Move Records Australian classical & art music, est. 1968

Satellite Mapping

Amir Farid performs Stuart Greenbaum’s complete solo piano works composed between 1989 and 2014, a two-disc survey of more than two hours of music.

Amir Farid piano
Stuart Greenbaum composer

This two-CD release gathers over two hours of Greenbaum’s solo piano output across a quarter of a century (1989–2014). The works are presented chronologically, recorded by one artist on the same piano in the same room – a rare and coherent undertaking. Farid’s reading is masterful; the performances are beautiful and profound.

You can see videos of two tracks on YouTube. Here's one of them:

The piano is an instrument I grew up with. There were two pianos in the house and to sit at them and play was (and still is) as natural as sitting down to dinner. I was not a prodigy and struggled to sight-read music on two staves simultaneously. But the pure feel and sound of the piano is like a second language to me. Around half of the music on this two-disc release has previously been recorded (by many wonderful and talented pianists). But to comprehensively and chronologically present around a quarter of a century of writing for solo piano, recorded by a single artist on the same piano in the same room is a unique undertaking – somewhat akin to publishing a diary. Some of the music is occasional (written for births, deaths, weddings and birthdays); some works were written in response to works of art or established repertoire (communing with the canon of Western Art Music); others were deliberately blank canvasses inviting more abstract development of musical language. Throughout this, the influence of minimalism, contemporary jazz, blues and rock can be found interwoven with the chromatic, tonal language of the classical repertoire. The piano is not only a beautiful instrument; for me it has been an important tool for musical thinking and for the development of my compositional language.

I often conceive of music in terms of journeys, but I also believe that music should be appreciable as pure, abstract sound in time. Either way, my music aims to evoke an atmosphere apart from the routine of modern life. I believe in the need to cultivate space in a world increasingly filled with commercialism, light and noise pollution and 24/7 thinking. At times, I think we lose a sense of wonderment at our earthly surrounds. Therefore, when I write, I seek an experience in sound to take me beyond mundane imperatives.

— Stuart Greenbaum

Artists

Photograph of Amir Farid

Amir Farid

Amir Farid has been described as a highly creative musician – a pianist of great intelligence and integrity who brings strong musical substance to all that he does, imbuing it with his own experience and understanding, and who distinguishes himself for all the right reasons.

Photograph of Stuart Greenbaum

Stuart Greenbaum

Stuart Greenbaum’s sound has overt connections to jazz, pop and minimalism, yet is equally grounded in the Western art music tradition, across a large body of orchestral, chamber, choral and stage works.

Audio previews

Tracks

  1. Portrait and Blues Hymn Stuart Greenbaum 1:57

    2. Ice Man Stuart Greenbaum

  2. i. Lost | The Moon | Don’t leave me here 9:16
  3. ii. Picture of an anorexic | Dignity | The dream 12:17
  4. iii. They must have seen me | Faint voices | Affinity 10:03
  5. Innocence (in Stillness) Stuart Greenbaum 2:03
  6. Looking to the Future Stuart Greenbaum 1:41
  7. But I Want the Harmonica Stuart Greenbaum 8:45
  8. New Roads, Old Destinations Stuart Greenbaum 7:02
  9. First Light Stuart Greenbaum 6:32
  10. Fragments of Gratification Stuart Greenbaum 2:50

Disc 2

  1. Equator Loops Stuart Greenbaum 7:08

    2. Three Optical Allusions Stuart Greenbaum

  2. i. Solar Eclipse 2:32
  3. ii. Time-lapse Photograph 3:12
  4. iii. Möbius Strip 1:16

    5. Four Thoughts Stuart Greenbaum

  5. i. The End of Winter 3:04
  6. ii. For Oliver 1:42
  7. iii. Spirals 2:26
  8. iv. Bagatelle for Aksel 2:38

    9. Matilda Deconstructions Stuart Greenbaum

  9. i. Energised, elated 1:55
  10. ii. Freely 2:56
  11. The 4th Saturday in April Stuart Greenbaum 2:26
  12. Evocation Stuart Greenbaum 9:16
  13. Lavender for Hanna Stuart Greenbaum 2:21

    14. Allusion, Introspection and Ascension Stuart Greenbaum

  14. i. Barcarole Allusion 2:04
  15. ii. Schubert: 1828, an introspection 5:18
  16. iii. The Petrarch Ascension 5:59
  17. Satellite Mapping Stuart Greenbaum 4:40
  18. Fanfare for Elizabeth Stuart Greenbaum 2:15
  19. Homage (1989) (Bonus track) Stuart Greenbaum 3:01

Performers

Contributors

No photograph: Annabelle Farid

Photography

Annabelle Farid

No photograph: Warwick Dalton

Piano Technician

Warwick Dalton

Where to listen

Satellite Mapping is available for streaming through Spotify and Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.

Satellite Mapping is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.

Product details

Catalogue number
MD 3402
List price
$25.00 AUD
Total playing time
128 minutes 35 seconds
Producer
Stuart Greenbaum
Recording Engineer
Vaughan McAlley
Editing Engineer
Stuart Greenbaum
Mastering Engineer
Martin Wright
Venue
Move Records Studio
Credit
Annabelle Farid
Warwick Dalton
Release date
Musical work
copyright
© 2016 Move Records
Sound recording
copyright
℗ 2016 Move Records
Categories
Australian, Classical
Genre
Contemporary Classical
Barcode
EAN 9314574340228

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