LEON KIRCHNER: ‘Revelations’
Diverse works. Joel Fan, pianist; Diana Hoagland, soprano; and others, including Leon Kirchner, pianist.
(Verdant World Records)
“‘Revelations’ is an apt title for this important recording of diverse works — piano pieces, songs, choral works, most of them little known — by the American master composer Leon Kirchner, who died at 90 in 2009. Kirchner’s music draws elements from his teacher Schoenberg, his mentor Stravinsky, and other 20th-century modernists, fashioned into his own rigorous, expressive voice. From Kirchner’s early Little Suite for piano (1949) to his last piece, ‘The Forbidden’ (2006), in its version as the Piano Sonata No. 3, the music is alluring, pungent and intelligent, especially in these fine performances, most of them featuring the impressive pianist Joel Fan. ” – Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times