The enterprising company
Toccata have struck again. Following
on from the fascinating revelation of
piano duets by the remarkable Heinrich
von Herzogenberg they now turn to a
little known, at least in this country,
American composer, Phillip Ramey. This
composer ranks amongst his teachers
the Russian composer Alexander Tcherepnin
(1899-1977) on whom he is something
of an expert. Tcherepnin looms large
over this eclectic mix of pieces written
over more than a forty year span.
The CD booklet comes
with an excellent and ideally balanced
essay by Benjamin Folkman as well as
some photographs of the composer. As
well as Tcherepnin, Ramey knew well
Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, William
Schumann and Philip Bowles to name but
a few. It's worth looking at the composer’s
website to form a good overall view
of this complex musical personality.
This complexity comes through in the
music, not as impenetrable, unapproachable
serialism but as music of great power
and character and of a wild passion.
Ramey has lived in
Tangier in northern Morocco for many
years now. It's not a bad idea to listen
first to the four pieces selected from
the nineteen ‘Tangier Portraits’. These
were written over an eight year span
and portray friends who have visited
the composer at his home in recent years.
These character studies show the composer
at his best and most typical.
The spirit of Serge
Prokofiev also hangs over the composer’s
early work as it did for many composer/pianists
of his generation. Whilst the piano
sonorities of the 1st sonata are personal,
the counterpoint and rhythm will bring
the Russian master to mind in its assurance
and panache. This is a confident work
for a student composer.
But a composer must
exorcise such a spirit and the wild
and frenetic finale of the 2nd sonata
does just that. This finale is preceded
by a largo and concludes with a similarly
paced chorale. Its first movement wanders
around in an uncertain fog of curious
tonality. As much as Ramey has tried
with the revision of this piece, it
remains still an unsuccessful form,
more a torso of something still remaining
to be said.
Perhaps the serialism
of Aaron Copland in his Piano Variations
mode hangs over Ramey’s ‘Toccata No
2’. This is another virtuoso work. Stephen
Gosling’s command of this extraordinary
music is both breath-taking and secure.
In addition to his immense and necessary
power he has also a delicate and sensitive
touch as in the sad little ‘Chromatic
Waltz’. There's also clarity of pedaling
necessary for the 5th Piano Sonata for
left hand only - I am trying to think
of another. For me this ranks as one
of the finest pieces in this genre I
have ever encountered. (I speak as one
who has two published pieces for left
hand only and studied the genre for
a while). Not only brilliantly written
and performed, this is music with something
to say. It marks quite clearly a moment
when Ramey’s style, although difficult
to explain in words, really touches
base.
The Piano Fantasy sorts
the men from the boys both performers
and possibly listeners. Fragments of
it are quoted in the booklet. It contains
some of the loudest passages I have
ever heard for the piano. You may hear
it as an atonal set of free variations
but the composer’s note denies both
of those charges. He does however admit
that "Twelve tone procedures have
had an influence on thematic materials".
After three hearings I must confess
to admiring it but am getting nowhere
near comprehending it.
So it may be with the
opening work of the recital, the nine
‘Color Etudes’, that you will feel most
at home. Beginning with Purple the
composer is not interested in a Messiaenic
description of each but rather that
colours suggest to the composer some
"interesting textures". Hence
Red is an angry funeral march,
Maroon is a mooning set of arpeggios
from the bass upwards and Orange
"fiery blazing forth with manic
fusillades" combining the upper
and lower notes of the piano.
This CD is one to which
I will return. It is not American music
in the way or style we have recently
come to think of it but it certainly
has amazing self-confidence. It is pan-European
and yet is brash and often pulverizes
the listener into submission. Before
I hear it in the future I will ‘gird
my loins’ as if facing a wild night
on the fells, but listen again I certainly
will. I know that the experience will
be well worthwhile.
Gary Higginson
TOCCATA
CLASSICS
Stephen Gosling (piano) 
