06 January 2006 - Classical Masterworks, a new independent label, is pleased to announce the release of its first recording with American pianist Steve Larson.

First in a series of recordings by Mr. Larson, Prologue contains a dizzying array of virtuosic pieces for the piano. Beginning with the extreme athleticism of Franz Liszt’s Scherzo and March, a piece rarely performed for apparent reasons, the CD continues with a crisp and brisk Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue of Bach followed by a lyrical and deliberate rendering of the famous Brahms Intermezzo in A-Major, Op. 118, Nr. 2. A Liszt-like performance of Debussy’s L’isle joyeuse and an energetic interpretation of Granados’ Allegro de Concierto precede a breathtaking Russian section with Moszkowki’s Etude in F-Major, Op. 72, Nr. 6, the last Etude-Tableaux of Rachmaninoff and an edge-of-your-seat ride with Rachmaninoff’s transcription of the Bumble-Bee. Liszt’s Fantasy on Themes from Wagner’s Rienzi leads into the somber and thundering Funérailles of Liszt ending a masterful journey through an imaginative and unusual combination of literature for the piano.

Prologue is currently available on Amazon.com. Click here to purchase.