Search - Simon Nabatov :: Perpetuum Immobile: Solo Piano Live

Tour-de-force piano

N. Dorward | Toronto, ON Canada | 04/08/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of Nabatov's least jazz-oriented discs: essentially, it's a meditation on the classical keyboard literature & on the characteristic soundworlds of a number of twentieth-century composers, among them Messiaen, Stockhausen, Ligeti & Prokofiev. The opening track, "Which Way Up?", is somewhat untypical, being a sprightly piece that has an implied swing that sets it apart from the more classically-inclined remainder of the album. There's some astonishing piano pyrotechnics on display here--"U-Trillo", in particular, is a knockout: it starts with a kind of fugue, then reaches a moment of false calm in a gentle trill. The trill gets more ominous, though, & leads in turn to a ferocious & passionate central section. There's several pieces which glance at the pianistic tradition of the "perpetuum mobile" (an unbroken, even flow of notes)--notably "One-Handed Bandit", a performance restricted to the right hand alone.Not perhaps Nabatov's most well-rounded performance, but eminently listenable & quite impressive."