Naresh Sohal: Complete Piano Music
The British-based Naresh Sohal, born in Punjab in 1939, was the first person of Indian origin to make his mark as a composer of western classical music, writing works that displayed an unusual kind of fusion – but not stylistic: his compositions often use the language of western modernism to explore the ideas of Hindu philosophy. The handful of piano pieces that he wrote between 1974 and his death in 2018 use musical analogies to address issues of perception, even existence itself, in a language that employs Xenakis-like extremes of dynamics and virtuosity, of clarity and density and of energy and calm.
Konstantinos Destounis, piano (Tracks 1–5)
Cristina Anghelescu, violin (Track 6)
Adrian Mantu, cello (Track 6)
Mark Troop, piano (Track 6)
Listen To This Recording:
- A Mirage (1974)
- Chakra (1979)
- I Adagio
- II Allegretto
- Tsunami (2007)
- Piano Trio (1988)
Prayer (2006)
FIRST RECORDINGS
Fanfare :
‘An investigation of his piano music is just as rewarding [as his other works], and the same label, Toccata Classics, has released it all in combination with Sohal’s Piano Trio. […] Destounis’s performance itself [of A Mirage ] is a miracle: confident and undaunted. […]
[Prayer] Remarkable. […]
It is worth noting that the recording quality of the piano music and the Trio are of equivalent excellence, despite very different locations. […] This is a performance [of the piano trio] in which that intensity refuses to let go. Anghelescu and Mantu are both virtuosos. […]
I cannot recommend [this] discs highly enough.’
—Colin Clarke, Fanfare
The Cross-Eyed Pianist :
‘Throughout, there is a sense of a composer completely at one with the piano’s sonic capabilities, from plangent, sombre notes deep in the bass to the bell-like clarity or delicacy of the high treble register. The piano is a percussive instrument and Sohal utilises this with arresting effect in, for example, the opening piece, A Mirage, a work of some 13 minutes in which notes tumble across the keyboard, each with its own dynamic and colour. It’s a work of complex textures and emotional profundity. […]
Despite the fiercely virtuosic complexity of Sohal’s music, pianist Konstantinos Destounis rises to its physical and emotional challenges to bring persuasive colour and clarity, control and sensitivity to the pieces on this recording.
An ideal introduction to Naresh Sohal’s music, his Complete Piano Music is released on the Toccata Classics label.’
—Frances Wilson, The Cross-Eyed Pianist