This collection of compositions written for new-music pianist Jeri-Mae G. Astolfi (and for this album) fully realizes the wonderful synergies available when combining the beauty of unadulterated piano timbres with the expressive possibilities of their enhancement by electronic means. Astolfi performs the six works on this album with sterling technique and a great affinity for the varied stylistic intricacies of the pieces. 

 

The music: “Crystal Springs,” composed by Phillip Schroeder (who also produced the album), seamlessly combines electronically manipulated sounds from electric bass, suspended cymbal, and the inside of the piano with seductive motifs drawn from the Fibonacci series. “Swirling Sky,” a micro-tonally enlivened piece by Ed Martin, takes its inspiration from the infinitely mutable patterns of clouds adrift in the sky. Jeff Herriott’s “green is passing” treats an elegantly stripped-bare stream of piano music with subtly varying amounts of reverb. Brian Belet’s “Summer Phantoms: Nocturne” incorporates processed string scrapes, hand-dampened tones, soundboard strikes, and other expanded piano tones with traditionally performed material to create a spectral, sometimes ominous work. Tom Lopez’s “Confetti Variations” wildly combines Feldman and Brahms with an unexpected collage of fascinating field recordings, including fireworks. Jim Fox’s “The pleasure of being lost” closes the album with the haunting intimacy of the human voice, placing a text he freely adapted from the journals of nineteenth-century naturalist and world traveler Joseph Dalton Hooker alongside drifting moments of piano music and electronically processed sounds.

 

Jeri-Mae G. Astolfi is a Canadian-born pianist whose playing has been lauded as “brilliant” (New Music Connoisseur), “persuasive” (Sequenza21), and “beautiful” (American Record Guide). Her repertoire, ranging from the Renaissance era through the present, clearly affirms her keen interest in new music, which has led her to commission and premiere many new solo and collaborative works. The recipient of numerous awards and grants, Astolfi’s passion for new music has been recognized by invitations to many regional, national, and international music forums, where she has premiered and lectured on new piano music. Astolfi also frequently serves as a piano clinician, coach, and master class instructor. Astolfi currently serves on the music faculty of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.