Composing for voice is a passion for me, and as a result the largest part of my catalogue is music for voice. The human voice - possibly the most subtle, complex, and fragile yet forceful carrier of musical ideas and meanings - has always been an inspiration for my musical thinking. I strive for craft, clarity, and passion. The carefully sculpted music and poems of Far Past War develop a labyrinth of musical interrelationships and connections that showcase the choir and musicians in a virtuosic display of their emotional palette, strength, clarity, and majesty. The opportunity to collaborate with my sister, Cammy Thomas, has been a highlight of my life. Music's eternal quality is it's capacity for transformation and renewal. Together, we have created a work that celebrates the unsurpassed power of nature, and it's potential to move us toward peace.

The music of Samuel Adler – born in Mannheim in 1928 but long since one of the leading figures of American music – has its roots in the Neo-Classical clarity of composers like Copland and Hindemith, who were among his teachers. The works on this album arose from a range of impulses: a Neo-Baroque concerto grosso and a tribute to Bach encase a series of tributes to lost individuals and traditions; and two jeux d’esprit – Ives’ tongue-in-cheek Variations on America and Holst’s ‘Jupiter’ from The Planets – both bring jollity in Adler’s idiomatic arrangements for string orchestra.

REVIEW:

Adler’s arrangements not only provide string orchestras the opportunity to perform these works, they offer considerable excitement and impact in their own right. The performances by the New York Classical Players and conductor Dongmin Kim are excellent throughout. The playing is incisive, tonally rich, and phrased with great care. The featured soloists are first-rate as well. Jürgen Thym’s excellent liner notes, including commentary from the composer, are brimming with information offered with erudition, clarity, and enthusiasm. Samuel Adler: Music for Chamber Orchestra is a marvelous tribute to an American musical treasure who has long distinguished himself as a composer, teacher, and writer. Recommended.

-- Fanfare

George Lloyd approached the piano concerto form with imagination and individuality. His idiomatic solo writing avoids shallow virtuosity and empty rhetoric and there are no mighty tussles between piano and orchestral forces encountered in archetypal large scale concertante scores. Instead, the composer offers a series of deeply personal attempts to reconcile time-honoured elements of display with symphonic preoccupations of long-range tonality, rhythmic energy and melodic growth. In sum, Lloyd's four piano concertos constitute a compelling and distinctive branch of his creative legacy. Paul Conway

George Lloyd approached the piano concerto form with imagination and individuality. His idiomatic solo writing avoids shallow virtuosity and empty rhetoric and there are no mighty tussles between piano and orchestral forces encountered in archetypal large scale concertante scores. Instead, the composer offers a series of deeply personal attempts to reconcile time-honoured elements of display with symphonic preoccupations of long-range tonality, rhythmic energy and melodic growth. In sum, Lloyd's four piano concertos constitute a compelling and distinctive branch of his creative legacy. Paul Conway

George Lloyd approached the piano concerto form with imagination and individuality. His idiomatic solo writing avoids shallow virtuosity and empty rhetoric and there are no mighty tussles between piano and orchestral forces encountered in archetypal large scale concertante scores. Instead, the composer offers a series of deeply personal attempts to reconcile time-honoured elements of display with symphonic preoccupations of long-range tonality, rhythmic energy and melodic growth. In sum, Lloyd's four piano concertos constitute a compelling and distinctive branch of his creative legacy. Paul Conway

George Lloyd approached the piano concerto form with imagination and individuality. His idiomatic solo writing avoids shallow virtuosity and empty rhetoric and there are no mighty tussles between piano and orchestral forces encountered in archetypal large scale concertante scores. Instead, the composer offers a series of deeply personal attempts to reconcile time-honoured elements of display with symphonic preoccupations of long-range tonality, rhythmic energy and melodic growth. In sum, Lloyd's four piano concertos constitute a compelling and distinctive branch of his creative legacy. Paul Conway

Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) was an Argentine composer and bandoneon virtuoso who revolutionized the traditional tango by infusing it with elements of jazz, classical music, and modern harmonies. His work transformed tango from a dance genre rooted in Buenos Aires' popular culture into a sophisticated art form suitable for the concert hall. Central to this transformation were his bandoneon concertos, which showcased the expressive possibilities of the instrument and blurred the boundaries between popular and classical traditions. The bandoneon, a type of button accordion originally developed in Germany, became the soulful voice of Argentine tango. Piazzolla mastered it's complex mechanics and extended it's expressive range far beyond it's traditional role. Aconcagua: Concerto for Bandoneon and Orchestra (1980) represents the peak of Piazzolla's orchestral writing. Named after the highest mountain in the Andes, it symbolizes artistic ascent and ambition. This concerto highlights the instrument's dual nature-melancholic yet rhythmic, intimate yet dramatic. In this concerto, Piazzolla combines lush textures, driving rhythms, and virtuosic passages to create a dialogue between the bandoneon and orchestra that is both lyrical and dynamic. Also included on this disc are the Tres Tangos for orchestra and the immensely popular Oblivion, known from Marc Bellocchio's film Enrico IV. Played by Klaudiusz Baran, one of the leading bandoneon players of his country, and the Czestochowa Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Adam Klocek.

George Lloyd approached the piano concerto form with imagination and individuality. His idiomatic solo writing avoids shallow virtuosity and empty rhetoric and there are no mighty tussles between piano and orchestral forces encountered in archetypal large scale concertante scores. Instead, the composer offers a series of deeply personal attempts to reconcile time-honoured elements of display with symphonic preoccupations of long-range tonality, rhythmic energy and melodic growth. In sum, Lloyd's four piano concertos constitute a compelling and distinctive branch of his creative legacy. Paul Conway

George Lloyd approached the piano concerto form with imagination and individuality. His idiomatic solo writing avoids shallow virtuosity and empty rhetoric and there are no mighty tussles between piano and orchestral forces encountered in archetypal large scale concertante scores. Instead, the composer offers a series of deeply personal attempts to reconcile time-honoured elements of display with symphonic preoccupations of long-range tonality, rhythmic energy and melodic growth. In sum, Lloyd's four piano concertos constitute a compelling and distinctive branch of his creative legacy. Paul Conway

George Lloyd approached the piano concerto form with imagination and individuality. His idiomatic solo writing avoids shallow virtuosity and empty rhetoric and there are no mighty tussles between piano and orchestral forces encountered in archetypal large scale concertante scores. Instead, the composer offers a series of deeply personal attempts to reconcile time-honoured elements of display with symphonic preoccupations of long-range tonality, rhythmic energy and melodic growth. In sum, Lloyd's four piano concertos constitute a compelling and distinctive branch of his creative legacy. Paul Conway

George Lloyd approached the piano concerto form with imagination and individuality. His idiomatic solo writing avoids shallow virtuosity and empty rhetoric and there are no mighty tussles between piano and orchestral forces encountered in archetypal large scale concertante scores. Instead, the composer offers a series of deeply personal attempts to reconcile time-honoured elements of display with symphonic preoccupations of long-range tonality, rhythmic energy and melodic growth. In sum, Lloyd's four piano concertos constitute a compelling and distinctive branch of his creative legacy. Paul Conway

The Concerto Copenhagen and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir celebrate the 90th birthday of Estonian composer Arvo Part. The new recording under the musical direction of the Estonian chorus master and conductor Tonu Kaljuste is the perfect 'birthday serenade' for their renowned compatriot. The repertoire includes "Silouans Song", "Stabat Mater", "Trisagion", "Berliner Messe", "Festina Lente" with a unique combination of historical/period instruments and contemporary choral singing.

