Fermin Bernetxea, piano; Anthony de Mare, piano; Julian Jacobson, piano; Aki Takahashi, piano; Scott Dunn, piano; Lisa Moore, piano; Jean Pierre Dupuy, piano
"If you are concerned about preserving your identity, forget music and have yourself cloned." This is James Sellars's answer when asked what he thinks of the idea of "One Composer, One Musical Language." "With all that's out there, how can anyone compose in the same style all the time? It's boring," he quips.
Sellars delights in the stylistic diversity of his works-a diversity which is explored in this survey of his piano writing over the last quarter century. In his music, the piano has always played a central role in working out new compositional ideas and diverse stylistic paths. His take on sonata form runs parallel to his pluralistic view on style: To him, a sonata is a serious piece, abstract or descriptive, in any number of movements. Like the harpsichord sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti, the sonatas here are in one movement. "The word 'sonata,'" says Sellars, "goes back at least as far as Gabrieli, through Pasquini, Marcello, and Kuhnau, to the Sonatas and Interludes by John Cage."
Sellars explains the use of seven pianists on this disc: "All the performers here are friends of mine. I know their work well; any of the seven can play anything in any style. But I tried to match the style of each work with the strengths and personality of each pianist." All seven artists performed on the same piano, in the same hall, all recorded by Judith Sherman. The result is an extraordinary account of this music. -Finn Byrhard
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.
James Sellars: Piano Works
| MP3/320 | $9.99 | |
| FLAC | $9.99 | |
| WAV | $9.99 | |
| CD-R | $9.99 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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Piano Sonata 4 (Sonata Brasileira)
James Sellars
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Piano Sonata 5 (Sonata Dada)
James Sellars
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Sonatina
James Sellars
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Piano Sonata 3
James Sellars
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Piano Sonata 2
James Sellars
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Piano Sonata 6 (Patterns on a Field)
James Sellars
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Piano Sonata 1
James Sellars
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