I interviewed Dmytro Morykit, about his recent album of classic rock covers Awesome Rock on Piano and include below some of his thoughts on the process of transferring rock classics to acoustic piano and why he chose the seven particular pieces for this album.
"All the pieces chosen mark an important landmark in my life and evoke powerful memories, mainly in my early musical career. I clearly remember the first time I heard Life on Mars and the iconic appearance of David Bowie on Top of the Pops. The whole album, Hunky Dory, was fabulous, so recording the piece was a homage to him and the brilliant pianist on the album, Rick Wakeman.
Elton John's Your Song is arguably one of his best songs and my interpretation came after many years of playing this piece by request. Although I don't sing, I also love the lyrics by Bernie Taupin.
Riders on the Storm is, I think, one of the best works by the Doors. It is full of tension and atmosphere. It wasn't written for piano but I had fun trying to capture the mood and the final recording was exhilerating.
Another important piece from a similar ear was Whiter Shade of Pale. I was at an End of Term party when someone put this on the record player - a memorable moment. It was made extra special by the timbre of Gary Brooker's vocals and the use of a Hammond organ. It was a difficult piece to play on piano due to the inability to sustain the notes in the same way as the organ so I went for a more subtle version.
Paint it Black by the Rolling stones is such an important musical piece and protest song that is still relevant today. When I interpreted this for piano, I exaggerated the hint of Tchaikovsky and played it with a 'Russian' feel.
Mad World reminds me of the 80s and the electronic bands, Tears for Fears, being one of the ones that stood out. However, there have been several acoustic versions since, so in many ways it was the easiest piece to transfer to piano. I chose to treat the rhythm differently as I felt it was more of a ballet piece where I saw the dancers practicing at the bar; it was such a strong visual image when I worked on this piece that it influenced the way I played it.
I see Sweet Child of Mine as a classic stadium rock piece by Guns N' Roses, which has a powerful and memorable riff. A friend pestered me for this. At first I was reluctant because it was a guitar and vocal piece which I didn't think would work on piano but I took on the challenge and enjoyed playing it after all.
We recorded the full album in idyllic rural Perthshire with only cattle, sheep and an odd raven as an audience. After recording we played around with the ambience. I'm pleased with the results and it's got me thinking about other possible classic rock pieces that might work on a solo piano but first I have to concentrate on another album of my own pieces."
