Piano Chronicles is a musical autobiography from Russian-born and Moscow Conservatory-trained pianist/composer Yelena Eckemoff. Album 1 contains music Ms Eckemoff composed in her later teens and early twenties. The earlier work is steeped in modern classical tradition, and is mostly abstract and edgy. This group of fifteen relatively short pieces is subtitled “Feelings,” and reflects different states of the teenage mind such as “Purity,” “Anxiety,” “Love,” “Doubts,” and “Joy.” Most of the music is rather dark and reflective, but always interesting The last track in the suite, “Destiny,” has a rock influence that’s fun. Eckemoff wrote the music on paper as she composed it, and then recorded the music for both volumes in her home studio in 2003. All of the music in this suite is solo piano.

The second suite of pieces, subtitled “Sketches of My Youth,” is much more jazz-influenced, and the last four of the thirteen pieces include added instrumentation from a MIDI keyboard. This music also tends to be edgy, and it’s fascinating to hear how Eckemoff mixed her classical training with jazz studies as her own musical voice evolved. “The Man Who Is Not Here” is dark and very emotional. Little blues riffs sneak in here and there. I really like “Watching a Night Sky,” which has a bigger sound and an infectious rhythm. “Nothing Is Over For Those Who Hope” is more optimistic and lighthearted, almost playful. “In a Jazz Studio” is also a fun piece, and Eckemoff’s fingers really dance all over the piano. One of my favorites is “Passions Over Mistrust,” with its deep bass rhythm in the beginning and ending sections, and the lighter more questioning middle part. “Persistence” adds sax and percussion and then flute. Dark and kind of mysterious, this is a very interesting piece. “Presentiment of Love” is slow and silky, and could be the soundtrack to a “film noir.” My favorite piece in the collection is at the very end. Titled “Leaving Everything Behind,” it starts out quietly with a very simple right hand melody that is questioning and reflective. The left hand comes in with a gentle counterpoint that builds in intensity. Then an infectious bass line comes in, leading to a beautiful, mournful melody on keyboard with piano in the background. Piano comes forward, with percussion and sax. The instrumentation keeps changing, seamlessly evolving the painfully sad melody. This piece is a real knockout.

Piano Chronicles, Album 1 is an amazing musical journey in one woman’s life. If you are looking for melodic mainstream piano music, this one probably won’t do it for you, but if you enjoy modern classical music and harder-edge jazz, give it a try. It is available from yelenamusic.com and amazon.com.