Music

Recorded in Doc Rando Hall, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
November 2018 and January 2019
Chuck Foley, Recording Engineer
Virko Baley, Tonmeister
Laura Spitzer, Pianist

J.S. Bach, Prelude No. 8 in Eb Minor
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I

J.S. Bach, Fugue No. 8 in D# Minor
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I

Gabriela Lena Frank
Adoración para Angelitos
from Sueños de Chambi:
Snapshots for an Andean Album

Virko Baley, Nocturnal No. 5
Analysis by Laura Spitzer
Mastered by Gil Kaupp

Karol Szymanowski
Prelude in B Minor, Op. 1, No. 1

Karol Szymanowski
Prelude in Eb Minor, Op. 1, No. 8

Comments on Laura’s performances of Nocturnal No. 5:

“Laura Spitzer is a wonderful pianist, and brings the meaning of the music right up front.”
-Vincent Persichetti, composer (1985)

“Spitzer’s performance was a tour de force. Her considerable musical and pianistic powers are at their best with such a challenge.”
-Robert Commanday, San Francisco Chronicle (1991)

“Professor Spitzer has set the gold standard for Virko Baley’s Nocturnal No. 5, an important addition to the modern piano repertoire, and her artistry deserves the highest praise.”
-Dr. Timothy Hoft, Associate Professor of Piano, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2021)

“In Nocturnal No. 5 for solo piano, composer Virko Baley takes the listener on a journey of voices that whisper, converse, cajole, intertwine, become tangled, and ultimately combust. Along the way, he finds a new idiomatic expressiveness for the piano: Chopin-like filigree and an exploration of colors drawn from both the keyboard and the strings. Laura Spitzer’s performance demonstrates the command of counterpoint, textural transparency, varied tonal palette, and whimsy that are vital to revealing the essence of this nocturnal mystery.”
-Augusta Read Thomas, composer; Director, Center for Contemporary Composition, University of Chicago (2021)

“Dear Virko, Nocturnal 5 is a stunning, inventive piece and Laura does an amazing performance. I have always admired her and I am so impressed at how she brings distinct characters to the layering throughout the piece. You both deserve the highest kudos!”
-Cheryl Seltzer, pianist; Co-Founder and Co-Director of Continuum Ensemble New York (2021)

Recorded live in Atkinson Recital Hall
New Mexico State University
January 14, 2011
Laura Spitzer, Pianist

Robert Schumann
Toccata in C Major, Op. 7

Joan Tower, No Longer Very Clear
III. Vast Antique Cubes
IV. Throbbing Still (3:01)

Beethoven, Sonata in F Minor, Op. 57, “Appassionata”
I. Allegro assai
II. Andante con moto (11:12)
III. Allegro, ma non troppo (17:36)

Recorded live in the School of Music Recital Hall
Louisiana State University
January 24, 2011
Laura Spitzer, Pianist

Frédéric Chopin
Nocturne in B Major, Op. 62, No. 1

Frédéric Chopin
Ballade No. 3 in Ab Major, Op. 47

Maurice Ravel
Le tombeau de Couperin-Prelude

Maurice Ravel
Le tombeau de Couperin-Rigaudon

Maurice Ravel
Le tombeau de Couperin-Menuet

Maurice Ravel
Le tombeau de Couperin-Toccata

Live, unedited performance, April 27, 2000 at
Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Georgia
Recorded by Fred Newman using binaural, 3D microphones
and Sony Discman