On Modes
Anthony Romaniuk (early keyboard instruments)
This album's centre of gravity is Romaniuk's excellent performance of that minimalist classic, John Adams's Phrygian Gates.
On Modes
Anthony Romaniuk (early keyboard instruments)
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This album's centre of gravity is Romaniuk's excellent performance of that minimalist classic, John Adams's Phrygian Gates.
About
"For his third solo album for Alpha, keyboard polyglot Anthony Romaniuk returns to the piano, exploring the seven modes: derived from the major scale, the basis of ancient Greek music but nowadays endemic in folk, jazz and beyond, each one containing a world of character and mood. Starting with John Adams' Phrygian Gates, Romaniuk devised a programme comprising music by Pärt, Ligeti, Radiohead and Björk with his own original compositions; arrangements of traditional Catalan and English/Scottish music and improvisations. Continuing his search for a personal and original sound, Romaniuk uses two pianos, including a Klavins upright grand piano (from the collection of Nils Frahm) which, thanks to its massive soundboard and 4 metre long bass strings, overwhelms the listener. The addition of various analogue and digital audio effects together with innovative recording techniques brings the listener into a unique sonic landscape, approaching that of a sound-installation."
Contents and tracklist
Spotlight on this release
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Awards and reviews
August 2026
This album's centre of gravity is Romaniuk's excellent performance of that minimalist classic, John Adams's Phrygian Gates.
May 2026
In 'On Modes', Romaniuk does not attempt to overstate the timbral differences between the two pianos, and it's revealing that some of the album's finest moments - such as in the lydian étude Rose-Tinted - occur when it's difficult to tell which is which.
