Acclaimed pianist James Rhodes presents an album of music that provides relief and comfort, including pieces by Albéniz, Brahms, Chopin, Bach, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev.

For this album, Manía, I wanted to create a playlist of pieces that accompany me and my insomnia, my anxiety, my desperation and my fears in the middle of the night and provide the kind of relief that only music and prescription meds can give. I include an Argentinian composer (Ginastera) for the first time as a nod of admiration towards my incredible, beautiful, life-enhancing wife Mica, a Buenos Aires native. And I also include Albeniz as a mark of profound gratitude that my life is now immeasurably improved as a Spanish citizen living in Madrid. Obviously there is a ton of Bach (in transcriptions that make me weep for all the right reasons), a couple of Chopin nocturnes that are, in every way, quantifiably more than the sum of their parts, some percussive, crunchy, world-weary Prokofiev, opposing sides of Rachmaninov (the eerily calm and the hyper-heroic) and even a transcription of a Strauss song (the good Strauss).

Variety is the spice etc... These are some of the pieces that ground me, that calm me and that remind me of what is real and true in a world that seems more and more removed from both reality and truth. I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as I enjoyed recording them - James Rhodes.

James Rhodes is a British-Spanish concert pianist and writer. He has recorded several albums for Signum and performed at some of the most prestigious venues around the world.