Pianist Andrew Rangell performs Maurice Ravel's coloristic masterpiece, Gaspard de la Nuit.

Within the large body of Mr. Rangell's recorded works (numbering more than 30 discs) this interpretation of Gaspard is a rare item, one of only two concert performances (the other being Beethoven's Diabelli Variations) selected for commercial release. The recording was made by WBUR (at the Castle Hill Music Festival, near Boston) in the summer of 1985. (This was early in the pianist's 13 month preparatory efforts for performances of the complete Beethoven sonata cycle, beginning the following year.) The American Record Guide praised Mr. Rangell's performance as a “riveting and masterly” account.

“There are so many pianists before the public today that the category atypical pianist has itself become typical. But Andrew Rangell genuinely stands out; at once free-spirited and precise, he has the mark of an original artist.” 

Alex Ross, New York Times

Album Credits

Ravel: Gaspard De La Nuit / Andrew Rangell  • STNS 30151

Release Date: 10/02/2020

Recorded July, 1985 at Castle Hill Music Festival, Ipswich, Massachusetts

Post Session Engineer: Joel Gordon

Executive Producer: Jon Feidner
Art Direction: Jackie Fugere
Design: Cover to Cover Design, Anilda Carrasquillo
Production Assistant: Renée Oakford
Cover Painting (Detail): Odilon Redon

Photo of Andrew Rangell: David Shriver

About the Artist

Long recognized as among our most eloquent and insightful interpreters of the major keyboard works of Bach and Beethoven, pianist Andrew Rangell has drawn acclaim for a variety of recordings, ranging from the music of Sweelinck, Farnaby, and Gibbons to that of Janacek, Enescu, Nielsen, Bartok, Charles Ives, Christian Wolff, and many others. 

Andrew Rangell made his New York debut as winner of the Malraux Award of the Concert Artists’ Guild, and has since performed and lectured throughout the United States, and in Europe and Israel. He has also taught on the faculties of Dartmouth, Middlebury, and Tufts University. In the 1980s, already recognized as a distinctive recitalist and collaborative artist, Mr. Rangell gained national attention – and the award of an Avery Fisher Career Grant – for his vivid traversals of the complete Beethoven sonata-cycle in New York, Boston, Cleveland, Rochester, Denver, and other U.S. Cities. A hand injury sustained in 1991 forced Mr. Rangell to gradually alter the trajectory of his career, and eventually to place his highest priority on recording. His most recent Steinway & Sons release, Beethoven 4 Kids, combines a short Beethoven recital with a DVD video of Rangell’s own children’s book, Sammy Snake's Lucky Day. (Art and narration by Andy, soundtrack featuring Beethoven.)

About Steinway & Sons label

The STEINWAY & SONS music label produces exceptional albums of solo piano music across all genres. The label — a division of STEINWAY & SONS, maker of the world’s finest pianos — is a perfect vessel for producing the finest quality recordings by some of the most talented pianists in the world.