Scot LaGraff is a Professor of Voice at Stephen F. Austin State University. He is a graduate of the Tri-Cities Opera Resident Artist Training Program in Binghamton, New York, where he sang title roles in Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro. He is an advocate of contemporary American song, and his first album- Songs by Stephen Lias, Michael Patterson and Lee Hoiby- was released by Centaur in 2009. Incline Thine Ear and Other Sacred Songs is his second album. A number of composers are featured on this album, including Carl F. Mueller, Oley Speaks, Albert Hay Malotte, and more. LaGraff is joined by pianist Andrew Hudson, and his wife Kimberly performs alongside him on the Hal Hopson arrangement of the traditional English melody, “The Gift of Love.”

This is a first-rate program of works for clarinet and strings. Tasha Warren brings these works to life, aided by a superb group of instrumentalists. Tasha Warren, assistant professor of chamber music at the Michigan State University College of Music, is an avid teacher and international performer. She has premiered numerous solo clarinet and chamber works working closely with composers and conductors including Shulamit Ran, Augusta Read Thomas, Cliff Colnot, and Oliver Knussen. She has recorded with Innova, Alba, and SCI Records, the I.U. New Music Ensemble, Hal Leonard Productions, CBC Radio, and PBC Korea Television. Crystal Records released her album, The Naked Clarinet, in December 2009, which garnered praise in reviews from International Record Review, Fanfare Magazine, The Clarinet Magazine and others.

Tomas Cotik, violin and Tao Lin, piano, continue their series of recordings for Centaur with this new release. Their Schubert recordings have been released to great acclaim. Here they brilliantly perform the complete Mozart Sonatas for Violin and Piano. Hailed by Michael Tilson Thomas as “an excellent violinist,” Tomas Cotik is internationally recognized as a soloist, chamber musician, and professor. A much sought-after recording artist, Dr. Cotik is currently involved in more than fourteen album recordings for Naxos and Centaur records, which have received over a hundred reviews and the highest praises from some of the best-known publications. Committed to passing on his passion for music, Dr. Cotik taught at the University of Miami, Florida International University, and West Texas A&M University. He was appointed assistant professor of Violin at Portland State University in 2016. Described by critics as possessing “Keen musical intelligence and excellent facility” (Miami Herald) as well as “opulent and romantic tone” (Fanfare), Chinese-American concert pianist and Steinway artist Tao Lin has performed in Asia, North America, and Europe. A versatile musician, he is equally at home as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician.

The Kentucky Baroque Trumpets formed in 2004 after Don Johnson was inspired at the Historic Brass Society Festival. The band performs a wide-ranging repertoire on both baroque and modern trumpets, keeping it's music accessible to a variety of audiences. This release captures the essence of great music before 1700, including composers such as Jean Baptiste Lully and Giovanni Battista Ferrini.

Du bon du cueur is a courtly chanson of the early 16th Century. The poem hearkens back to 15th Century life, but the melody that resonates throughout this recording was first set by Jean Mouton, a contemporary of Josquin DePrez and court composer to the French Kings. Capella Alamire was formed in 1984 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for the purpose of exploring the repertoire of the Renaissance. The word Alamire is a solmization term for the pitch A, sung as la, mi, or re; it was also the pseudonym of a Flemish music scribe employed by the Habsburg court at the beginning of the 16th century in the region of present-day Belgium and northern France, an area that produced many of the greatest composers and singers of the time.

Classical Music

Diana Jaworska brings us Frederic Chopin's 24 Preludes on this new release. Now living in France, Jaworska was born in Poland in 1968 and has worked her way into the Classical music world with her eloquent musicality.

Pianist Karine Poghosyan fell in love with Rachmaninoff's Six Moments Musicaux, Op. 16 as a little girl in Yerevan, Armenia. She has since loved and made a specialty of Russian works for piano. She has the perfect pianistic sensibility for these works, playing with great passion and sweep. Described as 'extraordinary,' 'larger than life,' 'the powerhouse pianist'... Award-winning Armenian-American pianist, Karin� Poghosyan, has been praised on the world stage for her "ability to get to the heart of the works she performs." Since her orchestral debut at the age of fourteen, Karin� has been enchanting concert audiences around the globe, with her masterful artistry and exceptional performances that leave them forever transformed.

Classical Music

My Soul’s Repose is a collection of choral works from the twentieth century (except for the Faure) sung beautifully by the Orpheus Chamber Singers. Featured composers include Stephen Paulus, Rene Clausen, Franz Biehl, Eric Whitacre, and more. The Orpheus Chamber Singers is a professional chamber choir of 25 mixed voices in Dallas, Texas. Artistic Director Donald Krehbiel’s reputation for producing stellar performances of a wide variety of choral repertoire is unmatched in North Texas. Orpheus Chamber Singers has offered exceptional choral music experience to audiences for sixteen years, performing repertoire from across the centuries and around the world. As a pillar of the Dallas arts community, Orpheus is committed to the success of Dallas’ expanded Arts District and also brings performances to Plano, Richardson, Allen and beyond.

Classical Music

Classical Music

This release features three exciting chamber works by female composers, written during the first three decades of the twentieth century. This project was initiated by pianist Joanna Goldstein. Joanna Goldstein (piano, University Orchestra director) is Professor of Music at Indiana University Southeast. She was also formerly the Dean of the School of Arts & Letters until 2001. In addition to her piano studio, she directs the Indiana University Southeast Orchestra. Joanna earned her Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude at Temple University, her Masters of Music at The Juilliard School and a Ph. D. from New York University. She also studied at the Academy for Music and the Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria as a Fulbright-Hays Scholar and has received numerous honors including winning the Philadelphia Orchestra Young Artist Competition on two occasions, the National Arts Club Competition and the Mason-Hamlin Competition. She is joined here by Steven Moeckel, Nicholas Finch, and Bruce Heim.

This new release is the eleventh volume in Centaur's Steven Staryk Retrospective collection. Steven Staryk is one of the greatest violinists that has ever lived. Here he presents a masterful program of caprices, etudes, and studies by composers such as Paganini, Wieniawski, Schubert, Locatelli, and more. This is an amazing guide to the playing and interpretation of the great solo violin literature. "The first recording of it's kind ever to appear," (1963). "Still the only existing recording of it's kind." (2014). This is truly an album that can't be missed, whether the listener is a violin virtuoso, a violin amateur, or a violin appreciator.

Two great romantic piano concertos are performedon this new release- one by Brahms, and one by Rubenstein. The works beautifully complement one another, and are brought to life by pianist David Glen Hatch. Internationally concert and recording artist and master teacher of piano, David Glen Hatch enjoys a distinguished career as a soloist and guest artist with symphony orchestras on six continents. Dr. Hatch completed the BMU degree from Brigham Young University where he received the Outstanding Pianist Award and the MM and DMA degrees summa cum laude at the Conservatory of Music, University of Missouri-Kansas City where he received the Outstanding Graduate Pianist Award. He has recorded a wide variety of repertoire on thirty compact discs for several labels. In addition to being an award winner in numerous state, regional, national, and international competitions including the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, Dr. Hatch is a frequent competition juror and clinician.

In the 3rd volume of the overview of Viktor Stepanovych Kosenko's (1896-1938) piano music, Natalya Shkoda continues in her mission to unveil the music of this Ukrainian pianist and composer with Eleven Etudes for Piano, Op. 8 and Twenty-Four Children's Pieces, both receiving their premiere recordings. Gramaphone magazine has said of this series: "Bravo to Shkoda for putting her accomplished playing at the service of this music".

Stephen Beus made his professional debut after wining the Julliard School Concerto Competition playing Prokofiev Concerto No. 3. He has performed with ensembles such as the Gulbenkian Symphony, Oxford Philomusica, the Tivoli Symphony, the Northwest Sinfonietta and many others. This release showcases some of Beus's favorite pieces and is his third recording with Centaur records.

Kermit Poling writes music that is beautifully crafted, and immediately accessible. It is full of beautiful, melodic lines. The Guitar concerto, written for Guitarist Giovanni De Chiaro, who performs it here, is one of the greatest guitar concertos of the past 50 years. Named by Forum Magazine as one of the top ten faces to watch, Kermit Poling is celebrating his 22nd season as Music Director of the South Arkansas Symphony and his 27th season as Music Director of the Shreveport Metropolitan Ballet. He is in his 31st year as Associate Conductor of the Shreveport Symphony, an orchestra where he also was Concertmaster for over 27 years. He has produced the Shreveport Symphony’s broadcast series since 1987, having also produced radio programming for WBUR Boston and other public radio stations. He serves as General Manager of the Red River Radio public radio network at LSUS having been appointed to the position in 2006. In 2015 he became music director of the Marshall Symphony Orchestra in Texas. “The Romantic spirit lives, breathes, and flourishes in Kermit Poling.” (Fanfare Magazine)

Includes work(s) by Ralph Shapey. Soloists: Miranda Cuckson, Blair McMillen.

