"North American Ballads" and "Squares" are two sets of four pieces for solo piano originally written for Paul Jacobs, here performed by the composer himself. The ballads are astonishing variations on American folk and work songs. Sometimes they are played "straight" at the outset only to evolve into increasingly complex permutations; other times the composition begins in ambiguous territory, as though fighting its way toward a goal that eventually emerges with the strong statement of the theme.
Rzewski has the ability to play and write with equal passion, whether working in a richly melodic area or in the farther reaches of abstraction. When he performs "Down by the Riverside," there's no turning away from the sumptuous melody. Rather, it is embraced as both a thing of deep beauty in and of itself and as a launching pad for extrapolated investigation. But it's the final ballad, "Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues," where
Rzewski reaches back and creates a masterpiece. Programmatically re-creating the harsh rhythmic and arrhythmic sounds of an industrial mill, it is by turns harrowing and hypnotizing as the listener is drawn inexorably into a brutal maelstrom. When one is flung out into the world of the folk-like theme, the respite is only momentary, even illusory, as the mill continues to chug along in a background that is never very far away. This piece became one of the most popular in his repertoire for performance by many pianists and it's clear why: it is both an awesome pyrotechnical display and a composition of deep passion and anguish. The four short pieces that make up "Squares" are more overtly modernist in character, making fleeting reference to song forms and jazz, but largely dwelling in ambiguous tonalities and rhythms. They give an indication of
Rzewski's own fluctuations between populist-oriented compositions and works like Antigone-Legend. As is generally the case,
Rzewski's own awesome abilities as a pianist make any recordings on which he performs his own pieces a must-have and this is no exception. A gorgeous release and one that is very highly recommended. ~ Brian Olewnick