PRTZL
This release of original compositions by Harvey centres on the monumental Piano Sonata No. 4, a homage to the anti-fascist Antonio Gramsci. That theme runs through solo and ensemble works whose moods range from nostalgically whimsical to furiously satirical.
Simon Reade baritone horn, offstage trumpet
Arabella Teniswood-Harvey piano
Tara Murphy violin
Derrick Grice clarinet
Peter Sheridan flute
Peter Neville percussion
Erik Griswold piano
Vanessa Tomlinson percussion
Anna Amalia (Duchess of Braunschweig) composer
Michael Kieran Harvey arranger
This 2-CD set includes solo piano pieces, music for two and three pianos, and works for piano with clarinet, violin, viola and cello – plus Toccata DNA for piano with flute and an amazing collection of percussion. It is a revised version of the opening piece on Michael’s Threnody.
Michael Kieran Harvey pushes the boundaries of intellect and composition further than he has ever pushed before. In a satirical take on composition, PRTZL addresses some of the most pressing trends and issues of its time, including politics, government, philosophy, mythology, society, culture and the environment.
There are a lot of big words, big ideas and big notes in here. Just to get started, consider the concepts of hegemony, aporia, the Locrians, Gestalt and prime numbers. If art is always open to interpretation, Harvey has prepared a canvas layered in a multitude of shapes, sizes and colours.
Profound philosophical ideas metamorphose into virtuoso musical works via his labyrinthine, pretzel-like mind. The piano is wrenched out of its accustomed home, the stately drawing room, to take on the ideas of antifascists, Socrates, a Duchess of Braunschweig, sociologist Max Weber, and a notorious Hobart head-butter.
Translating these ideas to music, Harvey uses the obscure Locrian mode, contacts the piano’s strings with flesh rather than being mediated by the keyboard, lets pitch material evolve slowly like DNA, and bases his pitch material on the names of his philosophical and musical heroes.
Reviews
PRTZL is a highly innovative exploration of people, socio-political issues and histories that occupy the wondrously fertile mind, and draw upon the musical insight and agility, of Michael Kieran Harvey. Harvey pours incredible energy, his trademark virtuosity, musical insight, intelligence and passion into everything he touches. Indeed Harvey playing Harvey really is something very special.
As a composer, Harvey is well-represented in the Move catalogue, sometimes juxtaposing his own works with those of other Australian writers. On this CD, however, it’s all Harvey – compositions and performances – playing both solo and alongside some new- and long-time collaborators. Module Fugue, impresses for its rapid-fire elaboration ... the piece is full of excitement across its breadth. Toccata DNA – originally for piano, and soon after appearing in this trio format is a triumph for all involved, a marvel of synchronicity and a startling internal transition from a simplicity that is almost tonal to detonations of agility from each sound source – which, in Peter Neville’s case, is quite a few. Aporia II makes for a clever conclusion to this album. It’s the most ‘adventurous’ piece in the collection, reliant more than any other on the creativity of each performer.
Artists
Michael Kieran Harvey
Australian pianist and composer Dr Michael Kieran Harvey FAHA is among the foremost interpreters of contemporary piano music of his generation. A champion of Australian music, he regularly commissions new work and has performed with the country’s leading contemporary ensembles and orchestras.
Audio previews
Tracks
- Module Fugue (2018) Michael Kieran Harvey 6:31
- Piano Sonata No. 4 “A. Gramsci” (2018) Michael Kieran Harvey 23:32
- PRTZL (2018) Michael Kieran Harvey 2:32
- Astro Labe, Coeur de Lion (2018) Michael Kieran Harvey 2:24
- Divertimento (1780, 2019) Anna Amalia (Duchess of Braunschweig) Arr: Michael Kieran Harvey 4:37
Disc 2
- Tubby the President (2018) Michael Kieran Harvey 6:57
- Gestalt Climate (2019) Michael Kieran Harvey 7:37
- Deus est Fabula (vale Jon Lord) (2014) Michael Kieran Harvey 17:16
- Toccata DNA (revised 2017) Michael Kieran Harvey 12:34
- Aporia II Michael Kieran Harvey 8:59
Performers
- Michael Kieran Harvey · piano
- Simon Reade · baritone horn, offstage trumpet · disc 1 track 4; disc 2 track 1
- Arabella Teniswood-Harvey · piano · disc 2 tracks 2 and 5
- Tara Murphy · disc 2 track 3
- Derrick Grice · disc 2 track 3
- Peter Sheridan · disc 2 track 4
- Peter Neville · disc 2 track 4
- Erik Griswold · piano · disc 2 track 5
- Vanessa Tomlinson · disc 2 track 5
Composer
Where to listen
PRTZL is available for streaming through Spotify and Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.
PRTZL 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 3447
- List price
- $25.00 AUD
- Total playing time
- 92 minutes 59 seconds
- Recording Engineer
- Clocked Out Duo (disc 1 tracks 5, 2-2 and 2-5)
Martin Wright (disc 1 tracks 1, 2 and 2-4)
Paul Radford (disc 1 track 2-3)
Toby Frost (disc 1 tracks 3, 4 and 2-1)
Vaughan McAlley (disc 1 tracks 1, 2 and 2-4)
Veronika Vincske (disc 1 tracks 3, 4 and 2-1) - Mastering Engineer
- Martin Wright
- Release date
- Sep 2019
- Musical work
copyright - © 2019 Move Records
- Sound recording
copyright - ℗ 2019 Move Records
- Categories
- Australian, Classical
- Genres
- Contemporary Classical, Modernist Classical
- Barcode
- EAN 9314574344721
Related recordings
The life in between
Michael Kieran Harvey anchors this solo piano programme with Martin Friedel’s final work, …the life in between…, then sets it among virtuoso scores by Pertout, Crossman, Spiers, Selleck and McAlley.
War Sonatas
Three piano sonatas by Michael Kieran Harvey, written as a response to twenty-first-century war. Spoken poems by Arjun von Caemmerer stand between the works, framing a triptych of anger, friendship and warning.
Threnody
Michael Kieran Harvey’s landmark 1995 Astra recital of late twentieth-century Australian piano music returns in a 2024 Move re-master. Premiere recordings by Harvey, Vine, Campbell, McCaughey, Byrne, Humble and Anderson form one continuous programme.
The Sparrow and the Mead Hall
Composed and mostly performed by Michael Kieran Harvey, these 2021 works move from the rarefied extended techniques of Piano Sonata #7 and Liszt–Busoni bravura in the Four Ballades to bebop wit in Lawyers… and metal-edged satire in Death Cap Mushroom.