Vestard Shimkus - America 1 (2021)

In programming terms alone, this America-themed programme from Latvian pianist-composer and former Pēteris Vasks pupil Vestard Shimkus is extremely nicely put together. Philip Glass's Mad Rush serves as the curtain-raiser – a work originally created and performed on the organ of New York's cathedral of St. John the Divine in honour of the Dalai Lama's 1979 first public address in North America, but now largely performed on the piano. Onwards, and Shimkus leads us through a succession of hops back and forth between the 20th and 21st centuries, beginning with Charles Tomlinson Griffes' Piano Sonata, sitting as a pleasingly organic segue despite its much earlier composition date of 1917, thanks to its own concise, abstract language (in fact “wandering in the nowhere” was how Musical America's bemused Herbert Peyser described it when it first appeared).

Tracklist
01. Mad Rush: Part A - Part B (until Bar 101). Flowing
02. Mad Rush: Part B (Bar 102 - Bar 154)
03. Mad Rush: Part C (Bar 155 - Bar 231)
04. Mad Rush: Part D (Bar 232 - Bar 273)
05. Piano Sonata, A. 85: Feroce - Allegretto con moto
06. Piano Sonata, A. 85: Tempo primo, flebile - Agitato molto - Poco agitato - Tranquillamente, espressivo
07. Piano Sonata, A. 85: Molto tranquillo - Poco agitato - Appassionato - Tranquillo
08. Piano Sonata, A. 85: Allegro vivace - Appassionato - Lento - Presto
09. Two Thoughts About the Piano: I. Intermittences. Tempo flessibile
10. Two Thoughts About the Piano: II. Caténaires. Jaillissant
11. Processional: Sempre pulsando, estaticamente (Second Version)
12. Piano Sonata "Light Years Away": I. There. Volando e intimico
13. Piano Sonata "Light Years Away": II. Here. Molto rubato