Fidelio is a bit of a challenge for several reasons. These piano solos are very abstract and have a lot of silent pauses. When listening to the CD in the car, I kept thinking there was something wrong with the CD player because I wasn’t hearing music, so I’d turn the volume way up and get blown out of the driver’s seat when the playing resumed. In the house, I kept checking to see if the CD had ended. There is as much as twenty-four seconds of silence between each of the eight tracks, and several of the pieces have that much open space between segments, which is a little disconcerting. The piano solos are all quite dark and spontaneous, conveying passion and deep emotion. There are no liner notes and Kourosh Dini’s website is spare, so I don’t know if these pieces are studio improvisations, but they sound like they probably are. A physician specializing in child psychiatry, Dr. Dini was classically trained and explores new ground in piano and electronic music. The music is interesting and evocative, but is, for the most part, unmelodic and without traditional rhythmic patterns, placing it more in the realm of contemporary classical music rather than new age. The long silences in the music are obviously part of the concept of the album, but they are a bit distracting.

The first track, “Condrestl Abdelio,” is a 7 1/2 minute piece that is made up of several movements. It starts out very gently and quietly, and becomes much bigger and darker in the third movement. The fourth movement is very beautiful and has a quality much like flowing water, building like a storm in the middle, and becoming calm again. “Blood” (track 2) is mysterious and very dark, and only lasts 59 seconds with another 20 or so seconds of silence. Actually, all of the tracks have an exotic, mysterious quality. “Valve” (track 4) again begins quietly and builds to almost a frenzy, and then becomes placid. Other titles include “Here,” “Running Into Walls,” and “Aging Gears of a Clock,” reminding me of some Erik Satie’s whimsical titles.

The obviously isn’t an album for everyone, but if you enjoy experimental music that is out of the mainstream, check it out.