George Lloyd's opera The Serf was well received in 1938 but then fell into neglect. Despairing of a revival, the composer fashioned two orchestral suites, The Norman March from Act II and Prelude Act II which alongside the Overture for The Serf he published for independent performances in the 1980s. As you would expect from this great English composer, all three works are well-crafted, wonderful to perform and tuneful. George Lloyd who died in 1998 is mostly remembered for his 12 Symphonies, but his compositions include Opera, Choral, Concerto, Piano and Chamber Music. LNA approached GLS earlier in 2023 with a proposal that will see all of the music scores digitized and the entire record archive represented in new compilations, in both physical and digital formats. Going beyond the act of preservation the Trustees of LNA believe that George Lloyd's music is ripe for rediscovery by concert management and music lovers. George Lloyd's music, particularly his operas, won him great praise and popularity before WW2. But as broadcasting and concert life changed direction in the 1960s, his style, which is dramatic, large-scale, richly orchestrated unafraid of a big tune, fell out of favour. We believe that George Lloyd's time has come again and will use the combined resources of the Lyrita Nimbus Arts charity, and Lyrita label, together with the manufacturing, printing publishing and distribution arm of Nimbus Records to support this venture.

George Lloyd's opera The Serf was well received in 1938 but then fell into neglect. Despairing of a revival, the composer fashioned two orchestral suites, The Norman March from Act II and Prelude Act II which alongside the Overture for The Serf he published for independent performances in the 1980s. As you would expect from this great English composer, all three works are well-crafted, wonderful to perform and tuneful. George Lloyd who died in 1998 is mostly remembered for his 12 Symphonies, but his compositions include Opera, Choral, Concerto, Piano and Chamber Music. LNA approached GLS earlier in 2023 with a proposal that will see all of the music scores digitized and the entire record archive represented in new compilations, in both physical and digital formats. Going beyond the act of preservation the Trustees of LNA believe that George Lloyd's music is ripe for rediscovery by concert management and music lovers. George Lloyd's music, particularly his operas, won him great praise and popularity before WW2. But as broadcasting and concert life changed direction in the 1960s, his style, which is dramatic, large-scale, richly orchestrated unafraid of a big tune, fell out of favour. We believe that George Lloyd's time has come again and will use the combined resources of the Lyrita Nimbus Arts charity, and Lyrita label, together with the manufacturing, printing publishing and distribution arm of Nimbus Records to support this venture.

George Lloyd's opera The Serf was well received in 1938 but then fell into neglect. Despairing of a revival, the composer fashioned two orchestral suites, The Norman March from Act II and Prelude Act II which alongside the Overture for The Serf he published for independent performances in the 1980s. As you would expect from this great English composer, all three works are well-crafted, wonderful to perform and tuneful. George Lloyd who died in 1998 is mostly remembered for his 12 Symphonies, but his compositions include Opera, Choral, Concerto, Piano and Chamber Music. LNA approached GLS earlier in 2023 with a proposal that will see all of the music scores digitized and the entire record archive represented in new compilations, in both physical and digital formats. Going beyond the act of preservation the Trustees of LNA believe that George Lloyd's music is ripe for rediscovery by concert management and music lovers. George Lloyd's music, particularly his operas, won him great praise and popularity before WW2. But as broadcasting and concert life changed direction in the 1960s, his style, which is dramatic, large-scale, richly orchestrated unafraid of a big tune, fell out of favour. We believe that George Lloyd's time has come again and will use the combined resources of the Lyrita Nimbus Arts charity, and Lyrita label, together with the manufacturing, printing publishing and distribution arm of Nimbus Records to support this venture.

