Starter Packs

Complete your collection with these curated titles, grouped at a special discount.

Shop Now
SOMM Recordings

Natural Connection - Piano Music Inspired by the Natural World / McCawley

$20.99

Details

Composer
Bela Bartok, Claude Debussy, Edvard Grieg, Franz Liszt, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Maurice Ravel, Camille
Artist
Leon Mccawley
Format
CD
Label
SOMM Recordings
Released
Feb 02, 2024
Catalog #
SOMMCD 0680
UPC
748871068025

About

SOMM RECORDINGS is delighted to announce the release of Natural Connection, a captivatingly lyrical new recording by pianist Leon McCawley featuring music for solo piano inspired by the natural world. The effect of the ever-changing seasons has been a perpetual inspiration for composers since Ancient Greece’s Delphic hymns and before, down to the present day, arguably finding its richest expression, as Robert Matthew-Walker’s erudite booklet notes argue, in the generations who alternatively espoused Romanticism and Impressionism. Nine composers, each with their own individual but complementary responses, are featured in a 21-track recital of miniature gems traversing the inexorable turn of the year’s cycle from Christian Sinding’s tremulous signature, Rustle of Spring, to Grieg’s sublimely tentative To the Spring. In between, popular pieces by Debussy (Clair de Lune) and Saint-Saëns (The Swan) vie with assorted works by Tchaikovsky (selections from The Seasons), Ravel (the liquescent Jeux d’eau), Bartók (the delightful From the Diary of a Fly and atmospheric The Night’s Music), and Rachmaninov (the gentle Lilacs and poetic Daisies). The most expressive pianist-composer of his age, Liszt, contributes three pieces including the sighing ebb-and-flow of Au lac de Walletstadt and stormy Orage, to eloquently link this multi-faceted and evocative, often moving, collection of responses to the living world. Leon McCawley’s previous SOMM releases include four widely acclaimed volumes of Haydn Sonatas, the first (SOMMCD 0162) receiving a coveted Diapason d’Or from Diapason magazine, Gramophone hailing him for Volume III (SOMMCD 0624) as “a thoughtful, keenly intelligent artist in peak form”. MusicWeb International declared his Chopin recital (SOMMCD 0103) “exemplary” and “outstanding”, while his Schubert survey (SOMMCD 0188) was described by Classical Music Daily as “a meaningful, eloquent performance [that] offers many memorable moments”.

Tracklist 21 tracks

  1. 1 6 Stücke, Op. 32: No. 3. Rustle of Spring 02:56
    Track
    1
    Title
    6 Stücke, Op. 32: No. 3. Rustle of Spring
    Duration
    02:56
    Composer
    Christian Sinding
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  2. 2 Années de pèlerinage, 1st year, Switzerland, S160/R10: No. 2. Au lac de Wallenstadt (At the Lake of Wallenstadt) 03:31
    Track
    2
    Title
    Années de pèlerinage, 1st year, Switzerland, S160/R10: No. 2. Au lac de Wallenstadt (At the Lake of Wallenstadt)
    Duration
    03:31
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  3. 3 Les saisons (The Seasons), Op. 37a: III. March: Song of the Lark 02:23
    Track
    3
    Title
    Les saisons (The Seasons), Op. 37a: III. March: Song of the Lark
    Duration
    02:23
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  4. 4 Mikrokosmos, Book 6, BB 105: No. 142. From the Diary of a Fly 01:29
    Track
    4
    Title
    Mikrokosmos, Book 6, BB 105: No. 142. From the Diary of a Fly
    Duration
    01:29
    Composer
    Béla Bartók
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  5. 5 Estampes: No. 3. Jardins sous la pluie (Gardens in the Rain) 03:46
    Track
    5
    Title
    Estampes: No. 3. Jardins sous la pluie (Gardens in the Rain)
    Duration
    03:46
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  6. 6 No. 4. Au bord d'une source (Beside a Spring) 04:06
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 4. Au bord d'une source (Beside a Spring)
    Duration
    04:06
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  7. 7 No. 5. Orage (Storm) 04:31
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 5. Orage (Storm)
    Duration
    04:31
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  8. 8 Szabadban (Out of Doors), BB 89: IV. The Night's Music 05:18
    Track
    8
    Title
    Szabadban (Out of Doors), BB 89: IV. The Night's Music
    Duration
    05:18
    Composer
    Béla Bartók
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  9. 9 Suite bergamasque: III. Clair de lune 05:06
    Track
    9
    Title
    Suite bergamasque: III. Clair de lune
    Duration
    05:06
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  10. 10 Carnival of the Animals: XIII. Le Cygne (The Swan) (arr. L. Godowsky for piano) 02:34
    Track
    10
    Title
    Carnival of the Animals: XIII. Le Cygne (The Swan) (arr. L. Godowsky for piano)
    Duration
    02:34
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  11. 11 No. 1. Sommerfugl (Butterfly) 02:00
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 1. Sommerfugl (Butterfly)
    Duration
    02:00
    Composer
    Edvard Grieg
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  12. 12 No. 4. Smågfugl (Little Bird) 01:40
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 4. Smågfugl (Little Bird)
    Duration
    01:40
    Composer
    Edvard Grieg
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  13. 13 Miroirs: No. 2. Oiseaux tristes 04:25
    Track
    13
    Title
    Miroirs: No. 2. Oiseaux tristes
    Duration
    04:25
    Composer
    Maurice Ravel
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  14. 14 Années de pèlerinage, 3rd year, S163/R10: No. 4. Les jeux d'eau a la Villa d'Este (The Fountains of the Villa d'Este) 07:28
    Track
    14
    Title
    Années de pèlerinage, 3rd year, S163/R10: No. 4. Les jeux d'eau a la Villa d'Este (The Fountains of the Villa d'Este)
    Duration
    07:28
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  15. 15 Jeux d'eau 05:43
    Track
    15
    Title
    Jeux d'eau
    Duration
    05:43
    Composer
    Maurice Ravel
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  16. 16 12 Songs, Op. 21: No. 5. Siren' (Lilacs) (version for piano) 02:22
    Track
    16
    Title
    12 Songs, Op. 21: No. 5. Siren' (Lilacs) (version for piano)
    Duration
    02:22
    Composer
    Sergei Rachmaninoff
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  17. 17 6 Songs, Op. 38: No. 3. Margaritki (Daisies) (version for piano) 02:17
    Track
    17
    Title
    6 Songs, Op. 38: No. 3. Margaritki (Daisies) (version for piano)
    Duration
    02:17
    Composer
    Sergei Rachmaninoff
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  18. 18 Les saisons (The Seasons), Op. 37a: X. October: Autumn Song 04:32
    Track
    18
    Title
    Les saisons (The Seasons), Op. 37a: X. October: Autumn Song
    Duration
    04:32
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  19. 19 Children's Corner: IV. The Snow is Dancing 02:41
    Track
    19
    Title
    Children's Corner: IV. The Snow is Dancing
    Duration
    02:41
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  20. 20 L'isle joyeuse 05:58
    Track
    20
    Title
    L'isle joyeuse
    Duration
    05:58
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Leon McCawley
  21. 21 Lyric Pieces, Book 3, Op. 43: No. 6. Til våren (To the Spring) 03:04
    Track
    21
    Title
    Lyric Pieces, Book 3, Op. 43: No. 6. Til våren (To the Spring)
    Duration
    03:04
    Composer
    Edvard Grieg
    Performer
    Leon McCawley