Ronald Gorevic

Joseph Martin Kraus, the German-born Swedish composer who was an almost exact contemporary of Mozart, is primarily known as a late classical symphonist of extraordinary importance, and heretofore this is where recording of his output has been concentrated. On Bis' Joseph Martin Kraus: The Complete Piano Music, pianist Ronald Brautigam comes to terms with the slim amount of keyboard music that belongs to Kraus, a cycle previously addressed on Naxos by pianist Jacques Després on a modern instrument. On the Bis, Brautigam uses a reproduced Walther & Sohn fortepiano built by Paul McNulty, an 1802 instrument that has a sound almost indistinguishable from that of a modern piano, except for its more limited range and shorter decay time. This seems to suit Kraus' keyboard music, which is rich in ideas but spindly in texture, a bit better than a modern instrument. Likewise, Després interpretations of Kraus' music sound read through at times and betray a sense of less than complete familiarity. This is not a challenge for Brautigam, who clearly knows, and loves, these willful and eccentric pieces of Kraus.

Ronald Jenkees is an American composer and musician, best known for his YouTube keyboard performances. His YouTube videos have been viewed (in total) over 75 million times. Jenkees has thus far released four independent albums: the eponymous album Ronald Jenkees (2007), Disorganized Fun (2009), Days Away (2012), and Alpha Numeric (2014). CD #5 here has some slightly different flavors, but is still more of the same energetic & emotional soundscape / adventures that Jenkess is so gifted at crafting. The songs are unmistakably RJ, but as always, his songs never sink into the indistinguishable mish-mash of tracks that plague many mediocre electronic releases. None of that here. I suppose it's conceivable that a more enjoyable electronic album will drop this year, but I won't be holding my breath.