11 Nonesuch Records artists have recorded a tribute to former label President Bob Hurwitz.
‘I Still Play’ features John Adams, Laurie Anderson, Timo Andres, Louis Andriessen, Donnacha Dennehy, Philip Glass, Nico Muhly, Brad Mehldau, Steve Reich, Pat Metheny and Randy Newman.
The recordings were made at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2017 on a night celebrating Hurwitz’s years with the label.
Current Nonesuch President David Bither, says, “Bob’s great friend John Adams deserves credit for the idea at the core of this recording. I enlisted his help in thinking of how we might honor Bob. A few weeks later he suggested that we ask the composers who had worked so closely with Bob to each write him a new piece of music. An honorable suggestion, but with a twist.
“Bob is a pianist and since he was a child has played virtually every day of his life,” Bither continues. “He has said many times that this practice has had a profound influence on how he listens to music. John’s suggestion was that each composer write something that was not a concert piece but that an accomplished pianist like Bob might play.”
Timo Andres, who recorded the majority of the compositions for this record, says in his liner note, “Each of these eleven tributes to Bob Hurwitz was written for an audience of one, on a particular Steinway in a specific Upper West Side living room. Each distills an aspect of its author’s voice to a concentrated miniature. The prevailing tone is conversational rather than declamatory, though it’s a wide-ranging conversation. Large questions are posed but rarely answered in full.” He adds, “If the listener has the odd feeling of having stumbled into an exchange between two friends and missing an inside joke or shared reference here and there—that’s not far from the truth.”
I Still Play
1. Move
Nico Muhly, composer
Timo Andres, piano
2. Wise Words
Timo Andres, composer, piano
3. Rimsky or La Monte Young
Louis Andriessen, composer
Timo Andres, piano
4. I Still Play (Pocket Variations)
John Adams, composer
Jeremy Denk, piano
5. Evening Song No. 2
Philip Glass, composer
Timo Andres, piano
6. Song for Bob
Laurie Anderson, composer
Timo Andres, piano
7. L.A. Pastorale
Brad Mehldau, composer, piano
8. For Bob
Steve Reich, composer
Timo Andres, piano
9. 42 Years
Pat Metheny, composer
Brad Mehldau, piano
10. Her Wits (About Him)
Donnacha Dennehy, composer
Timo Andres, piano
11. Recessional
Randy Newman, composer, piano
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