Album Notes

Pianist Danny Holt is mostly known for his athletic performances of edgy, virtuosic contemporary classical music. But when his father passed away in 2008, Holt turned to the other extreme: quiet, contemplative music that was both a comfort during the grieving process, and which also expressed some of the tumult and complexity of grief. That is the music of "Release".

Carefully crafted from start to finish, "Release" is a musical portrait of grief. Holt brings together works by an eclectic group of contemporary classical, ambient, and new age composers to embody not only the pain of loss, but the joy and beauty of memory, and the hope of renewal and rebirth.

Recorded in the solitude of a classic turn-of-the-century New England concert hall on an exquisite Bosendorfer Imperial Concert Grand piano, this recording is both luscious and intimate—a rich tapestry of colors and moods that moves the listener through complex emotional landscapes.