Richard Crosby - By the Waters of Memory (2024)

Lyricism and melody are often vainly sought in contemporary composition. American composer Richard Crosby goes against the grain on BY THE WATERS OF MEMORY, a selection of compositions so aesthetically sublime, yet so profound, one wonders if this is still music, or someone mesmerizingly peeling back the layers on existence itself.

BY THE WATERS OF MEMORY features two scintillating chamber duos with piano – one a viola, the other a cello sonata – as well as a charming tetralogy of Latin dances for piano and oboe. But perhaps the greatest revelation arrives in the form of trenchantly beautiful solo piano pieces, which bear all the hallmarks of unadulterated classical-romantic genius. If Schubert had been an American, he would have sounded like this.

Tracklist
01. By the Waters of Memory, Op. 9
02. Piano Sonata in B-Flat Minor, Op. 21: I. Allegro molto
03. Piano Sonata in B-Flat Minor, Op. 21: II. Andante
04. Piano Sonata in B-Flat Minor, Op. 21: III. Allegro energico
05. Variations for Piano, Op. 13
06. Sonata for Viola & Piano, Op. 10: I. Allegro
07. Sonata for Viola & Piano, Op. 10: II. Andante
08. Sonata for Viola & Piano, Op. 10: III. Vivace
09. Sonata for Cello & Piano, Op. 19: I. Allegro
10. Sonata for Cello & Piano, Op. 19: II. Un poco andante
11. Sonata for Cello & Piano, Op. 19: III. Allegro energico
12. 4 Latin Dances for Oboe & Piano, Op. 14: No. 1, Bolero
13. 4 Latin Dances for Oboe & Piano, Op. 14: No. 2, Tango
14. 4 Latin Dances for Oboe & Piano, Op. 14: No. 3, Bossa Nova
15. 4 Latin Dances for Oboe & Piano, Op. 14: No. 4, Mambo