Makrokosmos Vol. 1 & 2

George Crumb - Makrokosmos Vol. 1 & 2

Laurie Hudicek - piano

There's a lot of recordings of Makrokosmos Vol. 1 & 2 out there and I may post a few of the other versions later. Laurie Hudicek's performance is highly regarded as one of the better ones and while I have not heard all of them, I also agree that this is one of the top performances of this piece.

Although composed fairly recently (1972/73), George Crumb's two volumes of Makrokosmos: Twelve fantasy-pieces after the zodiac for amplified piano have proven to be hallmark compositions of 20th century solo piano music. These monumental works, 24 pieces after the zodiac, are tackled by relatively few artists in the music world today. For not only do these pieces stretch the imagination and test the technique of the performer, they also reach beyond the realm of certainty, beyond that which is concrete and comfortable, and beyond the security of the keyboard.
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It is commonly known that these pieces are written after the zodiac. Each of the twelve pieces from both sets has a descriptive title, a zodiac symbol, and explicit instructions indicating the mood of the work, making these pieces, in the romantic sense, character pieces. For example: from Volume II: Ghost-Nocturne: for the Druids of Stonehenge (Night-Spell II) Virgo Dark, fantasmic, subliminal. Even in his titles Crumb shows us that his music is "larger than life," in that it isn't confined to the world in which we live. It makes us feel small at times, which adds to the discomfort of some listeners. There are sounds in these pieces that are not only foreign to the piano, but are sounds we might not even find in nature, sounds that may only exist in space or in our childhood fantasy-world, sound hallucinations.
In the above movement Crumb has the performer use glass tumblers to bend the pitch of the piano by having them move the glasses slowly along the strings while pressing firmly on them and playing the keys. Not only is the sound exotic, but also the technique is not a pianistic one. This remains true for most of the other techniques Crumb employs, such as strumming, plucking, muting, scraping, and hitting the strings, as well as using other objects such as paper, chains, a wire brush, thimbles, and plectrums. The techniques are far different from those used in most keyboard literature today.
Among the most mesmerizing of Crumb's departures from the keyboard are the vocal parts. The pianist is required to sing, chant, whisper, moan, hiss, and whistle, which, for some, is a feat in itself. However, Crumb asks for the pianist to do this while playing both on the keys and strings. From Volume 1, Night-Spell I Sagittarius has the pianist whistling extensively, and the final section requires playing on the keys, plucking the strings, and whistling a traditional tune simultaneously. Techniques are no longer limited to the tone control of the fingers, but also include the shape of the lips and breath control, and phrasing inside the piano. (liner notes)




Tracklisting:

1. Primeval Sounds (Genesis 1) [Cancer] {4:20}

2. Proteus [Pisces] {1:16}

3. Pastorale (from the Kingdom of Atlantis, ca. 10,000 B.C.) [Taurus] {2:07}

4. Crucifixus [Symbol] [Capricorn] {2:38}

5. The Phantom Gondolier [Scorpio] {2:45}

6. Night-Spell I [Sagittarius] {3:48}

7. Music of Shadows (for Aeolian Harp) [Libra] {2:50}

8. The Magic Circle of Infinity (Moto perpetuo) [Symbol] [Leo] {1:49}

9. The Abyss of Time [Virgo] {2:30}

10. Spring-Fire [Aries] {1:44}

11. Dream Images (Love-Death Music) [Gemini] {4:09}

12. Spiral Galaxy [Symbol] [Aquarius] {2:50}

13. Morning Music (Genesis II) [Cancer] {3:00}

14. The Mystic Chord [Sagittarius] {2:47}

15. Rain-Death Variations [Pisces] {1:41}

16. Twin Suns (Doppleganger aus der Ewigkeit) [Symbol] [Gemini] {3:21}

17. Ghost-Nocturne: for the Druids of Stonehenge (Night-Spell II) [Virgo] {1:52}

18. Gargoyles [Taurus] {1:22}

19. Tora! Tora! Tora! (Cadenza Apocalittica) [Scorpio] {2:33}

20. A Prophecy of Nostradamus [Symbol] [Aries] {3:49}

21. Cosmic Wind [Libra] {1:55}

22. Voices from "Corona Borealis" [Aquarius] {3:31}

23. Litany of the Galactic Bells [Leo] {2:36}

24. Agnus Dei [Symbol] [Capricorn] {3:47}

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