Albany Records: Reflections on Time & Mortality

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A recording that invites repeated listening.

Pianist Thomas Stumpf is fascinated with the concept of time and how it is utilized to make sense of the human condition. We have language and symbols for time and music is one of the most powerful of those symbols. Stumpf has used this 2-CD recording to reveal composers' concepts of time as it appears in their composition. Time as a straight line — time as a circle — time as the tolling of bells — the totality of time. Music exists in the dimension of time, and is one of the deepest and most genuine expressions of the unity of time. Music offers a deeper satisfaction with its inevitability of beginning, middle, and end that unpredictable real life can't. Moments of deep satisfaction can be found in the works chosen for this recording, especially when listened to again and again. Born in Shanghai and raised in Hong Kong, Thomas Stumpf studied at the Mozarteum and the New England Conservatory. His career as a solo and collaborative pianist has spanned four continents and his discography consists of seven compact discs. He was co-founder and Artistic Director of Prism Opera and is the recipient of numerous awards. He has taught at the New England Conservatory, Boston University and UMassLowell and is currently on the faculty of Tufts University.

John McDonald, composer
Mort, op.519 no.113
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Frédéric Chopin, composer
Prelude in D flat, op.28 no.15
Thomas Stumpf, piano

John McDonald, composer
Post-Mort, op.519 no.134
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composer
Fantasy in D minor, K.397
Thomas Stumpf, piano

John McDonald, composer
Post-Post-Mort, op.519 no.136
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Bela Bartók, composer
Ostinatov
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Ludwig van Beethoven, composer
Bagatelle op.119 no.10
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Ludwig van Beethoven, composer
Bagatelle op.119 no.11
Thomas Stumpf, piano

John McDonald, composer
Barque, op.541 no.7
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Sergei Rachmaninov, composer
Prelude op.32 no.10
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Franz Schubert, composer
Moment Musical D.780 no.2
Thomas Stumpf, piano

John McDonald, composer
Mere Mort, op.541 no. 36
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Leos Janácek, composer
Dobrou noc!
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Gregory W. Brown, composer
Sweet & Twenty
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Leos Janácek, composer
V pláci
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Thomas Stumpf, composer
The Spirit and the Dust
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Franz Schubert, composer
Andante from the Sonata in A major D.664
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composer
Minuet in D major K.355/576b
Thomas Stumpf, piano

John McDonald, composer
Temp, op.541 no.94
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Rebecca Sacks, composer
One at a Time
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Scott Joplin, composer
Solace
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Bela Bartók, composer
Bagatelle op.6 no.2
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Bela Bartók, composer
Bagatelle op.6 no.3
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Bela Bartók, composer
Bagatelle op.6 no.6
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Frédéric Chopin, composer
Prelude op.28 no.9
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Frédéric Chopin, composer
Prelude op.28 no.14
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Yehudi Wyner, composer
Delirium breve
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Leos Janàcek, composer
Lístek odvanuty
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Claude Debussy, composer
…feuilles mortes
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Claude Debussy, composer
…des pas sur la neige
Thomas Stumpf, piano

J.S. Bach, composer
Andante from the Italian Concerto, BWV971
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Hayes Biggs, composer
"The secret that silent Lazarus would not reveal"
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Frédéric Chopin, composer
Prelude op.28, no.17
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Claude Debussy, composer
…la cathédrale engloutie
Thomas Stumpf, piano

George Enescu, composer
Carillon-Nocturne
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Yehudi Wyner, composer
L'auberge de I'lll
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Yehudi Wyner, composer
Sixty Points of Light
Thomas Stumpf, piano

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composer
Fantasy in C minor, K.475
Thomas Stumpf, piano

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A recording that invites repeated listening.

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