Horizon is sublimely beautiful, evocative music written for and recorded by the celebrated Australian Chamber Orchestra. Adams writes:?"There are two horizons. The visible horizon. And the true horizon.... As we scan the horizon we measure not only space, but also time. How long might it take us to traverse that distance, from where we are to as far as we can see? And what lies beyond that edge of the known?." Composer John Luther Adams' music has won a Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy Award (and a number or Grammy nominations) and has been performed by such prominent ensembles as the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, and the JACK?Quartet. "John Luther Adams... one of the most original musical thinkers of the new century." (Alex Ross, The New Yorker) "His music becomes more than a metaphor for natural forces: it is an elemental experience in it's own right." (Tom Service, The Guardian) "His music perfectly echoes the landscape he loves: impersonal, relentless, larger than human scale, yet gorgeous." (Kyle Gann, Chamber Music Magazine) The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) is a unique, highly lauded string orchestra led by Richard Tognetti. It tours the world, performing works from all periods of Western classical music, and has recordings on ABC Classics, BIS, Hyperion, Chandos, Sony, and other labels.. "ACO... invigorating and highly cultivated-a breath of fresh cultural air" (Gramophone) "This terrific string ensemble... seems to shine at anything it undertakes." (San Francisco Chronicle) "ACO... The finest chamber orchestra on Earth (The Telegraph, UK) "An orchestra that, by any standards, is one of the wonders of the musical world today." (The Guardian)

The HMS Trinidad March was composed for the ship on which George Lloyd served during the Second World War and became, in his words, "the official ship's march". When HMS Trinidad was commissioned on 14 October 1941, bandmaster Harold A Davis asked George to write the ship's official march. Unbeknown to Harold, a friend of the ship's captain, the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, had also been invited to write a march. The captain agreed to listen to both men's marches and decide which was to be used. Vaughan Williams' march was not popular with the bandsmen and when both pieces were premiered in the ship's aircraft hangar, the captain announced that George's music would be adopted as the HMS Trinidad's official march. George's rousing march echoes the role of the Fantasia on British Sea Songs traditionally played at the Last Night of the Proms, with it's links to the Navy and it's catchy tunes and up tempo rhythms, which encourage audience participation.

George Lloyd who died in 1998 is mostly remembered for his 12 Symphonies, but his compositions include Opera, Choral, Concerto, Piano and Chamber Music. LNA approached GLS earlier in 2023 with a proposal that will see all of the music scores digitized and the entire record archive represented in new compilations, in both Physical Only formats. Going beyond the act of preservation the Trustees of LNA believe that George Lloyd's music is ripe for rediscovery by concert management and music lovers. George Lloyd's music, particularly his operas, won him great praise and popularity before WW2. But as broadcasting and concert life changed direction in the 1960s, his style, which is dramatic, large-scale, richly orchestrated unafraid of a big tune, fell out of favour. We believe that George Lloyd's time has come again and will use the combined resources of the Lyrita Nimbus Arts charity, and Lyrita label, together with the manufacturing, printing publishing and distribution arm of Nimbus Records to support this venture.

George Lloyd who died in 1998 is mostly remembered for his 12 Symphonies, but his compositions include Opera, Choral, Concerto, Piano and Chamber Music. LNA approached GLS earlier in 2023 with a proposal that will see all of the music scores digitized and the entire record archive represented in new compilations, in both Physical Only formats. Going beyond the act of preservation the Trustees of LNA believe that George Lloyd's music is ripe for rediscovery by concert management and music lovers. George Lloyd's music, particularly his operas, won him great praise and popularity before WW2. But as broadcasting and concert life changed direction in the 1960s, his style, which is dramatic, large-scale, richly orchestrated unafraid of a big tune, fell out of favour. We believe that George Lloyd's time has come again and will use the combined resources of the Lyrita Nimbus Arts charity, and Lyrita label, together with the manufacturing, printing publishing and distribution arm of Nimbus Records to support this venture.

