Pianist extraordinaire Anthony de Mare’s landmark commissioning project, Liaisons: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano, reaches Volume II with a diverse range of 14 tracks by a roll call of contemporary composers from the worlds of classical, jazz, film, indie, pop and musical theatre.

These musicians include: Jon Batiste, Stephen Hough, Meredith Monk, Max Richter, Conrad Tao, with the soloist himself contributing the title track All Things Bright and Beautiful.

Launched in 2015 on ECM Records with an acclaimed three-volume set - a revelation. de Mare’s playing superb throughout, a combination of lyrical reflection and extroverted pyrotechnics (San Francisco Chronicle) - Liaisons II extends the ambitious endeavor that brings together the world’s leading composers to re-imagine the legendary musical theatre composer’s songs for solo piano.

Sondheim, the ever-eloquent wordsmith, proclaimed he was thrilled with the music: I think the new pieces are terrific, he wrote in October of 2021, simultaneously praising de Mare: I also like how they show off your piano-playing chops.

Timed to coincide with the 95th anniversary of Sondheim’s birth, Liaisons II: All Things Bright and Beautiful stands as a celebration of the life and enduring legacy of the exceptional musical theatre giant.

TIMO ANDRES
1. Nice is Different Than Good (4:17)
after the song ‘I Know Things Now’ from the 1986 musical Into the Woods
commissioned by the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA

MARK BENNETT
2. Everybody Says Don’t (3:16)
after the song from the 1964 musical Anyone Can Whistle
commissioned by Dan Gallagher and Peter Shearer

STEPHEN HOUGH
3. Pretty Lady: gymnopédie (3:52)
after the song ‘Pretty Lady’ from the 1976 musical Pacific Overtures
commissioned by Dan and Jef Hall-Flavin

JON BATISTE
4. The Gun Song / The Ballad of Booth (7:21)
after the songs from the 1990 musical Assassins
commissioned by Tom Spain

TED HEARNE
5. Another National Anthem (5:08)
after the song from Assassins
commissioned by the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA

CONRAD TAO
6. Move On (8:38)
after the song from the 1984 musical Sunday in the Park with George commissioned by the 92nd Street Y
with Conrad Tao, piano

CHRISTOPHER CERRONE
7. Kiss Me after the song (4:05)
from the 1979 musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

MARC SCHUBRING
8. Rhapsody in Red (7:21)
after the song ‘Goodbye for Now’ from the 1981 film Reds
commissioned by Rachel Colbert and Anthony de Mare

MEREDITH MONK
9. Dialogue (9:24)
after the song ‘Poems’ from Pacific Overtures
commissioned by Beth Rudin Dewoody

PAOLA PRESTINI
10. Always (5:36)
after the song ‘I Wish I Could Forget You’ from the 1994 musical Passion
commissioned by University of Iowa, Hancher Auditorium

JEFF BEAL
11. Not a Day Goes By (4:05)
after the song from the 1981 musical Merrily We Roll Along
commissioned by Ellen Marcus

MAX RICHTER
12. Anyone Can Whistle (3:34)
after the title song from the musical
commissioned by the Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University

KEVIN PUTS
13. Being Alive (4:25)
after the song from the 1970 musical Company
commissioned by William E. Terry

ANTHONY DE MARE
14. All Things Bright and Beautiful (5:49)
after the song intended for the 1971 musical Follies
commissioned by William E. Terry

This simply breathtaking new piece (recorded on the 25th, 26th May and 21st, 22nd August 2023, at Oktaven Audio, Mount Vernon, New York) opens on the sweepingly dulcet Nice is Different Than Good and the more strident fare of Everybody Says Don’t and then we get the sheer elegance of Pretty Lady: gymnopédie, the atmospherically-charged, spoken word-imbibed, splendorous The Gun Song / The Ballad of Booth, the scintillating-charged Another National Anthem, and then both the stillness of Move On and the free flowing majesties of Kiss Me after the song are upon us.

Along next is the veritably decadent Rhapsody in Red and the stridently confident, near ten minute opus Dialogue and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the flourishing, demure even Always, the rather sprightly fare of the dynamic Not a Day Goes By, the crystalline Anyone Can Whistle, the work coming to a close on the delicately-hued Being Alive and the stunningly beautiful, nay subtly grandiose title track All Things Bright and Beautiful.

Official Purchase Link

www.anthonydemare.com