lindberg: Complete Piano Music (Naxos Audio CD)

Ralph van Raat (piano)
with Maarten van Veen (piano II)

Magnus Lindberg is one of Finland’s most important living composers. The differences between his piano works from the late 1970s and early 1980s and those composed in the early years of the 21st century, following a break of 12 years, can seem quite stark.

Whereas works such as Musik för Två Pianon (1976) and Klavierstück (1977) are based strictly on serial procedures, the emergence of a vibrant, more approachable and less extreme style can be heard in Jubilees (2000) and the two Etudes (2001/2004), which even share harmonic, textural and stylistic parallels with Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Rachmaninov, Scriabin and Messiaen.

“[Mr. Adams] would surely like Mr. van Raat’s hard work and enthusiasm”
The New York Times

“Here we have a budget-price contender from Dutch pianist Ralph van Raat, whose seasoned new-music credentials, virtuoso technique and natural affinity for Rzewski's multi-faceted keyboard-writing are evident in nearly every section.”
Gramophone