Labyrinth (2020)

performed by Gvantsa Buniatishvili (piano), Khatia Buniatishvili (piano)
composed by Arvo Pärt, Domenico Scarlatti, Ennio Morricone, Erik Satie, François Couperin, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, György Ligeti, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Cage, Philip Glass, Sergey Rachmaninov

Pianist Khatia Buniatishvili specialized mostly in virtuoso repertory in the early years of her tenure with the Sony Classical label, but she goes in a different direction with Labyrinth, a collection of mostly slow, reflective pieces from various periods and in various styles. The labyrinth involved might be a winding path through musical styles or through an individual soul. The program is of the sort that one shouldn't try to hard to pin down; Buniatishvili posted on social media (October 9, 2020) that "the voice you ... Read More

Pianist Khatia Buniatishvili specialized mostly in virtuoso repertory in the early years of her tenure with the Sony Classical label, but she goes in a different direction with Labyrinth, a collection of mostly slow, reflective pieces from various periods and in various styles. The labyrinth involved might be a winding path through musical styles or through an individual soul. The program is of the sort that one shouldn't try to hard to pin down; Buniatishvili posted on social media (October 9, 2020) that "the voice you hear is the voice of a human being -- my voice, your voice," but it's quite evocative. Buniatishvili makes turns through Bach, jazz, Romantic music, contemporary pieces, including a large Philip Glass excerpt, and more. Yet for the most part, she maintains the sense of a thread connecting the pieces, although some may feel that the four-hands arrangement of the Badinerie from the Bach Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067, where she teams with her sister, Gvantsa Buniatishvili,... Read Less