Mark Bebbington - A Bad Night in Los Angeles (2023) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Nocturne & Aubade, Op. 154: No. 1, Reflection at Midnight
02. Nocturne & Aubade, Op. 154: No. 2, Toccata on Three Notes
03. Three American Pictures, Op. 157: I. Break Dancing at Washington Square
04. Three American Pictures, Op. 157: II. At Gershwin's Grave
05. Three American Pictures, Op. 157: III. A Bad Night in Los Angeles
06. The Evening of Memory, Op. 200
07. 5 Children's Pieces, Op. 95 "Battledore": No. 1, March
08. 5 Children's Pieces, Op. 95 "Battledore": No. 2, Swings
09. 5 Children's Pieces, Op. 95 "Battledore": No. 3, Running About
10. 5 Children's Pieces, Op. 95 "Battledore": No. 4, Boats Across the Lake
11. 5 Children's Pieces, Op. 95 "Battledore": No. 5, Follow-My-Leader
12. Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 34 "Fantasy-Sonata, Hamlet"
13. Divertimento on a Theme of Mozart for Piano Duet, Op. 57
14. Fantasy on a Theme from Malcolm Arnold, Op. 208
15. The Fields Are White Already, Op. 153 (In Memoriam John McCabe)

A Bad Night in Los Angeles features first recordings of eight works composed between 1980 and 2021, including the title track – “disco dance music for the piano” – one of Three American Pictures offering vibrant impressions of the City of Angels and New York.

The earliest, substantial work, Fantasy-Sonata: Hamlet, dedicated to Hans Keller, is “neither programmatic nor a character portrait”, says the composer who describes it as “a metaphysical work”. The Evening of Memory is a contemplative piece inspired by a comment by the American General Douglas MacArthur, Nocturne and Aubade two contrasting miniatures for left-hand, Battledore, a five-part suite for children.

Completing the disc are tributes to other composers: The Fields are White Already “a contemplation for solo piano in memoriam John McCabe”; Fantasy on a Theme from Malcolm Arnold built around the older composer’s name; and Divertimento on a Theme of Mozart “an aphoristic patchwork” for piano duet suggested by the F major Sonata (K.533)

Robert Matthew-Walker studied with Darius Milhaud, has produced more than 130 recordings and published many books, subjects ranging from Muhammad Ali and David Bowie to Rachmaninov, Havergal Brian and Grieg.

Mark Bebbington has recorded extensively for SOMM. His previous collaboration with Rebeca Omordia, The Piano Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams (SOMMCD 0164), was hailed by MusicWeb International as “spellbinding”. Gramophone declared it possessed “unremitting logic, sweep and concentration that thrill to the marrow”.

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