TNT DEGREES OF SEPARATION GRA

BACHIANAS BRASILEIRAS NO. 4: P

"An immensely gifted musician…who combines the technical mastery of a virtuoso with the musical sensitivity of a poet."

- The New York Times, (Review of David Northington's debut recital at Carnegie Recital Hall.)

This new release features two undeservedly underperformed string quartets by the Russian master Sergey Taneyev, beautifully performed by the California String Quartet. The California String Quartet is Benjamin Lash, Katia Popov, Luanne Homzy, and Zach Dellinger. Based in California, the group has performed throughout the United States, and has recorded several albums to critical acclaim. “Our soloist, Katia Popov, was fabulous, and I don’t just mean the dress. The LBSO’s principal second violin has a beautiful sound that is bigger than some of the international soloists we’ve heard over the years, as well as technique to burn. She delivered a magnificent performance, using her magic fingers to surmount myriad hurdles with jaw-dropping ease.” (Gazzette Publications, Long Beach Grunion) “Popov’s musical voice was powerful, rich and full of life, her technique flawless and the collaboration… delicately exact.” (Press Telegram)

• Elliott Carter wrote some of the most challenging and probing works of the latter half of the 20th and first years of the 21st century. Violinist Caroline Chin and cellist Brian Snow excel in this literature.

RUBINSTEIN Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 94. Caprice russe, Op. 102. Der Thurm zu Babel, Op. 80: Overture • Grigorios Zamparas (pn); Jon Ceander Mitchell, cond; Bohuslav Martin? PO • CENTAUR 3204 (74:55)


The fifth and last of Anton Rubinstein’s piano concertos was composed in 1874. Dedicated to the French pianist and composer Charles-Valentin Alkan (misspelled “Arkan” in Centaur’s notes), it is by far the longest of Rubinstein’s works in this genre, comparable in duration if not stature to the concertos of Brahms. The first movement alone lasts over 22 minutes in this performance, with a total timing of 50 minutes. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that Rubinstein chose the same key for this work, E?-Major, as did Beethoven for his “Emperor” Concerto. That lengthy first movement is a grand, expansive, often rhapsodic statement, although as is usual with Rubinstein, there is too much repetition. The slow movement strikes me as rather perfunctory, but the brilliant, exuberant finale, at 17 minutes nearly as long as the first movement, offers considerable pleasure. The performance by Grigorios Zamparas is straightforward, crisp, fluent, and technically proficient. He does not quite match the brilliance, forcefulness, and spontaneity that pianists such as Joseph Banowetz and Marc-André Hamelin have brought to other Rubinstein concertos, although he does contribute some pretty impressive rapid passagework. Hamelin, however, has not recorded this concerto, and the Banowetz reading, on Marco Polo, is currently available only as an MP3 download. I have not heard it, but the Marco Polo catalog is gradually being transferred to Naxos, so Banowetz may eventually be available again on CD. On the other hand, the Centaur recording, although a bit dry and unreverberant, is better focused and balanced and more realistic than the Marco Polo series, and the piano sound is solid and well defined. Peaks have plenty of impact and are free from strain or harshness. No other recordings of this concerto are currently available.


The Caprice russe , an appealing 20-minute fantasy for piano and orchestra on three folk or folk-like themes, was written in 1878. Zamparas once again offers a straightforward and proficient performance, perhaps lacking a degree of the flamboyance that Rubinstein’s music seems to demand. The only other recording of this piece in the catalog is that of Banowetz, also coupled with his performance of the Fifth Concerto and therefore available only as an MP3. Rubinstein’s “sacred opera” Der Thurm zu Babel (The Tower of Babel), one of several he wrote on biblical themes and to German librettos, dates from 1869. Its brief overture is deliberate and brooding but uneventful. No other recordings of the overture and none of the opera itself are available.


Under Jon Ceander Mitchell, the Bohuslav Martin? Philharmonic shows itself to be a capable and proficient ensemble, although lacking the tonal opulence of some more famous orchestras. The violins, at least as recorded here, can sometimes seem thin and steely, but the winds are reliable, more so than in the Slovak orchestra used in the Banowetz recordings of the first four concertos. (A different Slovak orchestra performs in the Fifth Concerto.)


In the absence of any current competition on CD, I can recommend these accomplished and well-recorded performances to anyone interested in Rubinstein’s music.


FANFARE: Daniel Morrison