Get ready to be transported to the bustling streets of Berlin and the bright lights of Broadway with mezzo-soprano Aylish Kerrigan's latest recording. In this invigorating program, Kerrigan takes us on a journey through the timeless songs of Kurt Weill, one of the most renowned composers of the 20th century. From Weill's collaborations with Bertholt Brecht in the German Theatre to his iconic Broadway stage works, this recording has something for everyone. You'll hear classics like "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer" (Mack the Knife) and "Berlin im Licht," which captures the essence of the city as a love song. But that's not all – Kerrigan also brings us gems such as "I'm a Stranger Here Myself" from Weill's longest running musical, One Touch of Venus.

What makes this recording truly special is Aylish Kerrigan herself. Born and raised in San Francisco, Kerrigan is an established interpreter of German Theatre Music, having worked with some of the most noted Brecht specialists in the world. Her one-woman Broadway shows have earned her acclaim in major cities across the globe, from Paris to Dublin, New York to Berlin. Whether you're a die-hard Weill fan or simply appreciate great music, this recording is not to be missed. Critics and music lovers alike are sure to be captivated by Aylish Kerrigan's dynamic and soulful performances.

A musical journey, James W. Iman's latest album, IMAN II, is a stunning blend of Classical and contemporary piano compositions that will leave you spellbound. Four years in the making, this album is the culmination of Iman's passion for Debussy and Donald Martino, as well as his permiere of work from composer and sound designer, Jenny Beck. Iman's masterful interpretations of Martino's Fantasies and Impromptus are nothing short of awe-inspiring, and his renditions of Debussy's works provide the perfect contrast, bringing together the past and present in a way that is both exciting and unique. But it is Beck's electrifying compositions that truly set this album apart.

Iman says, "I have played Stand Still Here more times than any other work in my repertoire. Each of the five pieces that comprise the work are brief–the longest is four minutes–but Jenny Beck achieves a depth of introspection and emotional sweep that is absolutely magnetic.” What makes Beck's work so remarkable is the way she achieves such depth and complexity with seemingly simple motives and harmonies. The pieces on this album hover and linger, creating a hypnotic and immersive listening experience that is nothing short of miraculous. Iman's passion and dedication to this project are evident in every note he plays. He has crafted a captivating album that showcases his skill as a pianist and his ability to bring together the best of the past and present in a way that is fresh, exciting, and deeply moving.

Three new works from composer Paul Whitty written for new music ensembles [rout] and Icebreaker. The Morning includes: Nature is a language – can’t you read? written for Icebreaker - a reorganisation or reconstruction of materials from Michael Gordon’s Yo Shakespeare, a classic of visceral, driving rhythmic patterns from Icebreaker’s repertoire. The reorganisation here is by turns sparsely then densely populated with points of sound and fragments of grit and noise generated by overheard field recordings, that lurch into life then vanish. I was bored before I even began is an exploration of the sounding surfaces of instruments wielded by members of [rout] and each fitted with a contact microphone and routed to guitar pedals. The Morning is a reconstructed, reorganised, reconstituted misreading of Thomas Arne’s Cantata No.5 developed as part of Vauxhall Pleasure, a project developed with Anna Best, and investigating the sonic archaeology of the Vauxhall Cross Gyratory, former site of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens where, for a time, Arne was composer in residence. Paul Whitty is a founder, along with the composers Sam Hayden and Paul Newland, of the ensemble [rout], which has made concert tours in the UK, appearing on BBC Radio 3’s contemporary music programme Hear and Now, on a BMIC Cutting Edge concert tour, at the ICA and at the Huddersfield Festival.

The debut recording by virtuoso saxophonist Anthony Brown
includes seven world première recordings of brand new
commissioned works for the saxophone. Each work has its own
unique sound world, offering different, exciting new duo and solo
works. The performers and composers on this disc represent some of
the major influences that have impacted Anthony’s career to date,
including teachers, colleagues and friends.
These virtuosic works explore the range and characters that the 4
main saxophones (soprano, alto, tenor and baritone) have to offer.
The sound world of the contemporary saxophone is explored in great
depth, with influences ranging from jazz, film, poetry, electronic
music, and theatre. Each work was commissioned especially for this
project which has taken 5 years to complete.