George Lloyd who died in 1998 is mostly remembered for his 12 Symphonies, but his compositions include Opera, Choral, Concerto, Piano and Chamber Music. LNA approached GLS earlier in 2023 with a proposal that will see all of the music scores digitized and the entire record archive represented in new compilations, in both Physical Only formats. Going beyond the act of preservation the Trustees of LNA believe that George Lloyd's music is ripe for rediscovery by concert management and music lovers. George Lloyd's music, particularly his operas, won him great praise and popularity before WW2. But as broadcasting and concert life changed direction in the 1960s, his style, which is dramatic, large-scale, richly orchestrated unafraid of a big tune, fell out of favour. We believe that George Lloyd's time has come again and will use the combined resources of the Lyrita Nimbus Arts charity, and Lyrita label, together with the manufacturing, printing publishing and distribution arm of Nimbus Records to support this venture.

George Lloyd who died in 1998 is mostly remembered for his 12 Symphonies, but his compositions include Opera, Choral, Concerto, Piano and Chamber Music. LNA approached GLS earlier in 2023 with a proposal that will see all of the music scores digitized and the entire record archive represented in new compilations, in both Physical Only formats. Going beyond the act of preservation the Trustees of LNA believe that George Lloyd's music is ripe for rediscovery by concert management and music lovers. George Lloyd's music, particularly his operas, won him great praise and popularity before WW2. But as broadcasting and concert life changed direction in the 1960s, his style, which is dramatic, large-scale, richly orchestrated unafraid of a big tune, fell out of favour. We believe that George Lloyd's time has come again and will use the combined resources of the Lyrita Nimbus Arts charity, and Lyrita label, together with the manufacturing, printing publishing and distribution arm of Nimbus Records to support this venture.

Quatuor Diotima makes its Pentatone debut with a recording of Györgi Ligeti’s string quartets. While the second quartet from 1968 is an avant-garde classic, the first from 1953-54, “Metamorphoses nocturnes”, is often nicknamed Bartók’s seventh quartet, pointing out the continuity between these two Hungarian master composers. Despite moments of nostalgia, it already possesses the ferocious, adventurous nature of the later quartet. In-between these two iconoclast works, the Andante and Allegretto from 1950 offers an intimate moment of repose. The members of Diotima long postponed recording Ligeti’s string quartets, intimidated by their significance in music history and the demands they place on the players, but now the time has come to pursue this fascinating project and share it with the world. The quartet is fascinated by the cinematic qualities of Ligeti’s music and its use in films, including Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey. The album cover pays homage to that iconic movie. Quatuor Diotima is one the most in-demand chamber ensembles in the world today, and has worked in close collaboration with several of the greatest composers of the late twentieth century. Reflected in the mirror of today’s music, the quartet projects a new light onto the masterpieces of the 19th and 20th centuries.

REVIEW:

These two works, the 2nd following 15 years on from the 1st, are not so far apart as a casual listen might indicate, and the edgy performances of the Quatuor Diotima emphasize the continuity. The String Quartet No. 1 consists of a dozen short movements that, in their economy, suggest that something other than semi-traditional melodic material is happening here, and the Quatuor Diotima gives sharp, clipped performances that bring out the modernity of the work. The Second Quartet requires hair-trigger concentration from the players and the ability to make extremely quiet sounds at the top of the instruments’ registers. The Quatuor Diotima’s performance in the various insect-like sounds in the work is nonpareil. A truly excellent Ligeti recording that penetrates deeply into the composer’s essence.

-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)

“Houses of the Wind” is a haunting, five-movement electro-acoustic piece that critically acclaimed composer Adams created from his field recording of an aeolian harp (wind harp) played by the Arctic winds 30 years ago. Over the years since he made this field recording, both the concept and the sound of the aeolian harp have inspired many of his celebrated instrumental works—including his six string quartets. In 2021 he went back to his original aeolian harp recording and sculpted each movement (or variation) of “Houses of the Wind” from the sounds on that tape, using voice layering, time stretching, and pitch manipulation as his primary compositional tools.

John Luther Adams’ music has won both a Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy Award and has been performed by such prominent ensembles as the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, the International Contemporary Ensemble, and the JACK Quartet. Cold Blue Music has released nine recordings of his work, including “Arctic Dreams,” “Lines Made by Walking,” “Everything That Rises,” and “The Wind in High Places.” His memoir, “Silences So Deep,” was published in 2020.

