Rhoden takes aim at another masterpiece

The internationally acclaimed Jamaican concert pianist Orrett Rhoden, once described as "Jamaica's ebullient answer to Horowitz" by a London Times critic, leaves the island in a few days to record his next album at the famed American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York. Rhoden will record works by the Italian Baroque composer Galuppi, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Ravel, and Marley.

The new recording, which will be released on CD, will be part of a double-souvenir-disc set. The other recording will be a re-release of Rhoden's debut album, which featured Brahms' 25 Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel, and also selected works by Chopin. They were recorded in the summer of 1986 in London and were released in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe by Academy Sound and Vision (ASV).

The Brahms-Chopin digital vinyl album was controversially reviewed in England and created quite a stir because of its "exuberant Caribbean zeal". Rhoden's decision to re-release these recordings is to allow his first album to be heard once more, as he thinks, perhaps, it was a bit ahead of its time then and hopes his interpretation will now be more relevant to a younger audience.

In New York, Rhoden promises to surpass his London recordings and plans on dedicating the double-souvenir discs in memory of his dear grandmother, Ida Lindo, who passed on April 29 this year at the age of 94.

'Rhodenowski'

Orrett Dexter Anthony Rhoden was born on January 2, 1961, in Kingston, Jamaica. Affectionately nicknamed Rhodenowski by many of his colleagues and friends, Rhoden came to international acclaim after appearing in two BBC documentaries on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh's visit to Jamaica in 1983. The documentaries, Elizabeth, the First 30 Years and also the more informal, behind-the-scenes programme And the Queen Passed By, were produced by Jenny Barraclough and were also aired as well to celebrate the queen's birthday that year.

The films not only featured Rhoden playing background music while the royal couple toured historic Devon House in Kingston, Jamaica, but used Rhoden's recordings throughout the films. Subsequently, Rhoden was booked to give his London debut as soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra playing Tchaikowsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 at The Barbican on November 9, 1984.

The following year, Rhoden made his New York debut at the Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. Later in 1986, Hollywood star and talk show host Joan Rivers was so intrigued with an article she read on young Rhoden in People Magazine that she immediately booked him to appear twice on her show, Late Night Starring Joan Rivers, which aired nationwide across America on FOX TV. Many concerts and appearances took place in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Canada, and Mexico.

One of the highlights of Rhoden's career was to be invited to perform in an all-Chopin recital at the birthplace of his idol, Frederic Chopin, in Zelazowa Wola, Poland, in 1985.

Rhoden has been hailed by the international press as being "one of the finest talents of his generation". The legendary Artur Rubinstein had this to say, "Some pianists are not musicians and some musicians are not pianists, but you, young man, are both"

Orrett Rhoden is a protégé of the late great Jamaican teacher Rita Coore, and since then has studied with some of the finest teachers across North America and Europe.

The double-souvenir discs are being sponsored by Sterling Asset Management Ltd, Pan Caribbean Bank, and Friends of Orrett Rhoden.