July 11, 2025

Pacific Triptych

Release Date: July 11, 2025. Record Label: Sono Luminus Available internationally in both physical and digital formats © 2025

Peter Scott LEWIS – Pacific Triptych  

 

 Pacific Triptych (21:25)

1.   Following the Sunrise 8:16

2.   Travelling Music 6:17

3.   Toccata 6:52

 

Seven Nuggets (20:53)

1.   Fire Opal 2:49

2.   Carved Jade 2:28

3.   Gleaming Chrysocolla 2:41

4.   Rough Diamond 3:05

5.   Raw Sapphire 3:16

6.   Emerald, Uncut 2:58

7.   Lapis, with Gold Crystals 3:36

 

An American Travelogue, Book 1 (14:00)

1.   Chief Seattle Walks the Pike Place Market 6:14

2.   Dancing in New Orleans 2:11

3.   Austin Sun 2:44

4.   Beyond the Golden Gate 2:51

 

TT: 56:21

 

Peter Scott Lewis, composer

Blair McMillen, piano

Publisher: Lapis Island Press (Subito Music Distribution)

Producers: Sono Luminus and Peter Scott Lewis

Recorded at Oktaven Audio, Mount Vernon, NY - May 19-20, 2024

Ryan Streber, recording engineer

Daniel Shores, mastering engineer

Brigitte Sims, piano technician

Josh Frey and Collin Rae, cover art

Photo of PSL: Thomas Heinser © 2023

Instrument: 1987 Hamburg Steinway D 9' concert grand. Rebuilt by Klavierhaus and Arlan Harris in 2009.

 © 2025

Pacific Triptych for piano was completed in August of 2019. It is based on an earlier unperformed version for full orchestra completed in 2006. So, the piano version recorded here acts as a premiere. As implied by the title, it’s a three-movement score based on contrasting sections that reflect the majesty of the Pacific Coast, especially the drama of the ocean and the endless sky above.

Seven Nuggets was completed on April 25, 2023. It was inspired by a group of uncut, yet brilliant gemstones. Each “nugget” or movement ends with a low bass note. Those same notes are then played in sequence - at mid-range - at the end of the seventh nugget before being resolved into a sixth chord in the final nine bars.

An American Travelogue (Book 1) was completed on May 3, 2023. This four-movement piano suite was inspired by various American locations in the western, southwestern, and Gulf Coast of the United States. (Book 2 continues this exploration in locations in the rest of the country.) PSL

QUOTES & REVIEWS

“Pianist Blair McMillen has championed Lewis' music in the past, and his readings of the music, with fine sound from Oktaven Audio outside New York, may be taken as definitive. A fresh new take on one of the oldest American themes.” - James Manheim, AllMusic

“… astonishing technique and sonic imagination. A recording that not only illustrates Lewis's world of natural sound, but also brings it to life in a suggestive way.” - RONDO

exceptional piano playing is full of emotion, grace and unparalleled skill. … Lewis’ vision in the area of modern classical music is worldly embraced, and McMillen’s execution is top notch and a must for ears that gravitate towards the solo piano experience.” - Take Effect

“As a nearly hour-long document of Lewis's writing style and McMillen's pianistic artistry, Pacific Triptych succeeds handsomely on its self-delineated terms. Impressions of both artists are enhanced when the performances resonate with the greatest possible clarity, that detail attributable to both Lewis's production of the recording and Oktaven Audio's renowned acoustics.” - Ron Schepper, Textura

Gems for the Piano - American composerPeter Scott Lewis (b. 1953) wrote a cycle of piano works around a set of beautiful gemstones. From clear to all the colours of the rainbow, his SevenNuggets takes us to a new world of piano miniatures that glisten with an inner light.

https://interlude.hk/gems-for-the-piano-peter-scott-lewis-seven-nuggets/

- Maureen Buja, Interlude, August 30th, 2025 

“This is a great, focused musical program. Lewis’s music is tight and concise, with active, forward-driving rhythms to the front; it is not spacey trance music. Pianist Blair McMillen performs with strength and conviction on a Hamburg Steinway D, from 1987, at Oktaven Audio inMount Vernon, New York.”  Sasha Matson: Stereophile Magazine January 2026

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