Although Gordon Mumma (born 1935) is best known as an electronic music composer and instrument builder, he also has written extensively for piano solo. Most of the works contained in this two-CD collection are suites of short pieces. Think later Schoenberg, early Stockhausen, the more lyrically inclined Stefan Wolpe, or the methodical, leisurely, and dry style of Christian Wolff, and you’ll have a handle on Mumma’s remarkable stylistic consistency over more than four decades.
Usually the titles are more humorous than the pieces themselves. From the Jardin cycle we have “tricycle and fence” and “lunar asparagus d’après Max Ernst”, “Basket of Strays”, and “Sixpac Sonatas”, while the 19 miniatures encompassing the “Sushibox” includes five “Sushiverticals” and 11 “Sushihorizontals”, all dedicated to friends and colleagues. The meticulous care and consideration with which Mumma organizes pitch, dynamics, and registers does not leap out at first hearing; you have to open your ears and concentrate. However, it is best to approach this repertoire one cycle at a time.
The brilliant Belgian new-music specialist Daan Vandewalle (who premiered Alvin Curran’s complete Inner Cities cycle live and on disc) turns in gorgeously crafted and caring, detailed interpretations that benefit from excellent, full-bodied engineering. Michelle Fillion’s valuable and scholarly annotations also are on the highest level. A most worthwhile release.
