Album Notes

Review

Firedance, the latest CD by pianist/composer Waleed Howrani, is a tribute to the crystalline qualities of his finely-honed musicianship. The recording fairly glistens with exquisitely matched notes, strung together like pearls on a strand. The two Ravel works, Pavane for a Dead Princess and Jeux D'eau, are perfect examples of Howrani's tonal production. Like drops of color on a Monet canvas, his harp-like arpeggios in the Jeux are flawlessly executed, both in color and in rhythm. The elegant beauty of the Pavane shines through without the weightiness so often given it by the saccharine-laden interpretations of other artists.

Although equally at home with large, even ponderous works, the pianist here shows his true expertise with Eastern-tinged fire and dreams. The palette of colors and touches is used to full effect in Serbian composer Marko Tajcevic's Seven Balkan Dances. These are wonderful miniatures, encapsulating the ethnic modalities and rhythms of the Balkans.

American composer William Albright's whimsical work, Machine Age, is well worth a close listen. With quirky names such as Robot Drummers from Hell and The Ever-Blinking Eye (think digital clock displays after a power failure), Albright gives free rein to the pianistic imagination. Performed against the backdrop of a metronome, The Computer's Revenge, under Howrani's fine playing, perfectly depicts the murmurings of an R2Dr-like device. Prayer, the last movement, seems a bit of an anomaly in the work as its depth of feeling so delicately matches the work of 18th century poet, Christopher Smart. With its continually undulating background under a meditative melody, it is reminiscent of John Adams' work, and is a truly moving piece of music.

Howrani's signature piece of the CD, Introduction and Firedance, displays his familiarity with ethnic flavors of Eastern Europe. A wonderful amalgam of his own gift with hints of Khatchatourian, Stravinskly, and Debussy, the work possesses a rhythmic intensity and restless agitation that easily picture whatever comes to mind when one imagines a fire dance.

Howrani's selection of the solo version of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue is tasteful and silky, and is an arresting finale to the disk. Firedance is clearly the product of a true artist.
Jeanette Lutton Faber
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Biography of WALEED HOWRANI

Howrani was born in New York in 1948 and lived in Lebanon for a few years where he studied piano with Sonia Aharonian and Zvart Sarkissian. At age six he performed in public for the first time. Seven years later he was discovered by the late composer Aram Khatchatourian who recognized his potential and arranged for a ten-year full scholarship at the renowned Central Music School and the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. During that time, Howrani spent three years under the tutelage of Emil Gilels and became a Laureate in the Queen Elizabeth of Belgium Piano Competition. Thus followed a decades-long career performing internationally, receiving numerous honors along the way.
Later, Howrani pursued his lifelong passion for composing by studying with William Albright (1944-1998) who once observed: "Waleed is one of the great pianists that I have heard...As a composer...he has great imagination, a high level of technique, and a rich body of influences, including his knowledge of Middle Eastern music."
Howrani has since received several awards for his works - among them are the Creative Artist grant from the Michigan Council for the Arts, the Lebanese Medal of Cedar, the Khalil Gibran Fine Arts Scholar award, and most recently, the Medal of Excellence in Music from the Makhzoumi Foundation.
In 2002, Introduction and Firedance won first prize in the Youse Adult Composers contest, sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs.