Phillip Ramey: Piano Music, Volume One, 1961–2003

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Catalogue No: TOCC0029
EAN/UPC: 5060113440297
Release Date: 2006-05-01
Composer: Phillip Ramey
Artists: Stephen Gosling

The piano music of American composer Phillip Ramey (b. 1939) has its roots in the motoric athleticism of Prokofiev and Bartók, refracted through the wiry and elegant polyphony of his teacher, Alexander Tcherepnin. To these early influences Ramey has brought the tangy dissonance of mainstream modernism and a Lisztian enjoyment of the grand Romantic gesture. The works on this CD range in mood from tranquil introspection by way of sober lyricism to thunderous explosions of demonic energy expressed in high-octane piano-writing that pushes virtuosity to the limit.

Stephen Gosling, piano

Listen To This Recording:

    Color Etudes

  1. Purple (Andante liturgico)
  2. Green (Allegro Moderato)
  3. Maroon (Adagio)
  4. Orange (Allegro Moderato)
  5. Red (Moderato)
  6. Gold (Allegro)
  7. Blue (Larghetto; Scherzando)
  8. Silver (Allegro Scherzando)
  9. Black (Allegro)
  10. Memorial (In Memoriam Alexander Tcherepnin) (1977)
  11. Chromatic Waltz (1993)
  12. Piano Sonata No. 1 (1961)

  13. I. Allegro Marcato
  14. II. Adagio
  15. III. Allegro vivace
  16. Piano Sonata No. 2 (1966; rev. 2003)

  17. I. Moderato
  18. II. Largo;
  19. (II) Allegro con Brio; Lento
  20. Piano Sonata No. 5 (For the Left Hand) (1989)
  21. Piano Fantasy (1969t72)
  22. Four Tangier Portraits (1991t99)

  23. Paul Bowles: At Eighty
  24. Cherie Nutting: Elf in Kasbah
  25. Philip Krone: Plotting a Strategy
  26. Phillip Ramey: Dire Thoughts Beneath the Sweltering Sky
  27. Toccata No. 2 (1990)

5 reviews for Phillip Ramey: Piano Music, Volume One, 1961–2003

  1. :

    ‘a disc of very great interest’

    —Ying Chang, Musical Pointers

  2. :

    ‘Stephen Gosling is a strong executant of all these works. It’s a harrowing assignment given the stringent technical demands. He plays the quite pieces with majestic serenity and wallops the hell out of the more extroverted ones, such as the final toccata. As someone who has been influenced by Ramey’s writing since I was a child, I find that his music is even stronger that his prose.’

    —Sullivan, American Record Guid

  3. :

    ‘The enterprising company Toccata have struck again.…This CD is one to which I will return. … I know that the experience will be well worthwhile.’

    —Gary Higginson, MusicWeb International

  4. :

    ‘Toccata Classics’ inimitable presentation includes a back-cover précis of the music at hand. Thus if the music of Prokofiev and Bartók appeals, and that of Alexander Tcherepnin, and descriptions such as “tangy dissonance of mainstream modernism” and “a Lisztian enjoyment of the grand Romantic gesture” are enticing, then this release could well be for you. If further persuasion is needed then maybe “tranquil introspection”, “thunderous explosions” and “demonic energy” will do it for you. If all this sounds gratuitous, particularly the “thunderous” and “demonic” aspects, and suggesting that the composer is first and foremost seeking effects, then listening to this release is something of a revelation.’

    —Colin Anderson, Classical Source

  5. :

    ‘Stephen Gosling plays the works with impressive authority […] and is totally sympathetic with Ramey’s style. […]

    The notes written by Benjamin Folkman are excellent.’

    —Anthony Davie, Music & Vision

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