Without knowing the background of Brian Schober's Manhattan Impromptus (1995-1996), listeners can still glean from the music's highly varied characteristics, robust activity, and bold mix of styles that the composer's experiences in many musical spheres -- including classical, avant-garde, and jazz -- are the raw materials of his invention. To a certain extent, Schober likes to play different methods, techniques, and moods off each other, often simultaneously; this loosely dialectic process is most apparent in the tonal/atonal conflicts of Impromptu I, the contradictory rhythmic patterns of Impromptu III, and the awkwardly skewed counterpoint of Impromptu VI. Yet there are many passages of depth and loveliness, most immediately found in the quieter Impromptus II, V, and VII, and also in the Scriabin-esque effusions of Impromptu IV and the shimmering, ringing sonorities of Impromptu VIII. Rounding off these volatile outpourings and subtle reflections are the riveting and virtuosic Impromptu IX, which is the most explosive of the set, and the sublimely muted Impromptu X, which brings the cycle to a transcendental conclusion. In the sense that Schober's music is a portrait of New York City and its cultural milieu, the pieces are perhaps suggestive, albeit with some creative visualization, but they are not explicitly programmatic or narrative. The performance by pianist Stephen Gosling is brilliant in execution, nuanced in tone, and balanced in expression, and Capstone's sound quality is pleasantly clear and natural.
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