Beethoven’s How Great Thou Art
Pianist: Eugene Mursky
Arranger: Bryan Richards
What happens when you cross the virtuosity of Liszt with the sensitivity of Cardall? What happens when your favorite sacred melodies are undergirded by the compositional style of Chopin? What if Bach could write a prelude for Primary? What might it sound like?
We introduce just that in Beethoven’s How Great Thou Art, a CD of extraordinary solo piano music featuring sacred hymn melodies in a classical style.
The pieces are written primarily for performance in church. Several decades ago, classical piano pieces were commonly played in sacrament meetings. Now, hymn arrangements seem to be the mainstay. These pieces combine the best of both worlds—the meaning of sacred music and the beauty of classical composition. Tailored to the accomplished pianist, each piece is designed to bring peace and the Spirit to worship services.
By age 13, Eugene Mursky was recognized as a prodigy, playing Chopin’s 2nd Piano Concerto with the Uzbekistan State Symphony Orchestra. In his late teens, he competed in the 1994 World Piano Competition in London winning first prize with a special award for best interpretation of Chopin. Princess Diana presented him with the award after he astonished the crowd with his performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1st Piano Concerto, playing with the famous London Philharmonic. His astonishing skill set is brought to bear on our favorite LDS hymns. The combination is sublime.
“Mursky’s piano is superb and just spectacular, as always. Richards’ arrangements are exquisite and touching.” —Karen Klomp
“The music was just fantastic. We listened to it without stopping. It felt like ‘living water’ to my soul as familiar strains were played. What a treasure!” —Robert Spiers
