Silvestrov is among today's most imaginative composers and his music sounds like no one else's. Metamusik, from 1992, opens like a giant wave crashing onto a seashore, and as it recedes, orchestra and piano explore the rippling echoes of its cataclysmic effect. These "ripples" are at first disturbing in their reminiscences of violent upheaval, but with repetition and dynamic variety they take on a peaceful cast and ultimately a dreamy, mystical aura. Some of the work's episodes explore mini-aspects of that great opening event, as if the emotional impact is being remembered and explored. Subtitled "Symphony for piano and orchestra", Metamusik is in one long, large-scaled movement based on an earlier work, the 1984 Postludium, a "symphonic poem" for the same forces. Postludium is terse, more concentrated and colourful and employs greater contrasts. Both repay repeated hearings. Deceptively simple on its face, Silvestrov's music demands performers in tune with his highly personal aesthetic, and it gets them in these committed performances by Davies and his orchestra--especially in those by Lubimov, a pianist who's long championed the composer's music. This disc is a must for anyone interested in contemporary music. --Dan Davis, Amazon.com