Elaine Keillor, piano
These previously unrecorded piano pieces include the last major completed works for piano, the set of Poetic Sketches and Netscapes, by two of Canada’s most esteemed composers, Oskar Morawetz and John Weinzweig. All of the works included on this recording have as an initial inspiration words or a poetic image. Elma Miller, a former student of Morawetz and Weinzweig at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music, quotes from the biologist G. Wald for her title, Through a Narrow Window, and from Keats to voice her concern about the deteriorating environment. Patick Cardy quoted from John Milton for the title, Quips and Cranks of his five bagatelles, his last completed work before his untimely death in 2005. A phrase that many of us have uttered, In a Flash, is the title for Alexina Louie’s piano piece written in 2006 that explores her recent approach to the instrument, drawing on jazz-like influences somewhat similar to those pursued by Weinzweig, but allied with flashy, virtuosic writing. Kelly-Marie Murphy takes a somewhat complementary approach in Let Hands Speak, the test piece composed for the Fourth Honens International Piano Competition.
Produced by Anton Kwiatowski.