25 pieces ranging from dances, fugues, ballades and ragtime gain a 5 star review for both pianist and composer
Steven Graff
John Carbon: Short Stories for Piano
Convivium Records CR085
5 STARS
I'll admit to approaching this recording with a degree of scepticism: 'another offering of trite pieces,' thought I. Thing is, I'd not heard of composer John Carbon. More fool, me. His is a rich, original and inventive voice and his writing technically accomplished. There are no less than 25 pieces on this disc, most no longer than two minutes, yet each uniquely satisfying.
Styles range from dances and fugues, to ballades, ragtime and works of dreamy introspection – but all of them beautifully crafted and shaped. Think of the titles as you listen, among them ‘Mouse Clock’, ‘Thorny Reminiscence’ and ‘Spider's Reflection’, and they're perfectly matched in music. My favourites? ‘Heather Bells’, sensitively played, as all the pieces are, by Steven Graff, ‘Arctic Love Story’ and ‘Icarus’ – the latter being the longest piece on the album.
They say short stories are the hardest to write but the most satisfying. I don't know how hard Carbon found writing his own compositions, but they certainly satisfied me.
John Evans