NEW CD
Febraury 2021
My new CD with first recordings of piano music by Friedrich Gernsheim just came out
featuring also sketch notes by students from the prestigious
In Jens Barnieck, Gernsheim has found a dedicated and skilled advocate.
This project is obviously a labor of love, as it encompasses not only mastering a completely
neglected body of repertoire but also deciphering and editing the three
unpublished sonatas and the Geschwind-Marsch. The manuscripts of the sonatas presented
manifold difficulties, as there were a great many revisions, cross-outs, and contrary indications that required adjudication.
The performances throughout are entirely convincing and plead the merits of the works quite well.
Barnieck has a beguiling tone and unfussy manner, playing everything both sensibly and with sensitivity.
While I can perhaps imagine a bit more subtlety in dynamic gradations
and great application of rubato for expressive effect,
it is not often that a neglected composer is blessed with such a persuasive advocate.
The recorded sound is absolutely natural and well proportioned; the booklet notes by William Melton
are informative and well written. Once again, Toccata Classics has scored a coup in resurrecting unknown
but worthy repertoire; I look forward eagerly to the completion
of this series, and the compositional and interpretive riches it will bring
James A. Altena - Fanfare Magazine
a musical experiment with the music of Colombian DJ Gotshell
A little consolation in times of Corona
Meditation form the opera Thaishome recording
"The idea of music as counter to hatred is huge
because people are the ones creating the hatred,
but people can also create things this beautiful "
Hannibal Lokumbe, composer
