Charles Griffes: The Pleasure-Dome of Kubla Khan

Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920): The Pleasure-Dome of Kubla Khan (1912-15) Solungga Liu, piano The Pleasure-Dome of Kubla Khan has two rather different versions. The first is the piano work (1912, rev. 1915) represented on this recording, which Griffes revised for many years. The second is a re-conception of this work for orchestra (1916-1917), whose performances by Pierre Monteux and the Boston Symphony Orchestra launched Griffes’s wide public recognition just before his untimely death. The piano version is a highly evocative work that opens with a low bass ostinato over which parallel chords are layered. A distinct melody eventually emerges, but gives way to moments of quieter sensuality and dance-like passages. The majestic reappearance of the opening melody heralds the work’s end. Fragments of the opening bass line eventually predominate, closing the work mysteriously. The Pleasure-Dome of Kubla Khan is a fitting conclusion to this recording since it brings about a full circle. The 13th century writings of Marco Polo about the Mongol Emperor Kubla Khan led in the late 18th century to the Coleridge poem that inspired Griffes’s composition in the 20th. How meaningful that a pianist of Mongolian heritage, Solungga Liu, reinterprets this work for the early 21st century. ~ Gregory Mertl~ Provided to YouTube by NAXOS of America ℗ 2010 Centaur Records Auto-generated by YouTube.