Review

I’m not going to beat about the bush: I love this recording!

I have been an enthusiastic admirer of the American composer, John Luther Adams, for some years now and, whilst I am not naïve enough to assume his music will be to everyone’s taste, I think this must rank amongst his very best. Years of living in extreme isolation in the North American Arctic have pared down JLA’s music to its simplest and most fundamental qualities and this latest project is no exception. In a very real sense, Houses of the Wind should have a co-composer credit for the wind itself as it is shaped out of field recordings made by the composer of the sound of an aeolian harp in 1989. In the process of transferring the tapes of his old field recordings, Adams became captivated by the sound of a ten and a half minute long tape which provided both the inspiration and the basis for the present composition.

All five movements use that ten and half minute recording as their source material with Adams stretching out the sound, layering and transposing it to evoke what I presume are the characters of different types of arctic wind.

Just about every piece by John Luther Adams deploys some kind of natural acoustic effect to generate music and he directly relates this to his passionate concern for the Earth’s environment. These natural sounds used in this way also tend to have a far reaching psychological effect on the listener. In the case of this piece, that effect goes well beyond some pleasant noises produced by an aeolian harp and tunes into a place where man and nature meet or perhaps it might be better to speak of where man can realise his place within nature that he tends to neglect and abuse.

There is a risk that Houses of the Wind will sound, on the basis of this description, like the kind of music encountered at a spa wellness hotel. Such an idea should be banished forthwith! JLA’s experience of working with overtone series on string instruments in his wonderful string quartets means his musical imagination hears in what must be a really wonderful original recording all sorts of aural miracles whether it be vast, limitless landscapes in the bass register or angelic singing voices like the ghosts of violins in the treble. There is a profound absence of hurry which despite each piece only lasting the ten and half minutes of the field recording produces the effect of something genuinely timeless. The timeframe is set by things like the gradual, patient unfurling of an overtone sequence. JLA has contrived to create music that makes us feel we are eavesdropping on the music making of nature herself. What is particularly impressive is that a distinct voice is heard through the music even though in no way does it resemble a human voice. Or rather it is the voice upon which all human voices rest since it is the foundation of all sound. Of course, this is sleight of hand because this is after all a composition by a human being - but a human being wonderfully in tune with the world around him. Thankfully for us a human who can translate that attunement into music in which even our dull ears can hear something of what he hears.

John Luther Adams’ genius lies in taking ideas that often look dry or uninspiring and allowing the most vivid kind of life to shine from them. I have often found that after listening to his music, my experience of all other music seems cleansed and revitalised. I have this experience listening to Houses of the Wind.

The composer has written of how many of his pieces for more traditional instruments were inspired by listening to aeolian harps during his years resident in the Arctic and there is a moving sense in this composition of Luther Adams paying back for that inspiration.

--MusicWeb International (David McDade)

Eight years ago, a two-album collection of piano music by Arvo Pärt became a Brilliant Classics best-seller (95053, now reissued on LP), with Jeroen van Veen’s playing capturing both the zeitgeist and the rapturous stillness of the Estonian composer’s aesthetic. ‘Jeroen van Veen’s recording can stand alongside the best from any source, and this set is worthy of high praise in every regard’ (MusicWeb International). ‘All played with insight and a crystalline tone… almost unbearably beautiful’ (BBC Music Magazine). This sequel reprises a selection of those ‘modern classic’ recordings, and adds a trio of newly made recordings for cello and piano. Jeroen van Veen is joined by his pianist wife Sandra, and cellist Joachim Eijlander, to present a portrait of Pärt the man and the composer, attentive to and yet at times purposefully isolated from the turbulent currents of music in the second half of the last century.

