New Sounds Weekly Roundup: Conor Hanick Rediscovers A Lost Masterpiece

Pianist @conorlhanick's recording of Hans Otte's "Book of Sounds" is out now on @ilpiratarecords. John Schaefer (@newsounds) featured the album on Friday's roundup.

"'The Book Of Sounds' was recorded by Otte in the mid-80s, and despite being a mainstay of our early New Sounds shows, it seemed destined to be one of those overlooked, idiosyncratic masterpieces that dot the history of music. Then came Conor Hanick, who fell in love with the work and began playing it, in its entirety, at music festivals like the 2022 Ojai Festival in California. Today, his studio recording came out, and with the benefit of forty years of hindsight (and a lot more virtuosity than Otte, who was not a professional pianist), Hanick really makes this set of works feel like a single narrative unfolding. This first part has two simple, alternating chords that then give way to a lovely swirl of repeating phrases. Both gestures, if not the actual notes within, return later in the piece."

Listen to the full roundup at WNYC.org

Read album press release here.

"Book of Sounds" is available to stream now on all platforms