Get ready to be enchanted by the audio magic of Ashot Danielyan, a Russian virtuoso with the keys to the confessional booth for his wildest fantasies played on the instrument, rather than on the piano itself. When his talents are devoted to the sweeping formality of the Classical period, to the otherworldly vastness of Ambient and Experimental music, it’s obvious that. well, you get the idea. His latest release, the ten-track odyssey “Spontaneous Piano Journeys”, made its grand debut this past February 4th as a masterclass in musical spontaneity that explores the blurred line between well-crafted and beautiful art and unchecked emotion. If you are ready to shun the dull of everyday life for the harmony of the melodic, then allow me to take you through the intricate world of an album that explores the idea that the best journeys are those unmapped.

The album begins with “Warm Water”, its soft, pedal-heavy resonance opening like the gentle lapping of a tide. The melody is sparse, using a high-register cantabile style that feels fragile and purposeful. When the harmony shifts into another beautiful melody within itself, there is a distinct sense of thermal expansion: the music swells in volume and complexity, moving from simple intervals into lush, rolling arpeggios. For the listener, it acts as a kind of baptismal entry point, washing away the noise of the outside world and planting the spirit in a state of fluid tranquility. This song tells you exactly what to expect in the album.

“9am” to me conveys the precise, delicate clarity of the early morning. It begins with a pulse of rhythmic flow in the mid-range, unhurried and unbroken, like the ticking of a clock or the beating of a heart. The music here is characterized by an elongated legato, as each note fades directly into the next, evoking a kind of shimmering haze. It’s like watching the development of sunlight in a room, not a sharp, explosive entrance, but a kind of awakening to it. A mood of quiet industry and optimism is created. It feels exactly like the title suggests, a crisp 9am

The tone in “Almost Nobody wants to be a god here” takes a shift to something more philosophical and heavy. The song starts off at a low octave, and the tempo is brooding and grave. There’s an underlying sense of conflict within the dissonance of the chords, which creates a sense of struggle faced when dealing with egos and responsibilities. The song takes a turn to descending scales, which represents a form of surrender to humanity. It’s an emotionally exhausting experience, but in a way, listening to it is an obligation to face one’s own limitations. I tried to look at what the song conveys based on the title and this song was the perfect match

“Morning in C major” is the next song on the album. This song serves as a necessary tonal contrast, returning to the light. Starting with a bright, diatonic motif, as this piece eschews the minor-key brooding of those Alpine peaks for something at once more carefree. It employs staccato accents that give the melody a playing, almost childlike curiosity. The effect on the listener is an immediate lightness of spirit; it is as if one breathed in fresh air after a long spell of confinement. The simplicity of C major here is used not as a lack of depth but as a sort of pinnacle of purity. I appreciate the dedication to this key and I wouldn’t want it to be anything different!

With “Cold Winter”, the mood abruptly shifts and becomes more atmospheric. The sharp, crystalline opening notes in the very top of the piano seem to crackle like frost against glass. Danielyan immediately employs the whole dynamic range, from ghostly pianissimos to thunderous chords that echo the violence of a blizzard. The musicality is stark and minimalist, with huge swaths of silence opening up like the vast expanses of isolation in a frozen landscape. Many listeners commonly note the physical sensation of feeling chills, as the music brings the bite of the wind into sound, cementing this song as a cold winter indeed

“In D minor” has a very classical sense of sorrow with a highly structured and almost Baroque feel. There is a repetitive bass part here, basically a “basso ostinato”, as they call it in the classical world . This key is the foundation on which to construct a lamenting melody. According to research, D minor is arguably the most sorrowful of all minor keys, and its full potential is exploited to the letter here. Just like C major got its time to shine, D minor too gets the chance to show off, despite of the sorrow it sounds like. There follows a frenzied crescendo of passion as emotions are released, and there is a feeling of being relieved, as though what was unknown and unspoken has been stated by the music.

The next song “Before the moon”, is a master class in nocturnal atmosphere. It starts off with a series of rising, ethereal arpeggios that seem to float without a clear tonal center, just like the hazy transition from dusk into night. The touch is incredibly light, almost as if the hammers are barely striking the strings. The impact is hypnotic; he lulls him into a meditative trance of the world’s stillness right before the moon rises to claim the sky. Like I said, the song doesn’t have lyrics but, it finds a way to be truthful to the title

There is something in the music of “Classical  man” that, to me, is an homage to the masters of the 19th century. There is a formal, structured theme, the use of traditional sonata-type movements, etc. There is a musically ordered, symmetrical, and balanced feel to the music of the classical man, yet there is a “ache” of the modern in the modulations. There is the feeling of a bridge from the old world to the new, a statement of the modern man who has an ancient heart. The music gives the listener a sense of tradition and the timelessness of the piano and it doesn’t help that this piece is absolutely breathtaking

The ‘Story in C Sharp’ may be the most narrative-oriented track in the entire album. This track opens with a slow and inquisitive tune like the opening line of a book. This track builds up its harmonic complexity with the progression of the tune, reaching different “chapters” of the story. The implementation of the key of C-sharp minor by Danielyan makes this track look like Russian romantic literature, as it requires the full attention of the listener. This track opens up its wordless epic like a personal and autobiographical story and he emotes seamlessly with us listeners

The album ends with the reflective “Old habits die hard”, which again returns to the ideas of the opening numbers, but in a tired way. It begins by having a melody that seems to constantly return to the same few notes, again referencing the “habits” in the title. The musicality is both circular and repetitive, like the inevitability of an answer, yet the final chords resolve to a warm open voicing, which, like the album, says that while old habits may not die easily, peace is always attainable. The listener is left in a peaceful frame of mind, which is the perfect attendance to the end of the “journey.”

It is a rare feat indeed when an artist can step into a studio with nothing but a blank slate and come out the other side with something that sounds like a laboriously polished masterpiece. Ashot Danielyan’s latest collection, forged in a creative fever dream between December 2025 and February 2026, defies the typical “off-the-cuff” nature of improvisation. The ten solo pieces here entirely took birth in the moment, yet are characterized by such structural integrity and emotional depth that it often takes months of refinement to achieve. It is a testament to his stature as a freestyle master that he can spin tales like this from the stuff of legend. Being entirely blown away by the intuitive prowess exhibited within this track, I await anxiously what new sonic territory he will choose to conquer next.

Stream the “Spontaneous Piano Journeys” album on Bandcamp

 

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