Gold Rings Of The Wounded Stone by Gabor Varga is the 7th DSD album release from Hunnia Records available from NativeDSD Music.  It was recorded Live to Stereo DSD 256 at SuperSize Studios in Hungary on July 10, 2021 and is exclusively available at NativeDSD in Pure DSD. It has since been transferred to Analog Vinyl.

The album features 27 tracks from this popular Jazz pianist. Varga plays the Gergely Boganyi B-292 Grand Piano that some refer to as the “Bat Piano” for its unique style. The piano’s designer says “The Grand Prestige B-292 is a full-sized concert grand piano. Our new flagship model introduces a whole new dimension of smooth powerful sound entwined with astonishing appearance.” 

Gabor Varga tells us “Gold Rings Of The Wounded Stone is an entirely improvised solo album. Every single track is an impression of the given moment. It does not contain any composed pieces. Of course, this latter statement is hard to believe for some, as some of the pieces have a strikingly well-developed structure. I do not know if it sounds disillusioning or comforting when I tell you that I could never manage to play the same music again.

The order of the tracks is the same as the order in which we recorded them. Whether I succeeded in understanding or feeling the message of time, I do not know, but the first piece we recorded is also the opening track of the album, and it is titled Song for My Mother—and that answers many questions. When I hit these notes on the piano, it had been only 2 months after my mother passed away. I felt after only a few moments that time and the totality of the fates living in me found a way of expression through my hearing and my hands, pouring meaning and feeling into the next hour and a half. I fell into a spherical state, and I only left the studio for a few minutes one time during the whole recording.

The length of the album is the same as the time spent recording it. What was it? Improvisation? Composition? Or a mixture of the two? I do not know. But one thing is certain. What you are listening to now, is me. Perhaps that is what Kodály was talking about. I do not know that either.

I am only sure of one thing—that what I wanted to say, you are listening to now. And if your heart and ears are at the right place, you will understand what time, hope, sadness, joy, Hungary, Budapest and so many more things mean to me. And wherever in the world you listen to this music, you can experience the most fantastic thing about music—that it does not matter where we were born and what fate we carry, our ears and hearts hear and feel the same. Thank you for your attention!”

Gábor Varga – Piano