KALEIDOSCOPE • Raymond Burley, Gregg Nestor (gtr) • CAMBRIA CD-1193 (71:30)


RÓZSA Kaleidoscope. POULENC Sonata. DEBUSSY Children’s Corner Suite. BEAULIEU Celestial Suite: Dawn; Nocturne (To The Clouds). DEÁK Introspections. TURINA Danzas fantásticas


Raymond Burley and Gregg Nestor have worked together before—there’s an interesting-looking BSX Records CD, for example, featuring both of them, and other musicians to boot, playing music by Miklós Rózsa—but this appears to be their first CD “alone together,” as it were. The arrangements are by Nestor, except for the work by Michael Deák, which was composed for two guitars. In the case of the two movements from the Celestial Suite by Toni Beaulieu (née Leone de Paolis), the booklet note doesn’t indicate if this is an arrangement or an original work for two guitars. For the record, Rósza’s, Debussy’s, and Turina’s works were composed for the piano—the orchestral version of Danzas fantásticas came later—and Poulenc’s Sonata is the one for horn, trumpet, and trombone. The latter is a work that has completely escaped me until now!


There’s a tendency to assume that recitals of this type (or oboe discs, or trumpet discs, or what have you) are of interest primarily to listeners who also play those instruments. Balderdash, I say. I don’t play the guitar at all, but I enjoy guitar recitals, and I like it even better when more than one guitar is playing. As for arrangements, they don’t bother me as long as they are done well. These are. Julian Bream and John Williams recorded an enjoyable version of Debussy’s “Golliwog’s Cakewalk” on their Together Again CD, and there are versions of the entire Children’s Corner Suite for three guitars played by the Pro Arte Guitar Trio and the Trio de Cologne. It is, I think, rather beside the point to play “Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum” on anything but a piano; nevertheless, Burley and Nestor make it, and the rest of the suite, work well on two guitars, although I think some of their tempos are too relaxed.


One could argue that some of the lesser-known repertoire on this disc is not terribly striking, and that the performances perhaps are mellower, overall, than they could be. (The Turina is more of a warm afternoon than a steamy night.) This, then, is a CD that is probably best enjoyed late in the day when one is looking more to be relaxed and entertained than to be pointedly critical or analytical. The guitarists play mellifluously and with both taste and style, and there is nothing here that will offend anyone’s ears or scruples. In other words, this is a lovely Kaleidoscope , so sit back and enjoy the pretty colors.


FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle

Violin Concert: Kaufman, Louis - MARTINU, B. / KHACHATURIAN,

Cambria Master Recordings is pleased to announce Radiance In Motion – the title of a new album by Deon Nielsen Price. The album takes its name from David C. Roy’s kaleidoscopic kinetic wooden wall sculpture, Radiance, whose image is featured in the album artwork. Following a devastating fire that destroyed the original manuscripts, several of the works on this recording are renditions from copies that fortunately surfaced in private libraries throughout the United States and Europe. Like that piece of mechanical art, the music propels us to experience splendorous musical sounds with varied colors and timbre. The musical works invite our thoughts and feelings to past, present and future events. Earlier Cambria albums featuring music by Deon Nielsen Price include Oneness, (Violin Concerto for Oneness and Angel Trio); New Friends, Old Friends, (folk ballet: Toads and Diamonds); Dancing on the Brink of the World (orchestral, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine); Clariphonia: Music of the 20th Century on Clarinet; SunRays II (chamber music); and SunRays (To the Children of War, poetry by Maya Angelou).

Albright, W.: Abiding Passions / Etler, A.: Woodwind Quintet

Lucille Field and Harriet Wingreen lend their thoughtful musicianship to this eclectic compilation of 20th-century songs by American women composers. Field has long been a champion of this music, and the breadth and depth of this recording will no doubt further her cause. Among the many fine songs found here, Ruth Crawford Seeger's 'Five Songs' stands out for the precision and sensitivity with which she sets the Carl Sandburg texts.
Most refreshing is the inclusion of the songs of Florence B. Price. Her compositional style, which is the most Romantic of the composers represented here, ideally suits the dreamy sentimentality of such poems as Mary Folwell Hoisington's "Travel's End" and Louise C. Wallace's "Night."

Cambria is pleased to present Realms of Gold – The Recorded Legacy of American Concert Pianist William Corbett-Jones in honor of his 93rd birthday. Spanning nearly five decades, the recordings are taken from never-before released live concert performances by Corbett-Jones. He is assisted in several performances by violinists Jassen Todorv, Jacob Krachmalnick, Hansheinz Schneeberger and Camilla Wicks; cellist Claude Starck and Robert Sayre; flutist Peter Lukas Graf; pianist Sylvia Jenkins; and the San Francisco State University Orchestra.

Corbett-Jones has the rare distinction among pianists of being a recitalist, a soloist with numerous orchestras, and a consummate chamber musician and concert artist for the last seven decades. A world traveler, he has performed, taught, and visited in some sixty countries in Europe, Asia, the Mideast, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, He has performed with legendary 20th -century concert artists Joseph Szigeti, Mischa Elman, Tossy Spivakovsky, Henri Temianka, Camilla Wicks, and for many years with The Alma Trio. Corbett-Jones was also a member of The California Trio, The Crown Chamber Players, and Villa Sinfonia. Equally comfortable with great concert works for solo piano including Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Haydn, Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Schumann, Ravel, Busoni, and Bartók, Corbett-Jones also mastered the standard repertoire for violin, viola, trios, quartets, and quintets.

Throughout his career, Corbett-Jones has been an advocate for contemporary music performing many world premieres including works by Roger Nixon, Kirke Mechem, Phelps Dean Whitter, and John Sharpley. Born in the Philippines in 1929, he lived on several military bases as a child, and came of age in the San Francisco-Bay Area to experience the Bohemian life among the starving artists of the North Beach Beat generation.

Paul Badura- Skoda plays the Chopin Piano Concertos (1954)

Cambria Master Recordings is pleased to announce Festive River featuring the music of Joan Huang. Through her compositions, Ms. Huang chronicles her personal journey adapting musical idioms and ideas from both Eastern and Western cultures. Huang grew up and received her early music education with her parents in Shanghai, China. Unfortunately, during her teenage years, she was subjected to the miserable experiences of the disastrous Culture Revolution of Mao-Tse Tung. Under intense political pressure, she was sent to a state farm for “re-education” including daily heavy manual labor for three years. During the time on the farm, she had the opportunity to learn authentic Chinese traditional music from the local farmers. In1986, she emigrated to the United States to continue her education at UCLA and studied with Elaine Barkin, William Kraft and Roger Bourland. She also became interested in creating a style of fusion between Chinese traditional musical language and Western contemporary compositional techniques. Ms. Huang has received several awards including two from Phi Beta Kappa for international students, the Tanglewood Music Festival Fellowship and two Aspen Music Festival Scholarships. She has received commissions from the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Pittsburg New Music ensemble. This release includes her compositions Along the River During the Qingming Festival, Orphan San Mao, and Bird Twitters from Altadena -- all performed by the New England Conservatory Percussion Ensemble.

CHAVEZ, C.: Chamber Music (Complete), Vol. 4 (Southwest Cham

This album received the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Small Ensemble Performance (with or without Conductor).

This album received the 2005 Grammy Award for "Best Small Ensemble Performance (with or without Conductor)."