Conlon Nancarrow moved from the US to Mexico City in 1940 largely because of his communist affiliations. He spent the rest of his life there in almost total isolation, composing for player-pianos because he knew performers would never cope with his complex rhythms.
Times have changed, and pianists and ensembles have been taking up the challenge by using transcriptions of some of his studies. Those used here are by composers Yvar Mikhashoff and Erik Ona and the Bugallo-Williams duo themselves.
The results are simply stunning.
Nancarrow's experience as a jazz trumpeter and knowledge of The Rite of Spring were catalysts for a distinctive contrapuntal idiom, in which separate voices are superimposed at different speeds leading to acoustic overcrowding and apparent chaos. But it's all finely controlled: several pieces stop dead on a unison or a major chord.
By the late 1970s Nancarrow was beginning to be rediscovered and, in a more appreciative context, wrote for live performers again, including Tango? and Three Canons for Ursula (Oppens).
The studies work just as well with live pianists as with the twangy sound of Nancarrow's own player-pianos. Obviously some of the very fast studies will never be playable, but, since he allowed some transcription, there's no harm when performers of this calibre can rise to the occasion so brilliantly. This wonderfully affirmative music not only questions conventional notions about rhythm but provides a uniquely exhilarating experience for the listener – well recorded and really attractive in every way.