Why this recording exists is anybody's guess. Was the world really crying out for an orchestral transcription of
Paul Hindemith's Ludus Tonalis performing on the Roland XP-50? Probably not: in fact, the world probably was not crying out for any performance at all of
Hindemith's twentieth century Art of the Fugue, much less an orchestral arrangement played on a synthesizer. But now that it's here, the world can only be grateful because, as unlikely as it seems, this is one heck of a performance of Ludus Tonalis.
Pavel Zarukin has concocted a captivating orchestral arrangement of the work, has executed it convincingly on the synthesizer, and has performed it compellingly on this recording. Whether it would work in concert performed by an orchestra is beside the point. The only reality here is
Zarukin's performance on this recording and that performance on this recording is simply magnificent.
Zarukin plays with strength and sensitivity and the recording captures it with vivid immediacy. While not for everyone, those listeners who do try
Zarukin's Ludus Tonalis will be blown away.