Ronn Yedidia: 24 Preludes of Dusk & Dawn
Albany Records

Listening to pianist Gila Goldstein's artful renditions of Ronn Yedidia's 24 Preludes of Dusk and Dawn in the absence of background information is rewarding, but appreciation is significantly enhanced when context and detail are factored in. One discovers, for example, that he dedicated a number of parts to people near and dear, including his late mother Rosa (1933–2020), film composer Ennio Morricone (1928–2020), keyboard composer Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757), soccer legend Diego Maradona (1960–2020), and jazz pianist Chick Corea (1941–2021); one also learns that the project is his personal homage to Frédéric Chopin's 24 Preludes, with a number inspired by and directly referencing parts of it. Almost every one of Yedidia's preludes has a story to tell, which invests the work with added dimensions and enriches the experience of listening to it.

While Goldstein recorded the material in 2023 and 2024 at Mt. Vernon's Oktaven Audio, it was composed between April 2020 and March 2021 and thus written during the anxiety-inducing days of COVID-19. Such isolating circumstances naturally lent themselves to inward reflection, and Yedidia responded by writing concise pieces that in some cases exude melancholy and in others appreciation for loved ones, friends, and mentors. The fact that a number of the dedicatees also passed away during that time gives 24 Preludes of Dusk & Dawn an extra layer of gravitas.

The Juilliard School graduate has seen his compositions appear on labels such as SonyBMG, Centaur, and Naxos's American Classics series, and his solo piano album, Yedidia Plays Yedidia (Altarus Records), shows he's no slouch in that department either. His versatility is reflected in the many genres he's operated within, among them classical, jazz, pop, dance, theatre, and klezmer. For her part, Goldstein is clearly qualified to take on 24 Preludes of Dusk and Dawn. She's performed on some of the world's most prestigious stages, from Lincoln Center and the Beijing Concert Hall to the South Bank Center, Konzerthaus, and Cité des Arts.

Her performance is engaged, enthusiastic, and emotionally resonant, and in each of the twenty-four cases she pinpoints its essence and gives articulate voice to it. In contrast to the twenty-one that follow, the opening three are free of subtitles and feature tempo and character markings only. Drawing the listener in, the pensive first (C-sharp minor) enters stealthily with lyrical legato gestures and an air of mystery. As refined, the second (G-sharp minor) is a tad brighter though no less introspective and also distinguished by Goldstein's exquisite pacing and touch; the third, which begins in D-sharp Phrygian mode before shifting to D-sharp Major, is the liveliest of the three.

A subtle jazz feel seeps into the expressive fourth, titled “Rose in the Garden” (B-flat Major/C Major) and written for his mother after her death. He also wrote the affecting “Orly" (E minor) after the untimely passing of Orly Keren-Goldman (1981–2021), a friend's daughter he'd known from her early childhood. While its piano content is sparse, the heartfelt Corea tribute, “Windows of Spain; Rest in Peace, Chick!" (B Major), includes enough material to trigger recognition of themes from the popular compositions “Spain” and “Windows." Dedicated to Ravel, "Calling of the Bird" (B-flat minor) was composed with his “Oiseaux Tristes” from Miroirs in mind and punctuates moments of stillness with radiant sprinkles. The solemn hush of the thirteenth, “Prayer" (B minor), is imbued with the dignified spirit of Scarlatti's Sonata in B minor, K. 87/L. 33.

A theatrical quality surfaces now and then, during the rhapsodic "Fantasia" (G Major/ E minor), the lovely, Morricone-dedicated "Dreams" (D Major), and the sweetly nostalgic "Memories" (D-flat Major). Tempestuous by comparison are the aptly titled eighth, "Storm of Fate" (G Minor), and the agitated fourteenth, "Before the Snow" (F-sharp minor). The tenth, “Butterflies" (G-flat Major), sparkles with acrobatic flourishes, while the fifteenth, "Fata Morgana" (A Major), is light, aromatic, and airy.

Of the many Chopin-inspired settings, "The Answer" (E-flat minor) declaims with authority before resolving gently; while unison patterns played by both hands give "Winds of Destiny" (A minor) a turbulent character, the rapid entwining of patterns makes the Maradona-inspired seventeenth, "Despedida, Diego" (C minor), as memorable. Again a subtle undercurrent of jazz emerges in the flowering patterns that roll through the nineteenth, "Never Again!" (F minor). Yedidia's sixteenth prelude, "Once Upon a Flower" (D minor), is both eminently Chopin-esque and in its pensive lyricism one of the set's most cantabile statements. The concluding "Oath and After ..." (D-sharp minor), on the other hand, imparts a heroic dynamism to the Chopin-related group—even if it does end quietly.

March 2025