This third disc of Amy Beach’s complete piano music, performed by Kirsten Johnson, represents her compositional output from 1907 to 1924. Amy Beach (American, 1867-1944) is one of the great woman composers of all time. Including the masterful Prelude and Fugue, op. 81, the concert piece Fantasia Fugata, op. 87, and many beguiling piano miniatures, this is a disc not to miss. Farewell Autumn and Dancing Leaves, op. 102, are world première recordings, as are also Lotus Isles (unpublished manuscript) and Blackbird Hills, op. 83. These forgotten pieces by this world-renowned composer are now available for the first time. The piano talents of Kirsten Johnson bring this music to life with technical brilliance, sympathetic interpretation and musical depth.
Audiophile Audition
November 2011
“I could listen to this album over and over. Needless to say, Kirsten Johnson is on top of this music in a big way”
July 2011
“ability to hold fast to the music’s sentiment and not give way to sentimentality is one of Johnson’s sterling qualities...this is one of the very best piano recordings I’ve heard; the acoustic seems well nigh ideal, as does the balance, and that makes already fine playing sound all the more immersive. The botanical bounties of Grandmother’s Garden bloom with the same ear-catching colours that permeate so much of Beach’s music”
