Heavy Sleep Bruce Levingston

• Timo Andres (1985)
• 1 Heavy Sleep 08:15
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
• 2 Herzlich tut mich verlangen, BWV 727 (arr. M. Reger for piano) 02:58
• 3 Prelude in B Minor, BWV 544 (arr. A. Siloti for piano) 03:46
• 4 Prelude No. 24 in B Minor, BWV 869 06:25
• 5 Fugue No. 24 in B Minor, BWV 869 07:06
• 6 Fantasia 07:40
• 7 Fugue 05:29
• 8 Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106 (arr. G. Kurtag for piano) 03:06
• Mohammed Fairouz (1985)
• 9 I. God, full of mercy 07:02
• 10 II. I, who pluck flowers from the hilltop 02:11
• 11 III. I, who brought corpses from the mountains 03:04
• 12 IV. I, who use but a tiny portion of the words in the dictionary 05:10
• 13 V. I, who am forced to decipher riddles 05:16
• Total Runtime 01:07:28

Info for Heavy Sleep

The title “Heavy Sleep”, is meant to reference not only the eponymous openingwork on this Album, but also to note the phrase’s allusion to death and eternal sleep. For me, each work on this album relates either directly or spiritually to the theme of death, rebirth, or both. Voices of other composers or allusions to their own or others’ works are also found throughout these pieces, often appearing as subtle homage to composers of the past: In the Andres work there are echos of both Bach and Chopin; in the Fairouz a direct tribute to Ligeti; in the Kurtag, Reger and Siloti arrangements there are reflections on Bach through the art of transcription; and in the original works of Bach himself, particularly in the great B minor Fugue, symbolic voices of God and man. Together, these works offer a touching perspective to the close spiritual connectivity we all share as artists and as human beings, culture to culture, past and present.

Pianist Bruce Levingston is one of today’s leading figures in contemporary music. Many of the world’s most important composers have written works for him and his Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center world premiere performances of their works have won notable critical acclaim. The New York Times has called him “one of today’s most adventurous musicians” and praises his performances as “graceful”, “dreamy, and “hauntingly serene.” The New Yorker has described him as “elegant and engaging... a poetic pianist who has a gift for glamorous programming,” while The Washington Post has lauded his “wonderfully even touch” and “timeless reverie, which Levingston projected beautifully.”

Timo Andres is an acclaimed composer and pianist. The New Yorker writes that Andres achieves “ an unhurried grandeur that has rarely been felt in American music since John Adams came on the scene.”

Amongst his recent compositions, Andres has composed a piano quintet commissioned and presented by Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and San Francisco Performances; a solo piano work commissioned by the Gilmore Foundation; and a new string quartet for the Library of Congress. Heavy Sleep was composed especially for Bruce Levingston and commissioned by Premiere Commission, Inc.

Timo Andre’s title, Heavy Sleep , is derived from the haunting poem “Nocturne’ by the Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer.

The other world premier, El Male Rachamim by Mohammed Fairouz is a touching tribute to Ligeti, from one of his last pupils. Fairouz notes: “ El Male Rachamim (God, full of mercy) takes its title from both the poem by Yehuda Amichai and the litany that inspired it. The Jewish funeral prayer recited by the hazzan accompanies the ascension of the soul and is used to evoke the memory of the deceased. It’s cast in five sections that flow continuously with little pause. “

The tension is released with the lyrical but bittersweet second movement called “I, who pluck flowers from the hilltops”; this movement conceals, in the composer’s words, “ an inner crying.”

The composer describes the third movement, “I, who brought corpses from the hilltops”, as a “ full-on dance of death.” Like the Siloti-Bach Prelude.

Bruce Levingston, piano

Bruce Levingston
is one of today's leading figures in contemporary music. Many of the world's most important composers have written works for him and his Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center world premiere performances of their works have won notable critical acclaim. The New York Times has called him 'one of today's most adventurous musicians' and praises his performances as 'graceful', 'dreamy, and 'hauntingly serene.' The New Yorker has described him as 'elegant and engaging... a poetic pianist who has a gift for glamorous programming,' while The Washington Post has lauded his 'wonderfully even touch' and 'timeless reverie, which Levingston projected beautifully.'

Mr. Levingston has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in many international music festivals and his recordings have received high critical acclaim. His CD Still Sound was named 'Record of the Month' by MusicWeb International which praised his 'extraordinary gifts as a colorist and a performer who can hold attention rapt with the softest of playing.' In a glowing review of his recent CD Nightbreak, The American Record Guide wrote 'Levingston is a pianist's pianist' and praised his 'stunning and highly illuminating performances', Gramophone called his playing 'masterly'. Levingston's CD Heart Shadow, also received notable praise and was named 'Album of the Week' by New York City's WQXR. The Cleveland Plain Dealer called Levingston's recording 'vivid and richly expressive...a gripping, dynamic performance' and Classics Today lauded his CD Portraits for its 'transcendent virtuosity and huge arsenal of tone color.'

Noted for his innovative and thoughtful programming, Mr. Levingston has performed and collaborated with some of the most interesting artists of our time including painter Chuck Close, actor/author Ethan Hawke, authors Michael Cunningham, Nick McDonell, and George Plimpton, composer/performers Lisa Bielawa and Philip Glass, violinist Colin Jacobsen, and choreographers Jorma Elo and Peter Quanz. His repertoire spans from the Baroque works of Bach and Scarlatti to the Classical and Romantic masterpieces of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms to the most avant-garde works of today. His programs often feature and highlight many of the twentieth century's most influential composers including Satie, Debussy, Bartok, Webern, and Messiaen. In 2007, Mr. Levingston played a critically acclaimed sold-out concert devoted to the music of Erik Satie at New York's French Institute/Alliance Française.

Long interested in human rights, Mr. Levingston gave performances to assist emerging 'refusniks' from the Soviet Union, served as a U.S. delegate to the American Council on Germany in Berlin and Hamburg, and performed at the United Nations in honor of the people of Denmark for their heroism during World War II. He is founding chair and artistic director of Premiere Commission, Inc., a non-profit foundation that has commissioned and premiered over forty new works.

In 2007, Mr. Levingston appeared as special guest artist at New York's City Center for the world premiere of American Ballet Theatre's production of a new ballet inspired by Chuck Close's life with music by Philip Glass. In 2008, Mr. Levingston performed a critically acclaimed sold-out solo concert at Carnegie Hall premiering works by Grawemeyer Award-winner Sebastian Currier, Germany's celebrated Wolfgang Rihm and Pulitzer Prize-winner Charles Wuorinen. In 2009, Mr. Levingston gave the world premiere of Rome Prize-winner Lisa Bielawa's 'Elegy-Portrait'; in 2010, he performed another all-French program for the Alliance Française in New York and, in 2011, performed premieres by David Bruce, Sebastian Currier and Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky with the brilliant violinist Colin Jacobsen at Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. and Carnegie Hall in New York City. The New York Times reported that 'Mr. Levingston has found a soul mate in Colin Jacobsen... they joined forces in the kind of recital for which each has become known: driven by ideas and filled with music old, new and well worth hearing.' In 2012, Mr. Levingston celebrated the Tenth Anniversary of Premiere Commission in a special sold-out gala concert with Brooklyn Rider and Lisa Bielawa at the Poisson Rouge. Mr. Levingston records for Orange Mountain Music and Dorian Sono Luminus.

Booklet for Heavy Sleep