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01. Markus Stange, piano - I. Primeval Sounds (Genesis I; Cancer): Darkly mysterious
02. Markus Stange, piano - II. Proteus (Pisces): Very fast; whimsical, volatile
03. Markus Stange, piano - III. Pastorale (from the Kingdom of Atlantis, ca. 10,000 B.C.; Taurus): Moderately, with incisive rhythm
04. Markus Stange, piano - IV. Crucifixus (Symbol; Capricorn) Darkly mysterious -- Adagio molto; serene, transcendental
05. Markus Stange, piano - V. The Phantom Gondolier (Scorpio): Eerily, with a sense of malignant evil
06. Markus Stange, piano - VI. Night-Spell I (Sagittarius): Poised, expectantly -- Serene, hauntingly; echoing (like an Appalachian valley acoustic)
07. Markus Stange, piano - VII. Music of Shadows (for Aeolian Harp; Libra): Gracefully, with elastic rhythm
08. Markus Stange, piano - VII. Music of Shadows (for Aeolian Harp; Libra): Gracefully, with elastic rhythm
09. Markus Stange, piano - IX. The Abyss of Time (Virgo): Dark, with a sense of profound mystery -- Sinister
10. Markus Stange, piano - X. Spring-Fire (Aries): Prestissimo; breathlessly, with élan
11. Markus Stange, piano - XI. Dream Images (Love-Death Music; Gemini): Musingly, like the gentle caress of a faintly remembered music
12. Markus Stange, piano - XII. Spiral Galaxy (Symbol; Aquarius): Vast, lonely, timeless
13. Markus Stange, piano - I. Morning Music (Genesis II; Cancer): Exuberantly, with primitive energy
14. Markus Stange, piano - II. The Mystic Chord (Sagittarius): Adagio molto; serene, desireless, like a Nirvana-trance
15. Markus Stange, piano - III. Rain-Death Variations (Pisces): Crystalline, with elegance (Tempo metronomico)
16. Markus Stange, piano - IV. Twin Suns (Doppelgänger aus der Ewigkeit, Symbol; Gemini): Majestic -- Solemn (Hymn for the Advent of the Star-Child)
17. Markus Stange, piano - V. Ghost-Nocturne: for the Druids of Stonehenge (Night-Spell II; Virgo): Dark, fantastic, subliminal
18. Markus Stange, piano - VI. Gargoyles (Taurus): Marcia grottesca; savagely, with irony
19. Markus Stange, piano - VII. Tora! Tora! Tora! (Cadenza Apocalittica; Scorpio): Dramatic, with great intensity; violent, relentless
20. Markus Stange, piano - VIII. A Prophecy of Nostradamus (Symbol; Aries): Stark, powerful (molto pesante) -- Fatefully (Tema enigmatico) -- Come prima
21. Markus Stange, piano - IX. Cosmic Wind (Libra): Ghostly, shadowy, tremulous
22. Markus Stange, piano - X. Voices from "Corona Borealis" (Aquarius): Passacaglia: very slow, with majestic calm
23. Markus Stange, piano - XI. Litany of the Galactic Bells (Leo): Jubilant; metallic, incisive, echoing (including Beethoven -- Hammerklavier Sonata)
24. Markus Stange, piano - XII. Agnus Dei (Symbol; Capricorn): Very slow, like chanting -- Very slow, tender, wistful -- Very slow; like a vision; as if suspended in endless time (Prayer-wheel)
ARTIST
TITLE
Makrokosmos I & II
FORMAT
CD

LABEL
CATALOG #
NEOS 10815CD NEOS 10815CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
11/13/2015

There are a number of cyclically arranged piano works in music history that have assumed the significance of "bibles" for pianists, including Johann Sebastian Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier (48 preludes and fugues in two volumes), Frédéric Chopin's 24 Préludes, Claude Debussy's Préludes (24 in two volumes), Dmitri Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues, and György Ligeti's Études. This "genre" is inconceivable today without the first two (of four) cycles by George Crumb comprising 24 tone-pictures: Makrokosmos I & II, performed here by Markus Stange. Composed in 1972 and '73, they very rapidly became a classic of modernism and the most immediately enchanting and popular piano cycle of the last third of the 20th century. Almost incidentally, they unfold a comprehensive panorama of the techniques and sonorous manipulations of the modern grand piano. Crumb has thus succeeded in creating a work that does more than justice to both the explorative claims of the avant-garde and the untrained ear of the amateur. Pianist Markus Stange was born in Ludwigshafen, Germany. He studied piano with Jürgen Uhde in Stuttgart, Roland Keller in Lübeck, and Frantisek Rauch and Valentina Kameníková in Prague, then attended master courses with Ditta Pásztory-Bartók and Aloys Kontarsky. He is currently Professor of Piano at the Music Academy in Karlsruhe.