Album

Beata Moon's first recording for Naxos presents a handful of premieres, though roughly half of this disc features fresh performances of pieces that appeared on two previous albums. The Piano Sonata and Inter-Mez-Zo, both composed in 2006, are important additions to Moon's growing list of piano works, several of which appeared in 2000 on her debut on Albany, Perigee and Apogee, and in 2004 on her CD for BiBimBop, Earthshine. This is, however, her first all-piano collection, which she recorded February 16-17, 2007, and her performances are consistent in energy and color, even though the music goes through many changes of character. Whether it's the weighty pronouncements of the Sonata, the veiled mystery of Submerged, the perkiness of In Transit, or the virtuosic runs of the Toccata, Moon's writing and playing reveal both playfulness and an acute awareness of what works; she slips easily between styles without being obviously eclectic, and her music holds together through sureness of technique. Her language is primarily tonal, blended with impressionistic harmonies and occasionally spiced with sharper dissonances; Moon's forms are usually short, poetic vignettes where ideas are freely associated, rather than rigorously developed along theoretical lines. To this extent, Moon is at her best in miniatures, and her music seems ideally suited to expressing images and moods instead of abstractions. Naxos' reproduction is clean and crisp, and the fairly close microphone placement gives Moon a credible presence.

© Blair Sanderson, All Music Guide

CD 1
Beata Moon Composer Piano Sonata Work 17:07 Beata Moon Piano
1	Maestoso; grand	6:00			$0.99
2	Easygoing	3:07			$0.99
3	Placid; simply	4:40			$0.99
4	Robust	3:20			$0.99
Beata Moon Composer Submerged, for piano Work Beata Moon Piano
5	Submerged, for piano	3:12			$0.99
Beata Moon Composer In Transit, for piano Work 7:03 Beata Moon Piano
6	Hubbub	1:27			$0.99
7	Chug-a	1:09			$0.99
8	Sub (conscious) Way	1:47			$0.99
9	Leonard Street	1:24			$0.99
10	Amarathine Road	1:16			$0.99
Beata Moon Composer Guernica, for piano Work Beata Moon Piano
11	Guernica, for piano	3:26			$0.99
Beata Moon Composer Inter-Mez-Zo, for piano Work 8:47 Beata Moon Piano
12	Inter: Perky; fun	2:36			$0.99
13	Mez: Mellow; lazily	4:21			$0.99
14	Zo: Insistent	1:50			$0.99
Beata Moon Composer Toccata for piano Work Beata Moon Piano
15	Toccata for piano	2:20			$0.99
Beata Moon Composer Ode for piano Work Beata Moon Piano
16	Ode for piano	3:34			$0.99
Beata Moon Composer Piano Fantasy Work Beata Moon Piano
17	Piano Fantasy	4:53			$0.99
Beata Moon Composer Nursery, for piano Work Beata Moon Piano
18	Nursery, for piano	2:04			$0.99
Beata Moon Composer The Secret, for piano Work Beata Moon Piano
19	The Secret, for piano	3:13			$0.99
Beata Moon Composer Prelude for piano Work Beata Moon Piano
20	Prelude for piano	4:06			$0.99