by Dacia Clay

Pianist Liza Stepanova says she structured her latest album, Tones & Colors (CAG Records), as if she were programming a recital. It’s divided into segments with names that sound like the rooms of an art museum: “Nature and Impressionism,” and “Conversations Across Time,” for example. Stepanova gave the album this structure because on it, she explores the relationship between visual art and music. In this interview, she talks specifically about two pieces from Tones & Colors—one by George Crumb, and one by György Ligeti—and the artwork that inspired them.

Music in this interview, from the album Tones & Colors (used with permission): “Adoration of the Magi” (from A Little Suite for Christmas, A.D.1979) by George Crumb and Infinite Column by György Ligeti.