William Bland: Piano Sonatas <BR> BRIDGE 9223

For William Bland (b. 1947), the piano sonata is an expansive form that houses far flung source materials and musical influences both popular and classical. His cycle of 24 piano sonatas (one in each of the major and minor keys) was begun in 1998 and currently stands at 16 completed works. Bland's varied musical background has included work as a church organist, in musical theater, and as a teacher of composition at a number of universities and conservatories. At times intensely original, at other times innocently sweet and derivative of a variety of popular genres of the past, Bland's sonatas are both nostalgic and adventurous in their argument. Sonata #4, in E-flat Major - 4 "Goodbye" Concert Rags was composed in 1999. Each of its four movements is based on a quotation that suggests a farewell. The three short pieces are transcriptions of works that Bland has composed for other media- the Air de Ballet and Nouveau Rag originally appearing in his Dance Book (1995) (12 Dances for guita