Americas

The Piano Series

Two absolutely superb piano players from different musical worlds: Bruno Canino, as a representative of art music, and Enrico Pieranunzi, as a representative of jazz.  Two Americas, the Northern one and the Southern one, and some of the greatest composers from both.  To what extent is music beautifully gifted with making a universal language flow out, beyond genres, places, artists, composers, performers?  Listening to Americas one is again led to realize that apparent contrasts are actually bonds consisting of irresistible mutual attractions, common points, osmotic relations.  The Americas project has been conceived for two pianos intertwining like cultures and musical worlds do. Here, between Canino and Pieranunzi, it matters little who is playing “what” and “when”. What one is listening to is the search for sonic beauty, starting from the romantic Argentina by Carlos Guastavino through the stylised though forceful Cuba depicted by Aaron Copland in Danzón Cubano and the innovative tango and milonga by Astor Piazzolla. And then there is the ragtime by William Bolcom and George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm”. Is it a journey? A passionate dialogue? Or a tale? Whatever the image this record conjures up in listeners’ minds, Americas is definitely great music, confident that culture is not entrenching in what one already knows but breaking conventions, boundaries, mutual inflexibility. Like Bruno Canino and Enrico Pieranunzi did by playing face to face, each backed up by his own strong cultural background and, for this very reason, splendidly creative and versatile.

Recorded and mixed in Ludwigsburg on 8 - 9 - 10 December 2015 at Bauer Studios   Recording & mixing engineer Johannes Wohlleben

Photos by Andrea Boccalini

Liner notes by Brian Morton