Gomitolo!
Bruce Leto, Jr., piano.
Navona 6308
Total Time:  23:45
Recording:   ****/****
Performance: ****/****

Sound Visionaries
Christina Petrowska Quilico, piano.
Navona 6358
Total Time:  69:11
Recording:   ****/****
Performance: ****/****

In the 20^th Century, France became a sort of center for the new modernist musical approaches that built on the Belle Epoque romanticism and salon music coupled with Wagnerian harmonic freedom.  From Impressionism into the Les Six modern styles and exploration of jazz rhythms and harmonies, a number of works for piano helped further expand musical horizons into the era between the World Wars.

The first album noted here was released in 2020 and focuses mostly on this earlier cmusic with a collection of piano pieces predominantly by Francis Poulenc (seven quite brief piece).  These explore aspects of this salon atmosphere with brushstrokes alluding to European life from “Francaise” (after Gervaise) and “Sicilienne”, a work that pays tribute to Schubert (“Improvisations No. 12 in Eb”), an impromptu (no. 3) and a movement from his Novelettes.  Also included here are two works by Ravel that pay homage to earlier eras and flirt with the composer’s own Neo-Classical bents (Menuet sur le nom de Haydn; Valse: A la manière de Borodine).  These pieces help broaden the European thematic connections on the release which also has some video integration components that can be viewed at Leto’s website: www.brucespianoworks.com.  There is also a newer work by Curt Cacioppo , Ecco Venere, which features an interesting take on the waltz as well in its central section.  Overall, a fine, very brief, downloadable album.

Also available for download is an album of French piano music that moves us across the 20^th Century with works that bear often subtle musical connections in compositional approaches but which build on that of their predecessors.  Canadian pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico’s program for Sound and Visionaries explores this quite well.  The program opens with 8 selections from Debussy’s second book of Preludes (1911-12; nos. 1-4, 7-8; 11-12) which explore some of the intriguing approaches to harmony the composer uses along with brilliant pianistic writing.  The more dissonant aspects of some of these preludes shows Debussy moving away from the Impressionist styles into new territory that sets the stage for the ease into more avantgarde styles.  From here, she moves on to 7 movements from Messiaen’s integral Vingt Regards sur ‘enfant Jesus (1944) which expand upon the harmonic palette of Debussy and move us into a more spiritual realm with the mystical qualities connected with this composer’s work.  From here, we move on to the first and third sonatas by Pierre Boulez.  The first sonata, from 1946, moves us into more cerebral composition as he explores dodecaphonic technique.  The third sonata is a more difficult piece in conception requiring a lot more focus and preparation to navigate the labyrinthine music.  Quilico was assisted in her interpretation by the composer himself, which lends this work a bit more authority even with its rather fluid construction.  The Boulez recordings are form live performances and all of these recordings were aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Company.  This digital release will be of interest to fans looking for a bit more dissonance and conceptual 20^th-Century work.  The performances are all quite fine and paired with the other album make for a very good overview of French Piano styles.

Violist looking to explore new repertoire will be well-served by checking out a couple of recent releases from Navona featuring Brett Deubner.  The internationally-known soloist debuted with the New Jersey Symphony performing a new piece written for him by Lalo Schifrin.  He has performed with numerous orchestras throughout the world and currently teaches at Queen's College in New York City.  He is a frequent performer at the Round Top Music Festival in Texas as well.

Stanley Grill: Remember (Navona NV 6338)

Those coming to Stanley Grill's music for the first time will be struck by its innate beauty.  His music has a gentle lyricism that is particularly well-suited for the viola's warm timbre.  This comes to the forefront in the opening title work, Remember (5 Intermezzi for Earth) which features five reflective movements.  In O, Mystery!, Grill provides echoes of ancient music with more modal inflections and a spun-out idea that grows into a more energetic central section before stepping back in awe.  The centerpiece here is also the most substantial work running just under 20 minutes.  Aphorisms II opens with a gorgeous romantic line that will morph into new ideas in a more stream-of-conscious piece of different slightly-connected episodes.  It is in one sense like a train of thought that leads from one moment to the next, sometimes reflective, sometimes more impassioned.  All couched in traditional musical language that makes it quite accessible and a welcome addition to the repertoire for the instrument.  More angular righting coupled with folkish gestures appears in the three-movement In Memory.  The outer movements provide some interesting rhythmic and virtuosic material with a somber central movement for contrast.  Finally, there are 2 quite stunning movements in Civil War Songs.  The first is a set of variations on "Ashokan Farewell".  Grill's style here is quite in keeping with traditional Americana harmonic styles with a bit of modernism against the lyrical, familiar tune from the Ken Burn's PBS series.  The second movement is a setting of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic".  This is a rather gorgeous collection of music for viola that features some equally fine committed performances.  Thomas Steigerwald serves as the accompanist here making for an equal interpretive partner.

Mother Earth: Works for Viola and Piano (Navona NV 6351) 

Deubner's second album incorporates several works written and some other contemporary pieces.  Two 1970s works by Arvo Part are perhaps the more "familiar" of the works here.  The album includes the meditative Fratres (1977, with its chant-like style) and Spiegel im Spiegel (1978) which will wrap up the album with a final reflective bent.  After a very brief opening work by Polina Nazaykinskaya (For Zayd and Zizi, 2017), Deubner turns to the first work written for him.  Samarthana (2020) is a musical response by Johan Hugosson to the Nepalese earthquake in 2015.  It is a musical moment that invites listeners to reflect on this devastation.  Judith Markovich's Remember, also from 2020, is a result of the recent pandemic and is another chance to look back on important moments in our lives.  It is interesting as well for its addition of a chime to the texture.  Amanda Harberg's Loss (2007) moves us to a more poignant musical language to contemplate the death of someone dear (in this case it was written after the death of her piano teacher). The album takes its title from Maurizio Bignone's 2017 piece.  Programmatically, it serves to connect the other pieces here to our own recent pandemic lockdown and how the earth rejuvenates itself when humanity is somewhat removed from contributing to any number of harmful activities.  Here it helps provide another moment to think about how we might move forward as we return to a new normal.  Stone Rose (2014) is a three-movement work that depicts different aspects of New York according to its composer Ola Gjeilo.  That makes this an interesting companion to these pandemic-related works with that city being one of the American epicenters.  Performances here are excellent and Allison Brewster Franzetti serves as a quite able accompanist for these contemporary reflections on the world and our own place and interaction with it.  The program invites us to contemplate how we respond to these senses of destruction, loss, and connect it to our own stories.  Certainly an interesting collection to explore.