Of all his adventurous compositions,
Giacinto Scelsi's keyboard works may be the easiest to grasp because of their strong connections with piano music of the past. In such works as Hispania (1939), the Suite No. 5 (1935), and the Suite No. 6 (1939),
Scelsi explores repetitive patterns, tremolos, clusters, and complex rhythms, all characteristic of his later works, so his experiments with textures and techniques are already evident even at this early stage. Yet the influences of
Debussy and
Ravel are fairly obvious, particularly when the music follows more or less conventional meters and has a diatonic orientation. When
Scelsi's music is more chromatic and dissonant, with angular melodic shapes and jagged rhythms, it still evokes the past, whether it is by association with the mysterious, blurred sonorities of
Scriabin or the expressionistic gestures of
Schoenberg. Pianist
Stephen Clarke performs
Scelsi's works with energy and impressive physical stamina, and his expressive abilities are much more on display in this 2010 release than they seemed on the second volume of
Scelsi's piano works, which was released in 2005. Here the music allows more virtuosic playfulness and effective mood painting, whereas the previous disc contained music that emphasized novel techniques over emotion or atmosphere and seemingly constrained
Clarke. Mode's sound is clear and clean, though the piano lacks immediacy.