Rochester Celebration

Christian Carey’s booklet notes for this release [Five Compositions, Bridge Records] declare that ‘the chamber works on the CD are in some ways reflective of aspects of the Chamber Symphony…’. Rochester Celebration indeed picks up the unexpected consonance of the symphony’s final cadences, throwing them into the complexities of its opening like jewels in a mosaic. This is an occasional work composed for a distinguished professor of piano, Barry Snyder of the Eastman School of Music, and it harks back to techniques in, if not really the style of, 19th century romantic literature.

Rochester Celebration (2017) is a solo piano commission celebrating Karchin’s undergraduate Eastman Piano professor, Barry Snyder. A “must listen to” virtuoso Romantic-feel composition for all pianists, as Karchin’s thorough piano high/low pitch sounds and effects knowledge are captured in Margaret Kampemeier’s exquisite performance.