Rzewski: Which Side Are You On, Etc / Moore

The first woman to record Frederic Rzewski's setting of Oscar Wilde's 'De Profundis', Bang on a Can/Steve Reich pianist Lisa Moore sheds powerful new light on Wilde's jailhouse meditation on imprisonment, debasement and the barriers that he faced as a homosexual. Rzewski, one of the great revolutionary American composers, has created an aggressively emotional soundtrack to Wilde's moving prose. 'De Profundis' breaks down the boundaries between a piano recital and a theatrical expierence. Written for a virtuosic pianist who also sings, shouts, and declaims, Rzewski's masterpiece is given a gripping re-interpretation by the fiery Moore, who brings a new character to the work through her passionate piano performance and compelling voice. With 'Which Side Are You On?' Moore brings together two of Rzewski's major piano/voice works on one CD for the first time as 'De Profundis' is paired with 'North American Ballads'.