“What is really interesting about Geoffrey’s music is that it looks orthodox on the page initially, but is in fact extremely thought-provoking. He has a unique way of combining the familiar with the unfamiliar: Geoffrey’s music is always extremely well crafted and looks deceptively simple on the page, but as soon as you begin to play any phrase from his works you discover that he is always subtly reinventing the wheel! There is subtle originality, extraordinary variety and colourful fascination in his prolific output for the instrument. The recordings...will unquestionably amount to a significant contribution to the development of the 20th/21st century piano sonata.” (Murray McLachlan)

Murray McLachlan’s discography now includes over forty commercial recordings, including the complete sonatas of Beethoven, Myaskovsky and Prokofiev, the six concertos of Alexander Tcherepnin, the 24 Preludes and Fugues of Rodion Shchedrin, Ronald Stevenson’s ‘Passacaglia on DSCH’ the major works of Kabalevsky, Khatchaturian and the complete solo piano music of Erik Chisholm.

This album features world premiere recordings of some of Sam Hayden’s most significant acoustic music for solos and duos, performed by an array of internationally renowned contemporary music specialists. The works on this album span three decades, from the earlier works, the lyrical Picking up the Pieces for solo violin and the angular textures of AXE[S] for solo guitar (both from the 1990s), to the much more recent attente for solo flute, remnants for solo contrabass clarinet, frammenti di divenire for soprano and baritone saxophones, and remnants III for cello and piano (all composed since 2018) representing something of a hybrid of approaches from traditions of spectralism and complexity.

A feature of this album is that most of the works were developed in close collaboration with the performers who appear on the album, making full use of their exceptional virtuosity and a deep engagement with specific sonic characteristics of the instrument(s). Sam Hayden is a composer whose work contains much diversity and variety in its modernism; he is currently Professor of Composition at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London. He has received commissions recently from a substantial number of ensembles and soloists, from the BBC Symphony Orchestra and London Sinfonietta to ensembles around Europe.

American pianist James W. Iman specializes in music written since 1900 – and mostly, post-1945. His meticulous study of the scores and also the aesthetic concepts behind them allows him to find fresh approaches to well known works as well as an ability to present new music in a relatable and clearly authentic way. As The Cross-Eyed Pianist wrote, his performances give ‘ a very clear sense of his total commitment to this music and also how comfortable he fees in this repertoire.’ This attention to the detail of the music and its conception is particularly important in relation to the 20th century music of serialist and modernist schools which can be seen as purely mechanical without real artistic ‘spirit’.

This is the first of three recordings by Iman to be released by Metier and is a remastered re-issue of a disc from short-lived Belgian label ZeD (The other two albums are new, recorded in the summer of 2022) and focuses on two composers of the Second Viennese School (Schoenberg and Webern); one from the Darmstadt School (Boulez) and French composer Gilbert Amy, a contemporary follower of the serialist movement, and greatly inspired by Webern though writing on a larger scale. His Piano Sonata provides a fitting yet distinct counterpoint to the granitic Third Sonata of Boulez, and with strong contrast provided by the relatively early work by Schoenberg and the typically concise miniatures by Webern.

Edward Cowie is considered by many to be the greatest living composer directly inspired by the Natural World. His post-impressionist works, from the gigantic orchestral Leviathan (his first Proms commission) to his cycles of Bird Portraits and other chamber and instrumental pieces are drawing gasps of admiration from critics and audiences alike. This album focuses on Nature in the smallest sense - the subatomic building blocks of the Universe, and the conceptual realization of mathematical structures in art by the great symbolic abstract artist Kandinsky. Three works for guitar(s) - solo, duo and quartet - are bookended by a violin duo and an oboe solo in a collection which once again demonstrates Cowie’s genius and his place as one of today’s most inspired and inventive composers – a place which is being confirmed by critics more and more with each new album.

The performers are all leaders in their fields: Skærved and Trandafilovski are the two violinists with the Kreutzer Quartet as well as having varied successful careers as soloists, composers/arrangers and educators – with many Metier and Athene recordings to their names. Christopher Redgate is recognized as one of the world’s foremost oboists specializing in new music (and the inventor of the Howarth-Redgate oboe) while Saki Kato and Hugh Millington are creating a fine reputation for their championing of contemporary guitar music. They are also recording music by Trandafilovsky for a new Métier release in November. Overall this recording reinforces the brilliance of Cowie’s writing and shows his ability to create fine works for instruments he was not previously familiar with!

These works by Robert Saxton were written between 2013 and 2019 and represent his continuing journey of exploration in modal and harmonic structures; complex in structure but creating no jarring modernist difficulty for the listener. A mix of orchestral, chamber and vocal works, it features top performers including world-renowned baritone Roderick Williams and equally famous (and now film star) Clare Hammond.