The album opens with a new recording of Fratres in its familiar cello-and-piano guise, and continues with masterpieces of ‘new simplicity’ from the 1970s such as Für Alina and Pari Intervallo. Such pieces began to set out the harmonic world of ‘tintinnabuli’, characterized by open and slow-moving harmonies, for which Pärt later became famous worldwide. The Ukuaru Valss affords a rare glimpse of the composer’s lighter side, before an extended version of Für Alina and then the unearthly, imperishable echoes of Spiegel im Spiegel, which distils the sound of Part as much as any other single piece. The album concludes with Pärtomania, a newly written 20-minute tribute to the composer’s soundworld by Jeroen van Veen, scored for the same string-instrument and piano combination as Fratres and Spiegel im Spiegel. Van Veen himself discusses the unique world of Pärt’s music in a booklet introduction.

This album by pianist Reinis Zarins and the Trio Palladio is a special personal tribute to composer Arvo Part (b. 1935), one of the most influential composers of our time. This album includes Part's timeless piano works together with a selection of his chamber works, including the famous Fur Alina, Fratres and Spiegel i'm Spiegel alongside his early works. The programme also includes two special dedications by two Latvian composers, Georgs Pelecis and Andrejs Selickis, who both as composers have been greatly influenced by Arvo Part's example and ideas. These two works, written in 2025 for Arvo Part's 90th birthday, receive their first recordings.

The award-winning vibraphonist Pascal Schumacher and the internationally acclaimed pianist Danae Dorken present their new album 'Glass Two' - an impressive musical homage to one of the most influential composers of our time: Philip Glass. Their unusual instrumentation for piano and vibraphone creates an unrivaled sound world that brings Glass' minimalist worksto life in a new and refreshing way. At the heart of the album are original interpretations of Glass' compositions, complemented by Schumacher's own works. These pieces, inspired by personalities who influenced the American composer, such as the poet Allen Ginsberg or the sculptor Richard Serra, form a unique fusion of two musical worlds. This fusion creates a profound and multifaceted, yet reduced and clear atmosphere. Pascal Schumacher and Danae Dorken impressively demonstrate that less is sometimes more: Their artfully crafted arrangements are characterised by a fascinating transparency that captures the essence of minimalist music. The result is a captivating listening experience that allows the colors and textures of Glass' works to shine in a new light and interact harmoniously with Schumacher's own compositions. The album will be released on the Neue Meister label on CD and vinyl on 8 November 2024 and is an indispensable discovery for all lovers of modern classical music. Immerse yourself in the soundscapes of 'Glass Two' and experience a musical journey that inspires both in it's reduction and diversity

Stellar piano duo Quattro Mani's latest recording features John Adams's ebullient "Hallelujah Junction", and premiere recordings by Paul Moravec and Danish composer Bent Sørensen. Bonus tracks include rarities by Paul Creston and Paul Bowles. Fanfare’s Robert Carl writes that “Quattro Mani is one of the most enduring and leading keyboard duos anywhere.”

REVIEW:

John Adams’s Hallelujah Junction (1996) has had at least half a dozen recordings since the first, by Nicolas Hodges and Rolf Hind for Nonesuch. Pianists Steven Beck and Susan Grace of Quattro Mani take a very different tack from that recording, yet one that is equally compelling.

The miniatures that make up the remainder of the program by Creston, Bowles, Moravec, and Sørensen, are also effectively varied.

All in all, this is an enjoyable, wide-ranging program – I only wish there was more of it.

— Gramophone

The music of GRAMMY-nominated and Latin GRAMMY-winning composer, Roberto Sierra, is performed worldwide and has long been admired for it's confluence of Caribbean elements and inventive modernist language. The works on this album cover a decade's worth of composition and examine crucial concepts - the idea of time in music; creative new applications of sonata form with regard to mood, tempo and character; and evocations of images seen through Latin American eyes. Continuum, directed by Cheryl Seltzer and Joel Sachs, has enjoyed a 40-year friendship with Sierra, receiving dedications and premiering numerous of his compositions.

