Roland Pöntinen - Pianorama: A Collection of Film Music for the Piano (2006) Hi-Res

Swedish pianist Roland Pöntinen has a broad repertoire that extends from Baroque to contemporary music, and he has established himself as one of the leading recording artists on the BIS label. Pianorama, his 2006 album of piano music used in classic films by Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman, Roman Polanski, Stanley Kubrick, and others, is a diverse assortment of pieces as eclectic in its program as is Pöntinen's overall catalog, ranging from the well-known Prelude in C major from the Well-Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach to György Ligeti's less familiar Musica Ricercata No. 2. Yet unless the listener is drawn to this disc specifically for Pöntinen's exceptional playing -- reason enough to give it a try -- the selections are almost too varied and scattered to attract many film buffs or music lovers with narrow interests. Taken in part as a tribute to the long lost art of accompanying film, Pöntinen's off-the-cuff playing has a little of the old movie house flair, and one can easily imagine him improvising for silent movies; such tracks as those based on Nino Rota's music from Amarcord and Vladimir Cosma's work in Diva are especially effective in this regard. But most of the program is played in a straightforward recital manner, and perhaps only the emotional impulses in the pieces by Schubert, Chopin, Debussy, and Janácek suggest the theater experience for those who don't already associate them with a particular film. The casual listener may be in the best position to appreciate this album, for Pöntinen's playing is quite engaging and charming, whatever piece he happens to be playing, and the CD seems less of a mixed bag when heard as background music. BIS' recording quality is clean and clear, with the right amount of resonance.