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I'm excited to release my debut piano album! I've focused on the music of Nikolai Kapustin, the most successful and prolific composer to combine jazz and classical idioms. Kapustin infused classical forms like sonatas, etudes, and preludes with playful elements of jazz: rich harmonies, memorable melodies, and rhythmic drive. I've also sprinkled some of my own improvisations onto this album, as well as a bouncing, energetic prelude by George Gershwin.
I explore the music on this album with improvisation and experimentation, celebrating connections to the music's jazz roots. I recorded alternate versions of most of the pieces included, highlighting new details in Kapustin's music and straying from the rigidity sometimes associated with modern classical performance.
The title, Obsessive Play, encapsulates my approach to creativity. As someone with a background in graphic design, sound engineering, photography, and performance, I revel in the boundless nature of play no matter what I'm working on.
View the CD booklet (PDF) for album details and artwork, or scroll down to learn more.
Edited, mixed, and mastered by Daniel Crespo. Album cover, design, and photography by Daniel Crespo. Recorded by Rob Waller at Nichols Hall on a Steinway Model D. © 2021 Daniel Crespo.
Hello! I'm a Chicago-based pianist, designer, photographer, and composer. By day, I design websites and software. Outside of work, a large portion of my life is dedicated to piano and other creative endeavors.
I got my Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Music Composition at Florida International University, where I studied with Kemal Gekić.
I hope this album brings you joy and that you hear something fun you haven't encountered before. I love to discover innovative ways of playing the piano, always looking for new phrasing, textures, emotions, and anything else music has to offer.
I'm so grateful for the support and mentorship I've received over the years.
Thank you Mom, Dad, David, Haley, and all of my friends and family.
Thank you to all of my teachers: Kemal Gekić, Giselle Brodsky, Misha Dacić, Silvije Vidović, Paul Posnak, and Walter Goodman.
And thank you for giving this a listen.
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Track numbers are located next to each title. The color indicates whether I performed the piece as the composer originally intended or if I recorded any alternate versions. Follow along to learn why I love Nikolai Kapustin's music so much.
The etude is a musical composition designed to develop physical technique. Beginning with Frédéric Chopin, etudes transformed from uninspired exercises to musical expressions worthy of an audience. Kapustin has continued this tradition with his thrilling and complex set of concert pieces. While each etude does focus on particular technical challenges, the underlying musical ideas are rich with harmonic beauty and playful rhythms.
Etude Op. 40, No. 1 - "Prelude"
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No. 1 is full of rhythmic drive and catchy themes. The improvisational sections of the piece are part of what inspired me to explore multiple versions of most pieces on the album.
Etude Op. 40, No. 2 - "Reverie"
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Here we find a seemingly straightforward technical challenge: quickly alternating notes in the right hand. If we look deeper, however, there are many beautiful and even haunting harmonies and textures to discover.
Etude Op. 40, No. 4 - "Remembrance"
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One of Kapustin's more ethereal works, No. 4
has more in common with Impressionists like Claude Debussy than Jazz icons like Oscar Peterson. This piece is full of beautiful sparkling flurries and colorful melodic clusters.
I did not record any versions of No. 4 as it
was intended to be played. By slowing the tempo dramatically, I've brought out harmonies, melodies, and phrasing that can't usually be heard.
The basic concept of the variations form is to take a melodic theme and write a series of compositions based on that theme. Kapustin uses this form as a canvas to combine completely different jazz styles into a series of short sections that connect seamlessly.
Kapustin, like many composers before him, wrote 24 short preludes in all 24 major and minor keys. He used this as an opportunity to explore numerous jazz styles.
Prelude Op. 53, No. 4
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This prelude bounces around the piano, exploring call-and-response phrasing with contrasting textures and dynamics.
Prelude Op. 53, No. 5
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While many of Kapustin's pieces take you for an energetic ride, this prelude offers a rare melodic melancholy.
Johann Sebastian Bach's 48 Preludes and Fugues (1722, 1742) are considered one of the most important contributions to classical music, and only a handful of composers have completed similar sets of preludes and fugues since. Kapustin's set is the modern equivalent, achieving the highest levels of melody, form, and counterpoint, all through a Jazz lens.
While preludes and fugues are usually performed together, I've focused on four preludes that sound great on their own.
Prelude Op. 82, No. 3
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This prelude explores many memorable harmonies and sound effects through heavy swing and lots of attitude. Listen for pops, flicks, and—inevitably—your foot tapping to the rhythm.
Prelude Op. 82, No. 5
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While much of Kapustin's music is already lively and fast-paced, this prelude feels like it was blasted out of a cannon and manages to sprinkle some Rock & Roll across the entire range of the piano.
Prelude Op. 82, No. 9
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This prelude is one of my favorite pieces to play. The left and right hands chase and copy each other until they float away into an ethereal bliss.
Prelude Op. 82, No. 14
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Kapustin was an expert at writing colorful sound effects. This short piece manages to explore a variety of pops, flicks, sustained notes, inner melodies, and more.
George Gershwin is one of the most beloved American composers, most famous for his Rhapsody in Blue. He also wrote countless other gems, like a set of three preludes. This prelude fits the album's spirit of fun, short, energetic classical-jazz fusion.
In addition to playing music by other composers, I've always loved improvising and composing my own pieces. While this album focuses mostly on Kapustin's music, I spent some time between takes exploring whatever came to my fingers.
The last track is an improvisation based on Ryan Cohan's River I. Departure (Ryanism Music, BMI).
