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Theme: Variation
David Rogosin, piano
Leaf Music, 2023
Theme: Variation shouldn’t be taken casually—the solo piano album is a thought-provoking, conceptual experiment that deserves many rounds of active listening.
David Rogosin begins Orlando Gibbons’s The Italian Ground, followed by Mein Junges Leben Hat Ein End and Est-ce Mars, both composed by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. These compositions start slow and quiet before developing into fast, loud performances, demonstrating how variation in tempo and volume impact tone. This is a grace period that eases the listener into Rogosin’s concept of “variation.” He soon introduces Chopin’s Berceuse, Op. 57 to illustrate how a pianist’s hands move variously across the keyboard when faced with intricate successions of notes, drawing attention to the physical demand of performance and the depths of Rogosin’s talents.
The way Rogosin approaches variation also changes throughout the album. Mozart’s Twelve Variations on “Ah, vous dirai-je Maman,” for example, offers different versions of the 18th-century French folk song whose melody was eventually adopted into Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the English alphabet song. Amid the changes in tone, intensity, and density of notes, the melody of this single composition remains identifiable, allowing listeners to easily observe variation in real time.
By contrast, Kevin Morse’s Variations use erratic, discordant, and almost unrecognizable melodies to cast away expectations of identifiability. With descriptive names like Quickly, Mechanical and Mysterious, these 12 compositions focus on how notes are being played and transformed by different tonal styles. In addition to demonstrating Rogosin’s calculated organization of compositions, this album conveys his incredible stylistic flexibility. It’s also a testament to his ability to transition between styles on a whim while making them feel like cohesive parts of a whole.
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
