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Luz Meridional (Southern Light)

A CD with bonus DVD. Luz Meridional was composed by Andrián Pertout for pianist Michael Kieran Harvey. Comprising 24 solo piano études each piece contains a quotation from an early Australian composer.

The bonus DVD-ROM contains video of seven of the études, a short documentary about the work, and various PDF documents and scores about Luz Meridional, including a long analytical essay by Arjun von Caemmerer. These can be copied from the DVD to your computer.

The quotations from the Australian composers utilise and transform this material in various ways: contrapuntal procedures, formal structures, pointillism, time point sets, tempo canons, combinatoriality, imitation, linear additive composition models, ornamentation, ostinato, quotations, rhyme schemes, serialism, inversions and palindromes, interval exploration, reharmonization, additive rhythms, bell ringing sequences, De Bruijn sequences, isorhythms, metric modulations, non-retrogradable rhythms, polyrhythms, True Random Number Generators, etc.

Artist

Michael Kieran Harvey

Australian pianist and composer, Dr Michael Kieran Harvey FAHA, is one of the foremost interpreters of contemporary piano music of his generation. A champion of Australian music and himself a composer, he regularly commissions new Australian music and has performed with Australia's leading contemporary music ensembles and orchestras.


Press quotes

“Rarely do I hear a new work that is so strong and meaningful and as full of so many delights as Andrián Pertout’s monumental piano work Luz Meridional. This is singularly one of the most important piano compositions ever written by an Australian composer. For me it ranks with the best works of Larry Sitsky and Richard Meale for intellectual approach, musical insight and sheer joy. Opening with Nino durmiente, a music that seduces with its innocence ... Elegia creates a sound-world that demands the utmost concentration ... Retrospectivo is a standout with rapidly moving notes evoking starlight and other ‘nightsky’ phenomena ... the movements are laid out in just the right order creating a perfect balance between the sombre and the introspective and the energetic. The performer on this CD, Michael Kieran Harvey, is the not only one of the finest pianists ever in Australia but one of a handful of ‘cultural warriors for the good’. He takes on challenging music and makes it a thrill for the audience. Playing Luz Meridional MKH draws forth varying textures and colours that allow the work to take on a life of its own. This is pianism of the highest order.”

Read full review

— Alan Holley, classikon

“The works are fiercely virtuosic and empty extended techniques including muting, plucking and strumming of the piano strings. Luz Meridional was written for Michael Kieran Harvey, a pianist renowned for both his technical prowess and eagerness to embrace exploratory new works.” ★★★★

— Lisa MacKinney , Limelight

“Written for Harvey, the piece naturally exploits his strengths, notably the ability to play superhumanly fast and loud. Pertout, though, skilfully organises the cycle (alphabetically by composer) so that there is plenty of contrast. The dreamy ostinatos of the opening Niño durmiente (a homage to Roy Agnew) make a fine foil to the increasingly urgent terse pointillistic gestures of Encentro, derived from John Antill’s Corroboree; the comparative sparseness of the Don Banks-inspired Diversión, with its background pedal-notes and foreground explosions of fiortura, is likewise set off by the moto perpetuo of the Balada after Arthur Benjamin. The piece is massive in conception and execution, a credit to both composer and performer.”

— Gordon Kerry, Music Trust Loud Mouth e-zine

Audio previews

Track Listing

  1. Niño durmiente: Homenaje a Roy Agnew Andrián Pertout
  2. Encuentro: Homenaje a John Antill Andrián Pertout
  3. Diversión: Homenaje a Don Banks Andrián Pertout
  4. Balada: Homenaje a Arthur Benjamin Andrián Pertout
  5. Poema sinfónico: Homenaje a Clive Douglas Andrián Pertout
  6. Danza de guerra: Homenaje a Peggy Glanville-Hicks Andrián Pertout
  7. Caleidoscopio: Homenaje a Eugene Goossens Andrián Pertout
  8. Canción colonial: Homenaje a Percy Grainger Andrián Pertout
  9. Nostalgia: Homenaje a Raymond Hanson Andrián Pertout
  10. El bosque: Homenaje a Fritz Hart Andrián Pertout
  11. Melancolía: Homenaje a Marjorie Hesse Andrián Pertout
  12. Retrospectivo: Homenaje a Alfred Hill Andrián Pertout
  13. Meditación: Homenaje a Mirrie Hill Andrián Pertout
  14. Elegía: Homenaje a Dulcie Holland Andrián Pertout
  15. Síntesis: Homenaje a Robert Hughes Andrián Pertout
  16. Bagatela: Homenaje a Keith Humble Andrián Pertout
  17. En la piscina: Homenaje a Frank Hutchens Andrián Pertout
  18. El anillo de nuevas campanas: Homenaje a Miriam Hyde Andrián Pertout
  19. Fantasma del mar: Homenaje a Horace Keats Andrián Pertout
  20. Gloria: Homenaje a Louis Lavater Andrián Pertout
  21. Despedida: Homenaje a Dorian Le Gallienne Andrián Pertout
  22. Tres bosquejos: Homenaje a William Lovelock Andrián Pertout
  23. Himno para la muerte de Jesús: Homenaje a James PenberthySeis perfiles Homenaje a Margaret Sutherland Andrián Pertout
  24. Seis perfiles: Homenaje a Margaret Sutherland Andrián Pertout

DVD:

  • DVD-ROM

Performers

Composer

Andrián Pertout

Andrián Pertout was born in Santiago, Chile, 17 October, 1963, and lived in Gorizia, Northern Italy for several years before finally settling in Melbourne, Australia in 1972. In 2007, he completed a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree at the University of Melbourne on Tweddle Trust, Australian Postgraduate and Melbourne Research scholarships, studying composition under the guidance of Brenton Broadstock.


Contributors

Concrete Poetry, Essay

Arjun von Caemmerer

Dr Arjun von Caemmerer is a Hobart-based general medical practitioner, Iyengar Yoga teacher/practitioner and writer. In 1995 (with Naomi Cameron) he established The Hobart School of Iyengar Yoga.


Where to buy

Luz Meridional (Southern Light) is available for download from the iTunes Music Store.
It's available for streaming through Spotify and Apple Music.

Luz Meridional (Southern Light) is available as as CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer secure online ordering.

Move CDs can be ordered through music retailers across Australia including Readings.

Product details

List price
$25.00 AUD
Contributor
Arjun von Caemmerer
Release date
November 2018
Copyright
© 2016 Move Records
Phonogram
℗ 2018 Move Records
Category
Classical
Catalogue number
MD 3435
Alternate catalogue number
MD3435
Barcode
EAN 9314574343526