Labyrinth

As much a labyrinth of the emotions as of musical styles, Khatia Buniatishvili’s beautiful album starts with a touching homage to film composer Ennio Morricone before launching into a musical journey that weaves an unexpected path through Chopin, Satie, Bach, Brahms, Couperin, and much, much more. Along the way lie unexpected, sparkling gems: Her own arrangement for four hands of the “Badinerie” from Bach’s *Orchestral Suite No. 2*, performed with her sister Gvantsa Buniatishvili, is a minute of pure joy. And both Serge Gainsbourg’s “La Javanaise” and Villa-Lobos’ “Valsa Da Dor” are charming, light diversions, fizzing with understated virtuosity. Buniatishvili’s inclusion of John Cage’s silent “4′33″” is a stroke of genius—an oasis of calm before the final, rapturous Bach to lead us softly out into the open.

Pianist Khatia Buniatishvili specialized mostly in virtuoso repertory in the early years of her tenure with the Sony Classical label, but she goes in a different direction with Labyrinth, a collection of mostly slow, reflective pieces from various periods and in various styles.