Fanny Hensel – September
In 1841, Fanny Hensel (1805–1847) wrote Das Jahr (The Year), a large-scale piano cycle with a movement for each month of the year. She published “September” in 1846 as part of her Op. 2, but Das Jahr was first published in its entirety in 1989. Subsequently, a magnificent revised autograph manuscript was discovered, in which each movement is copied on paper of a different colour, illustrated with a drawing by Hensel’s husband Wilhelm, and preceded by a poetic epigram. Furore Verlag has published a critical edition.
Chopin, Waltz, Op. 64, No. 2
Frédéric Chopin, Waltz, Op. 64, No. 2. Benjamin Geer, piano. Recorded 20 May 2023.
J. S. Bach, tr. Busoni – Ich ruf’ zu dir, Herr
J. S. Bach, Ich ruf’ zu dir, Herr, piano transcription by Ferruccio Busoni. Benjamin Geer, piano. Recorded 8 July 2021.
Trying to Be a Jazz Guitarist
I started playing jazz guitar around the time I went to university. I wanted to combine the improvisational tradition of jazz with non-tonal harmony and large-scale structures. But I thought I should start with bebop. In 1995–96, while working as an English language teaching assistant in France, I had the opportunity to play in an amateur big band as well as a quintet: Here are some earlier recordings, from 1991: