Description:
The powerful, prolific, and nuanced American pianist Steven Spooner has released a 16-volume cd box entitled “Dedications” featuring a wide panoply of Romantic, Classical, Early 20th century, and contemporary works set to disc in the spirit of an homage to the great pianists of the Russian School.
Fired by an intense veneration of this tradition, Mr. Spooner decided early in life to focus his piano playing on the memory and recreation of this art of performance, which had its origins in the iconoclastic pianism of the great Russian virtuoso Anton Rubinstein. This quest has now culminated in a marathon undertaking of recordings made over just a year-and-a-half dedicated to the memory of four legends: Vladimir Horowitz, known universally for his high-voltage pianism; Sviatoslav Richter, who held sway over an immense portion of the piano repertoire and whose genius was stamped on any work or instrument he touched; Emil Gilels, who was one of the first artists to bring to our shores the best of Russian pianism; and the golden-toned American from Louisiana, Van Cliburn, who made history winning first prize at the 1958 first Tchaikovsky Competition. In addition, Mr. Spooner is honoring his former teacher Nodar Gabunia, by having set to disc some of his rarely performed compositions.