Michael Stephen BROWN: TWELVE BLOCKS
Michael Stephen BROWN: TWELVE BLOCKS - Image 2

Michael Stephen BROWN: TWELVE BLOCKS

£12.00 + P&P

Michael Stephen Brown’s debut album as a composer of all-original works, has it all: tributes, emotional detours, and even a breakup etude he probably should’ve kept under lock and key. You’ll find lost loves, lifelong mentors, children who never grew up, an arrogant violist – because what’s an album without one? – and a legendary pianist couple who walk twelve blocks daily reciting poetry to each other. Performers include Jerome Lowenthal, Ursula Oppens, Anne-Marie McDermott, Osmo Vänskä, Erin Keefe, Susanna Phillips, Paul Neubauer, and Brown himself.

Released 13 February 2026
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Description

Released on a DigiSleeve CD and on all digital platforms: 13 February 2026

Michael Stephen BROWN (b. 1987)

Four Lakes for Children (2024)
1. I. Lake Alan
2. II. Lake Spencer
3. III. Lake Christina
4. IV. Lake Katrina
Michael Stephen Brown piano

Pas de trois (2025)
5. I. Piano
6. II. The Violist
7. III. Soprano
SPA Trio:
Susanna Phillips soprano
Paul Neubauer viola
Anne-Marie McDermott piano

Relationship (2018)
8. I. The Meeting
9. II. Connection
10. III. The Argument(s)
11. IV. Ballad
12. V. Finale: Hora
Osmo Vänskä clarinet
Erin Keefe violin

13. Twelve Blocks for Piano (Four Hands) and Poetry (2021)
Jerome Lowenthal, Ursula Oppens piano, narration

Love’s Lives Lost (2023)
14. I. Introduction
15. II. Meeting
16. III. Parody of Chamisso
17. IV. In-lookers
18. V. Onlookers
19. VI. Chanson Triste
20. VII. Kalamazoo!
21. VIII. Finale: Split Mirror
Susanna Phillips soprano
Michael Stephen Brown piano

22. Breakup Etude for the Right Hand Alone (2020)

23. Pour Angeline (2024)
Michael Stephen Brown piano

Relationship recorded at Reservoir Studios, New York City, USA, 2 December 2023
produced and engineered by Silas Brown

Pour Angeline recorded at Shirley Perle Music Room, Gardiner, New York, USA, 1 May 2025,
Breakup Etude for the Right Hand Alone, recorded at Shirley Perle Music Room, Gardiner, New York, USA, 31 July, 2025
produced and engineered by Michael Stephen Brown

All other works recorded at Oktaven Audio, Mount Vernon, New York, USA, 23 April 2025
produced and engineered by Ryan Streber

All tracks mastered by Ryan Streber

Album cover art by Amy Kurzweil

Press Quotes

‘Michael Stephen Brown‘s Twelve Blocks is like a book of short stories in musical form.  The album collects a wealth of artists, timbres and stories, forming a tapestry of experiences, dipped in love and perfect for Valentine’s Day (First Hand, February 13)’ (acloserlisten.com)

‘Twelve Blocks succeeds on almost every count and presents a most compelling case for Brown as composer as well as pianist…Among other things, the fecundity of imagination the works collectively display makes the album earn its recommendation.’ (Textura)

‘Michael Stephen Brown has assembled a stellar group of musicians, you feel their presence on this recording and through this poignant music, Brown’s compositional range of pulses energy, innovation and heart.’ (Culture Vulture)

‘Michael Stephen Brown’s first album devoted to his own works offers a series of engaging, occasionally moving encounters, memories and emotional states written since 2018’ (Gramophone)