Search - Keith Jarrett :: Celestial Hawk

AFTER 20 YEARS, THE CELESTIAL HAWK FINALLY ON CD!

earthvolunteer | Atlanta, Ga. USA | 09/22/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It took ECM over 20 years to release Keith Jarrett's three movement piano concerto, but it was well worth the wait. "The Celestial Hawk" is one of my very favorite Jarrett works and one of his few classical symphonic compositions and recordings. He experiments with Eastern sounds here and leads the listener on a journey through gorgeously, softly melodic realms and furiously dissonent passages. His piano work on "The Celestial Hawk" is a marvel to experience, but it is clear that Jarrett for the first time is equally adept at orchestrial arrangement. This is a stunning musical work that is at once simple, then grandiose and in many passages almost terrifying. Each movement has a character all its own, and in the end...at the final minutes of the third movement...the concerto moves from minor to major...from darkness to light and resolves itself in some of the most melodically reflective passages Jarrett has ever played. A work to be enjoyed over and over again throughout the years."

Heavenly music

StevieQ | Castro Valley, CA United States | 05/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was introduced to Keith Jarrett's Celestial Hawk when I took a music appreciation class in the summer of 1983 when I was an undergrad at Berkeley. I fell in love with this piece then and when I listened to it again today more than 20 years later it brought back such thrill to me that I felt like I was still that same 20-yr. old who listened to this beautiful piece for the first time. There is a soft segment with a heavy oriental flavor near the beginning of the 1st movement that evokes highly pleasant images of a celestial hawk gliding gracefully in the sky. Listening to the music, I can close my eyes and imagine I am that hawk flying high in the sky. There is also a segment in the middle of the 3rd movement with the oboes or flutes that I just loved. It's just a beautiful piece of music throughout."