Various Artists - Sam Rudd-Jones: Three Sonatas (2024) Hi-Res

'Three Sonatas' is a debut collection of chamber music recordings from the exciting young composer Sam Rudd-Jones. The majority of works on the album are in dialogue with older music, in particular classical forms (Three Sonatas, Variations) and impressionist-era 'watery' piano music (Jeux d'eau), though their actual harmonic and rhythmic language is unmistakably modern. Three Sonatas and Variations are both proudly formalistic and architectural in their design, with passages of great passion framed by those of an almost analytical detachment. By contrast, Jeux d'eau and Hardy in Love are driven purely by their own inner emotional logic, with the latter responding to the ironies and contradictions of Thomas Hardy's love poems to his late wife Emma. The performers, all of whom have interpreted and recorded a wide variety of contemporary music, give readings marked by a close understanding of the essential elements of the composers' style. The accompanying booklet contains a thoughtful, specially commissioned essay by John Fallas.

Sam Rudd-Jones is a composer and pianist based in London. The rhythms of his music are characterised by the use of grooves from rap and electronic music, as well as endlessly accelerating and decelerating tempos. He studied at King's College, University of Cambridge with Richard Causton (2018-2022), privately with Julian Anderson (2023-2024), and is now commencing study towards a PhD with George Benjamin at King's College London with an LAHP scholarship. He also releases electronic music under his own name.