Nimrod Borenstein - Piano Works (Tra Nguyen)

Information

Composer: Nimrod Borenstein

• Études, Op. 66
• Études, Op. 86
• Reminiscences of Childhood, Op. 54
• Water Droplets in Venice, Op. 75 No. 2
• Lullaby, Op. 81a

Tra Nguyen, piano

Date: 2023

Label: Grand Piano

https://grandpianorecords.com/Album/AlbumDetails/GP851

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 8 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

Born in 1969, the British/French/Israeli composer Nimrod Borenstein has been frequently commissioned and performed internationally, and also enjoys a busy conducting career. Judging from this disc’s contents, Borenstein certainly knows how to write idiomatically and effectively for piano. His two books of Etudes address specific techniques, textures, styles, and moods. Although his harmonic language is not particularly adventurous, the composer’s imaginative and fluent use of rhythm more than compensates.

The Op. 66 Etude set’s opening Ostinato, for instance, might be described as the bits and pieces from the finale of Beethoven’s Appassionata sonata that expand and contract like rubber bands. The Mephisto Etude starts with a deceptively simple left-hand “oom-pah” accompaniment underneath increasingly elaborate right-hand lines that resemble Lisztian mash-ups. Perhaps the Tango Etude gets overburdened by long tremolos, but the increasingly complex textural alternations in the Staccato/Legato Etude hold consistent attention.

I was especially taken with The Melancholic Mobile, the third piece from Reminiscences of Childhood. Here repeated phrases in the piano’s high register give way to rhythmic displacements that resemble phase shifting. Once the lower registers kick in, the music goes into scrambled Schumann mode, but eventually returns to the opening section’s simplicity. Likewise, high-register rhythmic juggling characterizes the disc’s closing Lullaby. My only quibble is that these piano works operate on similar and not very wide-ranging emotional levels, despite the composer’s unquestionable cleverness and facility.

Pianist Tra Nguyen seems to be an ideal advocate for this repertoire. She brings the three-dimensional textures to life through her masterful scaling of dynamics, astute ear for textural differentiation, and colorful pedaling. Pianists seeking technically challenging yet musically accessible contemporary repertoire that is both virtuosic and lyrical at the same time will want to check out Nimrod Borenstein, who enhances this excellently engineered disc with his own articulate and unpretentious annotations.

-- Jed Distler, Gramophone

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nimrod Borenstein (born 1969) is a British-French-Israeli composer whose music is widely performed throughout Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and Japan. Born in Tel Aviv, he grew up in Paris and studied at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music in London. Borenstein's substantial catalogue currently numbers over seventy works including orchestral and chamber music as well as vocal and solo instrumental pieces. His works have featured in numerous music venues and festivals across Europe. Vladimir Ashkenazy has been a supporter of Nimrod's music for many years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimrod_Borenstein
https://www.borensteinarts.com/Home.php

***

Tra Nguyen (Nguyễn Bích Trà) is a British-Vietnamese pianist. Tra made her first solo performance at the Hanoi Grand Opera House when she was ten and has continued to engage audiences in other prestigious venues worldwide. Tra Nguyen studied with Lev Naumov in Moscow Conservatory and with Christopher Elton at the Royal Academy of Music, London, where she received the academy’s highest award for her final recital. Her imaginative programming balances core repertoire and lesser-known music, winning critical praise. Her discography introduces many world première recordings of neglected music.
http://www.tranguyen.org/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!