Dancing on the Edge: Recorded at Glenwood Place Studios, Burbank, California, 2005, using a Bosendorfer Model 280 grand piano.
Producer, Ralph Sappington. Engineers Jody Sappington & Ken Takahashi.
Mastering, Ralph Sappington – Evangeline Studios
“I was led to these specific works in choosing the repertoire for this release. Each piece represents a unique lens or facet of kinetics in music. Movement itself, whether from a single vibrating string, or a metrical dance rhythm, pervades these works. The interplay of tension and release, both in the tonal language and in possibilities for interpretation, also struck me. Nationalistic undertones also are discerned in the compositional programs and their respective schools of thought. It is my sincere hope the listener can take this outline of ideas and further explore each of these great works.”
Darin Niebuhr
“Darin Niebuhr’s latest recording is beautiful – for his playing, for the selections picked, and for the great care taken in the recording process”
– George Winston, pianist
Fantasia -1954 by Benjamin Lees
Impromptu, Op. 90 no. 3 by Franz Schubert
Souvenir de Porto Rico by Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Polonaise no. 2 by Franz Liszt
Tropical Serenade by Morton Gould
Harlequin Waltz by Morton Gould
Sonata in C Major, K. 513, Pastorale by Domencio Scarlatti
Five Piano Pieces, Op. 3, no. 1 by Richard Strauss
Five Piano Pieces, Op. 3, no. 2 by Richard Strauss
Five Piano Pieces, Op. 3, no. 3 by Richard Strauss
Intermezzo, Op.118 no.2 by Johannes Brahms
TECHNICAL NOTES:
This project was recorded using a Bosendorfer Model 280 piano in the 882 square foot Studio B at Glenwood Place Studios featuring granite floors in the “live room” and maple floors under the piano. Pro Tools 1 HD 32i/560 and a Neve 8068 56 channel console with flying fader automation was employed to combine the latest of digital recording with the classic sound of a valve (tube) console. The miking of the piano was achieved by using a matching pair of AKG-414’s to capture the overall piano and a pair of Cole 4038 Ribbon microphones about twenty feet from the piano, in the live room, to record the room sound. The only reverb used was the natural sound of the room. The SSL G384 stereo bus compressor was used during the mix process. Tazo green and chai teas were used to respectively calm and energize the producer.
This project could not have come forth except by incredible people and visionaries. I wish to especially thank: God for giving me this gift to share, my wife Karen and family, Ralph and Jody Sappington, everyone at Glenwood Place Studios, Evangeline Music, Jim for photos, Bosendorfer USA for the finest piano to play, All About Pianos for their support, and Andrea and Joel Long and family for their deep commitment to my career.
In choosing repertoire for this release, I was led to these specific works by several factors.
Each piece represents to me a unique lens or facet of kinetics in music. Movement itself whether from a single vibrating string, or a metrical dance rhythm pervades these works. The interplay of tension and release both in the tonal language and in possibilities for interpretation also struck me.
Nationalistic undertones can also be discerned in the compositional programs and their respective schools of thought. It is my sincere hope that the listener can take this outline of ideas and further explore each of these great works with a fresh outlook.
Darin Niebuhr