Richard Whitehouse of Gramophone magazine has described Arlene Sierra's new disc of piano music, Birds and Insects, as a “potent mix” of piano works that are “imaginative and diverse” and “unpredictable and engrossing.” He writes,
Although solo instrumental music has not featured extensively in Arlene Sierra’s output, the notable exception is the three books of Birds and Insects. These each focus on salient aspects of evolution and natural selection, across 15 pieces of varying length and density of content.
Book 1 (2007) is a set (or not, if the pianist chooses) imaginative and diverse – each of its first four pieces an evocative miniature, tantalisingly so as in ‘Cicada Sketch’, with the final ‘Scarab’ a rondo of greater length and textural elaboration duly galvanised by its scintillating toccata-like figuration prior to the fragmented close. The ensuing collections follow a similar trajectory of five pieces, albeit on a slightly larger scale, and introduce an element (optional but sometimes favoured here) of pre-recorded birdsong to what feels an already potent mix.
Book 2 (2015‑18) features such as the ethereal ‘Hermit Thrush’ or the skewed patterning of ‘Thermometer Cricket’, before ending with the cumulative interplay of motifs that makes ‘Bobolink’ not just the longest but also the most unpredictable and engrossing of these pieces. Book 3 (2023) opens with the intensifying activity of ‘Lovely Fairywren’, before taking in the skittishness of ‘Great Grig’ and the starkness of ‘Tawny Owls’ prior to the imperious repetitions of ‘Troupial’, which brings the whole collection to its teasingly equivocal ending.
The first book has been recorded with real precision by Vasily Primakov but it makes sense to have all three when played with the dedication of Steven Beck or Sarah Cahill. Sound and notes leave nothing to be desired, making for an essential addition to the Sierra discography.
More about Birds and Insects, Arlene Sierra Vol. 4 and further reviews at the dedicated page on this site
