Makrokosmos Vols 1 and 2

Makrokosmos Vols 1 and 2

Description: 
Twenty four Fantasy pieces after the Zodiac for amplified piano
Composers: 
George Crumb
Performers: 
Laurie Hudicek
Catalog Number: 
#313
Genre: 
experimental
new classical
Collection: 
Furious Artisans
audiophile
piano
Location: 

Washington, DC

Price: 
$15.00
Release Date: 
Mar 15, 2002
Liner Notes: 
View
1 CD
Crumb: Makrokosmos IiTunes Artist's PageiTunes Album Page
Song TitleTimePrice
1.Makrokosmos I, Pt. I: I. Primeval sounds (Cancer)04:20$0.99
2.Makrokosmos I, Pt. I: II. Proteus (Pisces)01:16$0.99
3.Makrokosmos I, Pt. I: III. Pastorale (Taurus)02:07$0.99
4.Makrokosmos I, Pt. I: IV. Crucifixus (Capricorn)02:38$0.99
5.Makrokosmos I, Pt. II: V. The Phantom Gondolier (Scorpio)02:45$0.99
6.Makrokosmos I, Pt. II: VI. Night-Spell I (Sagittarius)03:48$0.99
7.Makrokosmos I, Pt. II: VII. Music of Shadows (Libra)02:50$0.99
8.Makrokosmos I, Pt. II: VIII. The Magic Circle of Infinity (Leo)01:49$0.99
9.Makrokosmos I, Pt. III: IX. The Abyss of Time (Virgo)02:30$0.99
10.Makrokosmos I, Pt. III: X. The Spring-Fire (Aries)01:44$0.99
11.Makrokosmos I, Pt. III: XI. Dream Images (Gemini)04:09$0.99
12.Makrokosmos I, Pt. III: XII. Spiral Galaxy (Aquarius)02:50$0.99
13.Makrokosmos II, Pt. I: I. Morning Music (Cancer)03:00$0.99
14.Makrokosmos II, Pt. I: II. The Mystic Chord (Sagittarius)02:47$0.99
15.Makrokosmos II, Pt. I: III. Rain-Death Variations (Pisces)01:41$0.99
16.Makrokosmos II, Pt. I: IV. Twin Suns (Gemini)03:21$0.99
17.Makrokosmos II, Pt. II: V. Ghost-Nocturne - for the Druids of Stonehenge (Virgo)01:52$0.99
18.Makrokosmos II, Pt. II: VI. Gargoyles (Taurus)01:22$0.99
19.Makrokosmos II, Pt. II: VII. Tora! Tora! (Scorpio)02:33$0.99
20.Makrokosmos II, Pt. II: VIII. A Prophecy of Nostradamus (Aries)03:49$0.99
21.Makrokosmos II, Pt. III: IX. Cosmic Wind (Libra)01:55$0.99
22.Makrokosmos II, Pt. III: X. Voices from Corona Borealis (Aquarius)03:31$0.99
23.Makrokosmos II, Pt. III: XI. Litany of the Galactic Bells (Leo)02:36$0.99
24.Makrokosmos II, Pt. III: XII. Agnus Dei (Capricorn)03:47$0.99
One Sheet: 

In 1971, George Crumb set out to compose a set of piano pieces; the preludes of Debussy and Chopin as well as Well Tempered Klavier of J.S. Bach come to mind as prototypes. What emerged after two years of painstaking distillation, Crumb’s Makrokosmos Vol. 1 & 2 for amplified piano, has proved a worthy heir to its 18th and 19th century analogs. Makrokosmos is a multi-dimensional odyssey through a universe of metaphysical timbres created via a compendium of extended piano techniques. These include the use of metal chains, paper on the strings, wire brush, paper clip, metal thimbles, whistling and Latin incantations. Crumb closes the ‘magic circle of infinity’ with these exceptional works, fusing performer with instrument, music with timbre, primitive with modern, terror with romance, lyricism with violence. 

Taking advantage of state-of-the-art digital recording technology, producer Marc Wolf & Engineer Jeremy Tressler have captured George Crumb’s timeless Makrokosmos in stunning detail, clarity and dynamic range, promising to take the listener literally inside the guts of a 9 foot Steinway. If you need to own one version of Makrokosmos, this is the one! 

Reviews: 

NEWMUSICBOX

Pianist Laurie Hudicek tackles what many consider to be one of the monumental pieces of 20th century repertoire for solo piano. A great recording of a true masterpiece.

JUMP ARTS JOURNAL

The work in question is a pair of piano sequences based upon themes of the zodiac. Crumb’s soundworld, for those unfamiliar, can be sparse and magical. Laurie Hudicek takes this work most seriously...but this new one by Hudicek earns special praise for giving each of the two times twelve pieces its own soundworld without losing any of the total architecture. Superb graphic design and the booklet includes excellent notes as well as the spiraling graphic score. - Steve Koenig

21ST CENTURY MUSIC

Laurie Hudicek's brilliant, commanding, and virtuosic new recording of George Crumb's Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 and 2, can immediately take an honored place beside the classic recordings by David Burge (of Volume 1) and Robert Miller (of Volume 2) . And, given the fact that she has generously recorded both volumes, this makes a handier one-CD collection that either of the earlier. Her tempos and interpretation are decidedly her own. So is her voice. But it is just as alarming to hear her soprano shouts of "Christe" and "Tora" and moanings as it was to hear Burge's basso. She captures all of Crumb's madness and mystery. The presence she brings to this CD is nothing short of stunning. - Mark Allburger