John Corigliano: Complete Solo Piano Music

, an indifferent pianist himself, composed little piano music; all of it, including the of 1968, fits on a single CD. The solo piano works were very nicely recorded some years ago by , but the , highly eclectic in spirit (it includes everything from serialist passages to those that sound like , and it suggested as well as anything else of the time the way the winds were blowing), belongs with the rest and is included here in a crisp performance by pianist and the under conductor . The solo pieces are more in the nature of experiments than major works, but several have the combination of rigor and general appearance that is this important composer's trademark. Probably the most popular of them is the , in which the slow movement material of 's , gradually coalesces out of the titular ostinato over 13 minutes (part of the piece is aleatoric). The pieces are in a variety of idioms, but all have the quality of responding intelligently to the circumstances of their composition. was written for biotech CEO , who has a passage from , tattooed on his arm; the work quotes that passage. fans will want this release. ~ James Manheim