Maria de Buenos Aires is a tango operita (little opera) composed by Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) with a libretto by poet Horacio Ferrer. Premiering in 1968, the piece is one of Piazzolla's most ambitious and innovative works, blending tango, classical music, and surrealist poetry. It represents a major departure from traditional tango, showcasing Piazzolla's distinctive nuevo tango style-complex, dramatic, and infused with elements of jazz and avant-garde music. -The operita tells the symbolic and enigmatic story of Maria, a woman born "one day when God was drunk" in the slums of Buenos Aires. She becomes a tango singer and a symbol of sensuality and suffering. After her death, Maria's shadow wanders through the underworld of the city, encountering surreal characters such as the Duende (a goblin-like narrator) and a chorus of psychoanalysts, construction workers, and thieves. The narrative is abstract, filled with metaphors and mystical elements, portraying Maria both as a real woman and an allegory for Buenos Aires itself, particularly it's tango culture. Musically, Maria de Buenos Aires is richly textured, featuring bandoneon (a type of concertina essential in tango music), piano, violin, and voice. Piazzolla's score breaks traditional tango rhythms and harmonies, pushing the genre into new emotional and intellectual territory. The work is often interpreted as a meditation on identity, femininity, urban life, and rebirth. Despite it's initial mixed reception, it has gained recognition as a groundbreaking piece in 20th-century music and a key work in Piazzolla's oeuvre. Maria de Buenos Aires remains a vivid, haunting exploration of the soul of Buenos Aires, where tango is not just a dance or music form, but a poetic expression of passion, loss, and resilience. Performed by Ce Suarez Paz (soprano Maria), Cesare Chiacchiaretta (bandoneon), soloists and the Orchestra Filarmonica della Calabria, conducted by Filippo Arlia.

Chicago has long been a welcoming home to the working composer, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the heart of the musical life they found in the city. The three American composers whose music is performed on this recording all have important ties to the CSO, from Philip Glass’ formative years as a student listener in Orchestra Hall in the 1950s, to Jessie Montgomery, who is the Orchestra’s Mead Composer-in-Residence today, and Max Raimi, who is both a prolific composer and a longtime member of the Orchestra’s viola section. 

The works by Montgomery and Raimi were both their first CSO commissions, and these are their world premiere performances. Montgomery’s Hymn for Everyone is a meditation for orchestra that speaks to the significance of her emergence in today’s cultural climate through its reflection on the personal and collective challenges of the spring of 2021. In it, a hymn-like melody traverses different orchestral choirs to poignant effect. For each poem in Raimi’s Three Lisel Mueller Settings, he selects an admired colleague to enter into a dialogue with the soloist, mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong. This highlights the talents of Principal Clarinet Stephen Williamson in a frenetic waltz, Principal Bassoon Keith Buncke in a tragic elegy and Principal Bass Alexander Hanna in a metaphor for hope, with soaring, song-like phrases that transcend standard conceptions of the instrument’s expressive possibilities.

Glass’ Eleventh Symphony is part of the symphonic tradition that captivated him as a student. Each movement has its own unique character — the first bold and driving, the second crowned by a slowly unfolding melody and the third a barrage of cascading energy and racing percussion.

For Glass in the 50s, it was Fritz Reiner. Now Riccardo Muti champions the compositional voices of the age with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. “It takes courage,” says Glass of the Orchestra’s legacy of performing contemporary music, “and that courage becomes a tradition.”

REVIEWS:

This album stands as testimony to the Italian master’s innate musical understanding and ability to bring out the best in almost everything he conducts.

-- Gramophone

Glass delivers a variant of the crowd-pleasing movie music he has trademarked for decades. It is hard to gainsay America’s most prolific and popular serious composer. Muti’s performance is all that it could be, and the orchestra lends glamour to the score.

-- Fanfare