable songwriting.
A powerful and expressive body of work that showcases musical illustrations of Hercules, Orion and others, there is much beauty, imagery and detail to absorb here.
Travels well with: Ketty Nez- Through The Light; Christopher Rouse- Concertos