CD: American Ultramodernists 1920-1950: Steffen Schleiermacher

Steffen Schleiermacher's determination to boldly go where other pianists rarely venture has taken him to some of the most under-explored regions of the 20th-century repertoire. This collection of experimental Americana from between the two world wars avoids the obvious, too: the music of Dane Rudhyar (1895-1985) was new to me, while Carl Ruggles is better known for his orchestral works than his piano pieces. What the pieces share is a belief in music as a mystic power, and Schleiermacher plays them all with rapt intensity and technical command.