Atmospheric and expressive piano works from Hugh Shrapnel performed with virtuosic command by the Ivory Duo Piano Ensemble

I reviewed a recording from the Ivory Duo Piano Ensemble (pianists Natalie Tsaldarakis and Panayotis Archontides) performing piano music by composers John Lewis (b.1947) and Hugh Shrapnel (b.1947) back in 2020 (here), and I very much enjoyed their atmospheric yet virtuosic performances. They’re back, with Piano Works, this time just by Hugh Shrapnel. On the previous recording, I was struck by the variety of Shrapnel’s mostly miniature pieces, from moody and atmospheric to energetic and at times even aggressive, and this new recording confirms that variety in Shrapnel’s writing for the piano. Again, there are few pieces here longer than a few minutes, yet within this miniature form, Shrapnel captures a mood instantly. A pecking Robin, a weird unidentified creature (insect? small rodent?) in Jump, or comedic, even slightly chaotic Jugglers, all feature in his Piano Set No. 1, alongside the darker, more introspective moods of Shade and Wood at Night. On this disc, in fact there are only two pieces for the duo – the rest are works for solo piano, and they are split fairly evenly between Tsaldarakis and Archontides. So Tsaldarakis takes the Piano Set No. 1, and captures beautifully those mood swings from one momentary movement to the next, some under a minute long. There is a lazy, bluesy tiredness to Small Hours, and Red Queen’s minimalist running on the spot is delivered effortlessly. Archontides plays Shrapnel’s Sonatina, ostensibly more formally structured, but still with now familiar elements such as rippling movement and subtly shifting harmonies, but Archontides also captures the lilting yet plangent mood of the central movement, written as a memorial to Shrapnel’s father. Archontides also takes Love-Hate, contrasting an almost violent opening with more introspective, reflective passages, and his tone is rich and resonant, with a deep tolling bass. And in Esquisse mécanique, written for a volume of piano music inspired by Alkan, Archontides’ virtuosity shines through, its playful, perpetual 5/8 rhythms rippling along without much let up, and exploiting the extreme registers of the keyboard. He also takes two of the three movements of Le Temps Perdu, giving the second movement’s slightly sarcastic, tango-esque rhythms quite dramatic weight, contrasting with the calmer yet darker mood of the slower third movment. Tsaldarkis’ opening movement of this set is playful with hints at dance rhythms within a jazzy, cabaret-style mood. Tsaldarkis performs Sphinxes (drawing on the sets of cryptogram notes Schumann laid out in the middle of Carnival), which is full of silence and hanging resonance, with just a brief moment of outburst adding to the mystery. Premonition is full of foreboding, with its contrary motion between the hands and tolling bells, and For Bob, a tribute to Robert Coleridge, a friend and colleague of Shrapnel’s, shares some of the same bell-like tolling, with repeating falling cries, which later become more chordal in texture, possibly even slightly angry in tone. The players join for just two pieces. In Follow me up to Carlow, Shrapnel pays tribute to his composition teacher Cornelius Cardew, drawing on an old Irish tune celebrating victory over English soldiers at the Battle of Glenmalure. The longest track here, at nearly eight minutes, this is a piece full of dramatic rhythmic energy, and its cross-rhythms build in intensity over insistent rumblings in the bass. The two pianists circle each other in the virtuosic sections, yet retreat into a more reflective mood, before everything comes together for a slightly frenzied climax, before subsiding into ringing chords and tolling bass notes. And they end the disc with For an Alternative, another piece honouring Cardew, with clamorous, resonant bells to open, before driving rhythmic energy takes hold, and here the duo’s virtuosic timing is particularly impressive. This is a great showcase for the variety of expression and mood in Shrapnel’s piano writing, as well as for the virtuosic command of these two pianists, alone or as a duo. 

Shrapnel, H. 2023. Hugh Shrapnel: Piano Works. Ivory Duo Piano Ensemble. Compact Disc. Convivium Records. CR087.