CD "Jesus Rueda : Piano Works" (Ananda Sukarlan, piano, released by NAXOS) now available in Indonesia. Jesus Rueda's piano works, recorded by Ananda Sukarlan and recently released by NAXOS has been a huge success.
Ananda perceptively states in the liner notes that Rueda has "successfully produced a mesmeric blending of `classical' and contemporary elements: his compositions might ask the instrument to whisper in utmost secrecy or, in Walt Whitman's words, to sound its `barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world." It has received flattering reviews, and in United States there are statements such as :
Ananda perceptively states in the liner notes that Rueda has "successfully produced a mesmeric blending of `classical' and contemporary elements: his compositions might ask the instrument to whisper in utmost secrecy or, in Walt Whitman's words, to sound its `barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world." It has received flattering reviews, and in United States there are statements such as :
- "The Spanish composer Jesus Rueda (b.1961) has found an impressive interpreter in the Indonesian pianist (and composer in his own right) Ananda Sukarlan. Rueda's piano music seems to be about poetry and power in equal measure, and Sukarlan provides both subtlety and muscle in his playing. It's the second Sonata 'Ketjak,' I think, which is the stand-out here. The piece was dedicated to Sukarlan in 2005, and Rueda provides a eastern flavour in Sukarlan's honour (based on Balinese Kecak dance rhythms, according to Sukarlan's excellent liner notes). Both sonatas call for significant piano technique, as does the 1999 'Mephisto', a tour-de-force which Sukarlan calls "terrifying for pianists", though he gets through the piece with aplomb. " (Dean Frey)
- " Sukarlan, a composer in his own right, proves to be an ideal interpreter of this music... He brings a virtuosic touch to Rueda's more angular and daunting pieces, and mines the emotional possibilities of the more transparent, accessible ones. " (Dean R. Brierly)
