Andrew Rangell's 2018 release, From the early 20th..., an album featuring pieces by Schoenberg, Nielsen, and Enescu, was dominated by Charles Ives' monumental "Concord" sonata. Volume 2 is intended as a more inclusive enlargement along these lines, featuring iconic works of Webern, Berg, Scriabin, and Ravel, alongside lesser-known gems by Sibelius, Mompou, and Prokofiev.

A fanciful, if tangential, addition to the program is Bill Evans' soulful "Turn out the Stars" (with its echoes of Ravel)

On this follow up to his first volume of early 20th century piano music, Andrew Rangell writes “This recital grew and took shape during many months, including those of the ongoing pandemic. Some 50 years ago, as a student, I had eschewed Webern and Berg (in favor of Scriabin, Ives, and others). Now I took the opportunity to explore these (and the other non-Scriabin works on this program) with the new perspectives of an older musician.”

A touching ballad by Bill Evans, Turn Out the Stars, is also included.

“Rangell accentuates the lyrical side…Fascinating listening.” 

International Piano

 

“He impresses with bright colors and engaging phrasing…the music lights up.”

Fanfare

ALBUM CREDITS

From The Early 20th...Vol. 2 / Andrew Rangell • STNS 30195 

Release Date: 11/5/2021

Recorded June, 2021 at the Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport, Massachusetts.

Producer: Andrew Rangell
Recording Engineer/Mastering: Tom Stephenson
Editing: Luke Damrosch
Piano Technician: Christine Lovgren
Piano: Steinway Model D #586518 (New York)

Executive Producer: Jon Feidner
Art Direction: Jackie Fugere
Design: Cover to Cover Design, Anilda Carrasquillo
Production Assistant: Renée Oakford 
Original art used on the album cover and booklet: Untitled, 1965 by Nadia Gould.

About the Artist

Long recognized as among our most eloquent and insightful interpreters of Bach and Beethoven, pianist Andrew Rangell has drawn acclaim for a variety of recordings, ranging from the music of Sweelinck, Farnaby, and Gibbons to that of Janacek, Enescu, Nielsen, Ives, Fartein Valen, Christian Wolff, and many others. A recording of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Vol. 2, projected for release early in 2022, will complete Mr. Rangell’s many-year survey of Bach’s major keyboard works.

Andrew Rangell made his New York debut as winner of the Malraux Award of the Concert Artists’ Guild, and has since performed and lectured throughout the United States, and in Europe, Israel, and China. He has also taught on the faculties of Dartmouth, Middlebury, and Tufts University. In the 1980s, already recognized as a distinctive recitalist and collaborative artist, Mr. Rangell gained national attention – and the award of an Avery Fisher Career Grant – for his vivid traversals of the complete Beethoven sonata-cycle in New York, Boston, Cleveland, Rochester, Denver, and other U.S. Cities. A hand injury sustained in 1991 forced Mr. Rangell to gradually alter the trajectory of his career, and eventually to place his highest priority on recording. In recent years he has created several DVDs for children – integrating his special talents as author, illustrator, narrator, and pianist. These DVDs are included in his albums, Bach 4 Kids and Beethoven 4 Kids, Volumes 1 and 2.

About Steinway & Sons label

The STEINWAY & SONS music label produces exceptional albums of solo piano music across all genres. The label — a division of STEINWAY & SONS, maker of the world’s finest pianos — is a perfect vessel for producing the finest quality recordings by some of the most talented pianists in the world.