Alexei Lubimov, Natalia Pschenitschnikova - John Cage: As It Is (2012) Hi-Res

Released as part of the 2012 celebration of John Cage's centennial, this ECM New Series album presents pieces for piano, prepared piano, and voice that represent the lyrical side of the composer. While many of Cage's pieces are accessible for their simplicity and delicacy, these quiet piano reveries and vocal settings of texts by James Joyce, e.e. cummings, and Gertrude Stein are especially easy to approach for their quiet music, soft sounds, and hypnotic melodies and patterns. The performances by pianist Alexei Lubimov and singer Natalia Pschenitschnikova are fully in accord with Cage's methods, and their self-effacing introspection contribute greatly to this disc's feelings of anonymity and secrecy. The words of The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs, Experiences No. 2, Three Songs, Five Songs, and Nowth upon nacht tend to blur in the highly resonant recording space, and Pschenitschnikova's thick accent tends to obscure the words sufficiently to create dreamlike performances that can only be followed with the help of the booklet. In contrast, Lubimov's keyboard performances are quite clear, clean, and precise, and the slight increase of volume is almost surprising when compared with the sotto voce quality of the songs. Yet listeners will easily find a volume level that's suitable for home listening, which is perhaps the best way to appreciate the haunting subtlety of these pieces.