The set of 50 studies (Nancarrow) wrote for player piano are 20th-century classics, and this German label uses the latest technology to produce a cycle that will surely be considered definitive. This new cycle uses computer “gizmos” to ensure that the parts synchronise in exactly the ratios Nancarrow intended…the result is noticeably less honky-tonk and tinny than earlier incarnations…Some of the studies sound surprisingly austere and follow a contrapuntal trajectory between Bach and Stravinsky via Hindemith; while others are constructed around isolated, spacious flecks of sound. But it’s Nancarrow’s boogies-from-hell that will remain his trademark, and here the famous Etude No.3 runs at a faster tempo than previously while also benefiting from greater clarity. Roll on Volume 2!

Conlon Nancarrow wrote 'can do' music. The set of 50 studies he wrote for player piano are 20th-century classics, and this German label uses the latest technology to produce a cycle that will surely be considered definitive. The stereotypical image of music sounding like five Art Tatums and a Thelonious Monk improvising eight-to-the-bar riffs simultaneously is an unfair reflection on its diversity, both in source material and gestural rhetoric. ...it's Nancarrow's boogies-from-hell that will remain his trademark, and here the famous Etude No 3a runs at a faster tempo than previously while also benefiting from greater clarity.