¡Colombia viva!

¡Colombia viva! throws the door wide open on scintillating Colombian solo piano music of the late-20th and 21st centuries. Colombian pianist Mauricio Arias-Esguerra’s enthralling programme swings from Jaime León’s jazzy Preludios “Made in U.S.A.” (the opening movement is a delightful highlight) to Ian Frederick’s vibrant Suite Catrina, an homage to Mexico’s Day of the Dead holiday. There are works by Arias-Esguerra, too, including the explosive opening track, “Toccata Bachkovsky”, which breathes a dancing Latin-American spirit into Tchaikovsky and Bach, and his very beautiful “Arizona Mirage”. Blas Emilio Atehortúa’s gritty, virtuosic Preludio, variaciones y presto alucinante is a gem of a work—a true masterpiece of 20th-century piano writing.