Time and the Seasons, for baritone and piano, commissioned by the Oxford Lieder Festival for Roderick Williams and Andrew West, is a song cycle to Saxton’s own texts and is both cyclic and progressive. Suite for violin and piano, first performed at the 2019 Three Choirs Festival by Madeleine Mitchell and Clare Hammond, the performers here, charts a voyage across its five movements leading to a tentatively positive conclusion. Fantasy Pieces, commissioned by the Fidelio Trio, is inspired by Schumann’s Op. 88 as character pieces, regarding both genre and variety of manner. A Hymn to the Thames for solo oboe and chamber orchestra was commissioned by James Turnbull, the St Paul’s Sinfonia and its Music Director Andrew Morley and, during the course of its four linked movements, sets the soloist as both wanderer and river spirit in conjunction with the ‘river’ of the orchestra from source to sea.

Robert Saxton received early guidance from Benjamin Britten and studied with Elisabeth Lutyens, Robin Holloway and Luciano Berio among others. He has received commissions from the BBC (TV, radio and Proms) and many prominent ensembles. Until retiring in 2021 Robert was Professor of Composition at Oxford University and is a Research Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.

Dorone Paris is a composer and saxophone player specializing in New Music and Avant Garde performance. Being raised in Israel influenced her political ideas and affected her musical creativity, aesthetics and philosophy. Dorone’s work has been performed throughout West and Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. She now lives and works in Ireland. In the words of the composer,

COAL explores the vast colors and possibilities of saxophones by examining and channeling the compounded challenges of the last several years: from a climate crisis to a global pandemic to the possibility of an international nuclear war. As such, some of the soundworlds in this album are harsh and unforgiving, a call for light. Her collaboration with Saxophonist Noam Dorembus has been shaped by the words of their mentor Arie Shapira: “It is necessary to invent new parameters of listening. I want to be a partner to an adventure, not a historical experience; that I’m hearing a new sound.”

Noam Dorembus is keen about diving into diverse musical styles and finding new ways of expression. His approach to music making is joyful and welcoming the unknown. He graduated from The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and is currently teaching Saxophone at its Conservatory. As a soloist and as an orchestral player Noam plays a wide repertoire spanning from baroque to contemporary music and all the way to classical Arabic music. On this album he plays tenor sax solo (with electronics) on one track and is joined by three other players from Israel in the others.

A vast cosmological fantasy featuring an ensemble of three grand pianos, RUNE is the final part of the ‘fashion-opera’ cycle by Scottish composer Alastair White (b.1988) following the highly acclaimed releases of ROBE (‘excellent’ - BBC Music Magazine) and WOAD ‘the height of compositional magnificence’ (Fanfare).

On a planet where history is forbidden, a young girl dares to tell her story. A voyage across galaxies and millennia, hers is a tale of the archipelagos of Khye-rell and their matterwork, through transdimensional canals and sealanes to the RUNE of the universe’s origin. This song, her story – through the very act of being told – will have consequences beyond imagining…

This is an audio version of the live premiere production which was presented as part of the Tête-à-Tête Opera Festival 2021 – now with remastered HD sound – which critics described as “genuinely original” (TEMPO), “perfect” (Vogue Italia), “blockbuster…explosive” (Opera Magazine), and “unquestionably my highlight…a melding of physical and metaphysical, of quantum mechanics and spatial manifestation” (Seen and Heard International).

A visual spectacle that featured sculpture, contemporary dance and high fashion by design house KA WA KEY, RUNE comes with a booklet including both the libretto laid out in its original typographical design – as well as images of the capsule collection created especially for the opera.

White’s work has been shortlisted for a number of art awards and the composer has been praised for creating “a whole exciting new genre of art” (BBC Radio 3) and “a groundbreaking new genre” (Classical Music).

Though the works on this album are varied in genre, from vocal to string quartet, they share a common theme, explicit in the song cycle Friendly Fire and implicit in the other works; that theme embodies grief, personal or for the plight of people blighted by war; hope in the backing of action by faith.

This album offers a view of a composer whose output is both lyrical and abstract, with a poetic command of foreground and background, consonance and dissonance. Often, the core of the work is a borrowed or found fragment, in particular American hymn tunes. The melodies become locations of stability but subject to subtle and sometimes unsettling modifications. NOTE: One of the poems included in Friendly Fire (‘For the Union Dead’ by Robert Lowell) contains a racial epithet considered unacceptable in day to day speech and writing today. It is retained because of its historical and social context in a poem which is strongly anti-racist and is a cry against the injustice meted out to African-American troops fighting for the Union in the American Civil War. The poem itself is regarded as a classic of modern literature, appreciated by commentators of all ethnicities.

