Byron O'Keefe: Works for Piano
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Sensitive performances of works for piano by American composer Byron O'Keefe.

American composer Byron O'Keefe's second recording for Albany Records is a disc of his music for piano. The composer says that "These pieces, with one exception, were composed over a ten year period between 2009 and 2019. While they obviously show the influence of Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, and other composers of that era, I would hope that a certain quality peers through them so that the listener, whether hearing them with 19th century ears, or through more modern sensibilities, would tend to want to say something along the lines of ‘that sounds American’." The pianist is Kateryna Ulezko, a 2007 graduate of the Tchaikovsky National Academy in Kiev.
Contents:
Byron O'Keefe, composer
Fantasie Impromptu
Kateryna Ulezko (piano)

Byron O'Keefe, composer
Etude No. 3 in B Flat Major
Kateryna Ulezko (piano)

Byron O'Keefe, composer
Ballade No. 1
Kateryna Ulezko (piano)

Byron O'Keefe, composer
Etude No. 1 in G Major
Kateryna Ulezko (piano)

Byron O'Keefe, composer
Nocturne in E Flat Major
Kateryna Ulezko (piano)

Byron O'Keefe, composer
Intermezzo No. 1 in G Minor
Kateryna Ulezko (piano)

Byron O'Keefe, composer
Intermezzo No. 2 in D Flat Major
Kateryna Ulezko (piano)

Byron O'Keefe, composer
Intermezzo No. 3 in C Minor
Kateryna Ulezko (piano)

Byron O'Keefe, composer
Ohio River Pastorale No. 3
Kateryna Ulezko (piano)
Review:
"As the titles of these various piano pieces suggest, the music of American composer Byron O'Keefe is very much written in the style of 19th century composers like Schubert, Brahms, Chopin and Schumann. Not to say that these piano works lack originality or individuality, because only the Etude No. 1 sounds exactly as if composed by Schubert. Otherwise it's their highly passionate romantic flair that sets them back 200 years, something readily perceptible in the Ballade No. 1 in particular. I also appreciate the fact that O'Keefe resisted the temptation to overflower these garden beds, but also landscaped some passages with thorny bramble. The writing is constantly industrious and rich.…So if you would like to hear "new" music with "old school" charm, don't hesitate to support the efforts of Byron O'Keefe." (Classical Sentinel)