{"id":15677,"date":"2013-11-03T07:08:55","date_gmt":"2013-11-03T12:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=15677"},"modified":"2013-11-03T07:08:55","modified_gmt":"2013-11-03T12:08:55","slug":"daily-album-review-2-ned-rorem-piano-miniatures-lead-straight-to-a-quiet-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2013\/11\/03\/daily-album-review-2-ned-rorem-piano-miniatures-lead-straight-to-a-quiet-centre\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily album review 2: Ned Rorem piano miniatures lead straight to a quiet centre"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ned<\/a>
Ned Rorem at 80 in 2003 (Christian Steiner photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

American composer Ned Rorem, who turned 90 a week ago, is a lot like his music: plain on the surface, but with a lot going on underneath. A new album of piano miniatures underlines this juxtaposition in 51 minutes that celebrate that elusive, quiet centre of being.<\/p>\n

New York City pianist Carolyn Enger has recorded 33 of these solo works as if they are great masterpieces, laying out the music with tremendous care.<\/p>\n

Rorem’s great love of the art song — of any identifiable melody, really — is crystal clear in these little pieces, most of which are written in two voices: a melody with counterpoint or a melody supported by harmonic progression.<\/p>\n

Only here the piano is both singer and accompanist, a task Enger makes sound deceptively easy.<\/p>\n

\"album\"<\/a>The works in Enger’s recording (made at the Manhattan School of Music way back in 2009), part of Naxos’ American Classics series, are 27 pieces from Piano Album I<\/em> (composed between 1978 and 2001) and all of Six Friends<\/em> (2006-07).<\/p>\n

Most are quick sketches, like the pencil or charcoal studies of a visual artist, that later found their way into larger works, usually for other instruments.<\/p>\n

Instead of a bottle of wine or a bouquet of flowers, Rorem would offer these sketches as little gifts to favourite people — most regularly to his partner Jim Holmes, who died in 1999.<\/p>\n

The album notes, although not extensive, provide a lot more background. But the real joy is in listening — really listening — in a setting where nothing will stand in the way of this music’s simple beauty and the delicate, sensitive voice of its interpreter.<\/p>\n

It’s like an afternoon at the spa, without the gunky herbal wrap.<\/p>\n

Check out all the details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is a typical piece from Piano Album I<\/em>, “Serenade for Two Paws” — Rorem’s inscription: “On Christmas with love from Ned. For Jim to teach to Sonny [their Bichon Fris\u00e9] on rainy afternoons” — played at twice Enger’s speed by Adam Tendler:<\/p>\n