Rodney Lister is a composer based in New England. His biography is impressive and features commissions from the US Library of Congress and many leading ensembles, and a wealth of compositions, articles and other writings. He is currently teaching at Boston University and the New England Conservatory as well as tutoring duties at Harvard; he also works with the Greenwood Music Camp in Massachusetts.

Kevin Raftery was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1951 and studied composition with Peter Racine Fricker at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 1989 he moved to London where he studied with Justin Connolly and maintained a dual career as musician and project manager until 2004 when he retired from non-musical work. Now a citizen of the UK and of Ireland, he sings in the New London Chamber Choir and plays bassoon in several ensembles. Composing, however, has always been his primary concern.

This ‘Second Child’ album follows his first portrait recording for Métier, which included his First String Quartet and other chamber works. Here his Second quartet is partnered with choral works (both sacred and secular), and works for solo piano, violin duo and ensemble. Raftery’s music may be mildly dissonant at times and harmonically adventurous, but is always brilliantly constructed: new music which is a joy to hear. The performers here are of the top flight.

Clare Hammond is in great demand for recordings and recitals, and recently for film roles too. She was described by Gramophone as a ‘pianist of extraordinary gits’. EXAUDI is one the world’s leading vocal ensembles in the field of new music and while here they produce delightful renditions of relatively tonal works they also have a special affinity with the ‘radical edge’ of new music. The Marmen String Quartet, founded in 2013 at the Royal College of Music in London, is fast gaining a reputation for the vitality and vigor of their performances. They won major international competitions in 2019. The Berkeley Ensemble also specializes in the new – and also the neglected and forgotten. Its eight recordings (before this one) include 18 world premieres and have elicited great praise including a Gramophone award nomination.

The solo piano music of Ives represents an extraordinary achievement. Experimental is a word often associated with it. But experimental in what sense? Certainly he was exploring a wholly unique and personal style. Ives' music is by turns, exploratory, powerful, sensitive and transcendental always wholly consistent within it's own, sometimes highly unusual terms. These qualities are there in abundance in his two crowning achievements the first and second sonatas. The studies and others orbit round these like planets to twin suns. VOTED GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE TOP CHOICE 2012 (for the Concord Sonata)

Metier continues its faithful dedication to contemporary music by adding this remarkable release to its already abundant collection. The double-disc release is devoted to the American composer George Rochberg’s (1918-2005) two violin works – the Violin Sonata for violin and piano, and the Caprice Variations for solo violin, previously issued under the same label in 2003.

Rochberg is a composer who embraces a broad spectrum of compositional styles and genres throughout his long span of musical career. Plunged into Schoenbergian serialism in his early years, Rochberg, after the death of his son in 1964, discarded the technique and turned to a musical language that mixed abstract chromaticism with tonal idioms. The Violin Sonata, written in 1988, is a telling exemplification of his late style. The profound emotional expression in all four movements is characterized by the constant employment of atonality and tonal variety.

The Caprice Variations, in which Rochberg masterfully blends Modernist and Classical elements, is a beguiling, if not bemusing, composition. The one-and-a-half-hour long solo violin work begins with a theme that incorporates traditional tonal harmony in the manner of Bach’s solo violin partita – diatonic sequences, balanced phrases, and perfect cadences. Musical humor continues by the composer echoing the styles of our great predecessors such as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, and Mahler – some more tacitly, some more overtly. Apart from appreciating Rochberg’s musical humor and wisdom, one may well wish to treat the variations as an entertaining test of musicianship while listening.

The marvelous recording quality captures both the music’s refined details and the sense of ample space. The informative booklet, written mainly by the violinist himself, devotes its central focus to the portrait of the composer’s personality and aesthetic philosophy. Being a long-term musical collaborator and an intimate comrade of the composer, Skærved would be the ideal one to take up the job. Not only is the general description of the performer’s rehearsing and recording procedures included, the booklet also encompasses some interesting and thought-provoking conversations between the musicians that enable the readers to have a better understanding on both the composer’s compositional process and the performer’s reception towards the music. I would have welcomed some more detailed information on the composer’s general compositional style(s) and the analytical commentary of the two works in this album so that less experienced listeners could also be benefited.

After all, an outstanding recording that provides wonderful listening experiences.

-- Danny Kim-Nam Hui, ConcertoNet.com