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.