Composer Arthur Lourié was born as Naum Izrailevich Lur'ya in 1892. Lourié wasw a charismatic bohemian and Soviet cultural politician who did not return from a so-called official journey to Berlin in 1922. Lourié was a pioneer of Modernism music and he enjoyed mingling among the poets and painters of the Silver Age and was greatly inspired by them. His musical oeuvre is just as multi-faceted and diverse as the writings of that time.

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REVIEW:

This overview of Arthur Lourié’s music for solo piano tends to bear out an idea now gaining credence, namely that Lourié, at least in some instances, anticipated rather than echoed Stravinsky. Ernst’s sensitively artistic performances point up Lourié’s remarkable diversity of expression, and make a compelling case for his music.

– Gramophone