PENTATONE releases Bruckner: Piano Works, together with Mari Kodama, in October 2024.
Nuanced Bruckner Portrait
Mari Kodama celebrates the Bruckner bicentenary year with a collection of piano works, most of which are rarely heard. While some of them, such as the Fantasie, Erinnerung and Stille Betrachtung, reveal the serious symphonist and church composer, the many dances included on this album illuminate a lighter side of the composer. In general, hearing his approach to the piano enriches our understanding of this enigmatic genius.
As much of the material was taken from study sketch books, these pieces allow us a look into the workshop of this ever-searching spirit. To Kodama, the Bruckner that appears from his works is in many ways more interesting than the various, cliché-ridden accounts of his life and character. Instead, Kodama aims to paint a nuanced Bruckner portrait, gaining depth thanks to the original selection and perspective.
Mari Kodama is one of the most extraordinary pianists of our age and has an impressive PENTATONE discography, featuring Beethoven’s complete piano sonatas (2003-2014), piano concertos of Loewe and Chopin (2003), Tchaikovsky Ballet Suites for Piano Duo (2016), De Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain (2017), Martinů’s Concerto for Two Pianos (2018), Kaleidoscope: Beethoven Transcriptions and MON AMI Mon amour (both 2020), New Paths (2022) and Mozart & Poulenc Double & Triple Concertos (2024).
“My selection of pieces for this album reflects this diversity. I have recorded those sketches that I believe express the multiplicity of his musical ideas and thus his thinking and creativity. The short pieces were certainly not written for the public. And yet I feel that they are an important part of Bruckner’s work. They have been underestimated for too long. I am deeply convinced that they are worth hearing.”
Mari Kodama
Digital Release Date: 4 OCTOBER 2024
Physical Release: OCTOBER 2024
Released as an SACD and in digital formats for streaming and high-resolution downloads
