Perhaps the biggest shock of the year was the knowledge that a composer like Ton de Leeuw could have gone under my radar for so many years. René Eckhardt has done us a great service by recording not only a selection of the composer’s works for solo piano, but all of them in a single package. As a European composer of his age, his music sounds reminiscent of other composers of the day. De Leeuw was especially fond of modal inflections and figurational counterpoint; later he was influenced by many non-Western ideas. He sought to achieve a state of equilibrium in his music—a music that does not seek development, but rather a music that simply is. If this sounds boring to you, as it might, then you would especially need to hear these riveting performances by Eckhardt. Grab this one while you can! © 2012 Fanfare