Beginning with just the spark to write three trios, composer Carl Vollrath created an intense yet reflective collection of works in Souls In Transitions. This Navona Records release moves through waves of contemplation on life, history, and the evolution of spirituality through the performances of violin, cello, and piano by acclaimed pianist Karolina Rojahn. After a colleague of Vollrath's at Troy University listened to the pieces, he told the composer that the first Trio reminded him of images he had seen of ancient Peruvian cave paintings. Indeed, the moments of intensity paired with thoughtfulness in the first movement conjure up a feeling of awe, much like one might have when viewing these paintings created by hands thousands of years gone. Repeating motives with subtle differences, sometimes presenting deep, resonant tones in the lower registers of the strings, other times presenting brisk pizzicato, slurred runs, and climbs to the height of each instrument's voice, all form a sense of wonder and mystery. Trios II and III act in much the same way. Trio II is inspired by the ancient Egyptian ritual of bringing food to tombs to give meals to the deceased on their journey to the afterlife, with the idea being that the dead are not really gone but rather are in another place. Trio III looks into the Buddhist faith, reflecting on it's extensive history and considering how religion evolves just as man does. Between Vollrath's balance of intensity and contemplation in his writing, and the dynamic performances of virtuoso Rojahn and the Summa Trio, Souls In Transitions is a moving performance that demonstrates the power of musical motives and the piano trio.

Composer Nicholas Vines' surreal opera Loose, Wet, Perforated comes to life in this Navona Records release. Commissioned by the Boston-based experimental opera company Guerilla Opera, and premiered in 2011, this recording coincides with a new production of Loose, Wet, Perforated that involves video projection and audience interaction. The work, whose libretto was also written by Vines, is a satirical and metaphorical take on the medieval genre of the morality play. Described by Vines and Guerilla Opera as "American Idol meets The Hunger Games meets The Price is Right", the story follows the trials of two protagonists, 'Loose' and 'Wet'. As the aforementioned description suggests, this is no ordinary story. The morality play's context is bizarre - Loose and Wet are competing to ascend within a secret organization, and at stake is the possibility of fame and fortune, or total isolation. The staged production's sets, costumes, and, in particular, video projection underscore the opera's dark humor and absurdism. With these elements inaccessible on the audio recording, the listener is still transported into the opera's world by Vines' enthralling score and libretto. Of course, the narrative's clarity in the recording testifies to the excellent vocal performances by Guerilla Opera's Alana de la Guardia ('Loose'), Brian Church ('Wet'), Doug Dodson ('Perforated'), and Thea Lobo (Various). The recording's evocative scene-setting comes primarily from Vines' instrumental score, which employs the unusual ensemble of clarinet, saxophone, trombone, and percussion. This quartet produces an incredible array of sounds and moods, enabling Vines to convey every emotion of his strange and symbolic story. Perhaps the most memorable musical idea in the work occurs at the beginning and end of the opera, when, in accompaniment of expository text, Vines scores a web of moaning pitch bends for his three wind instruments. This material is particularly visceral and poignant, and helps establish the fact that, though lessons from Loose, Wet, Perforated may apply to our reality, the opera takes place in a world very different from ours.

In My Symphonic Poems, this album that is Mark John McEnroe's fourth recording overall for Navona Records, the Australian composer explores worlds both internal and external. On each of the album's ten tracks, McEnroe has crafted a musical painting, a work of art that describes, as it were, his reflections on the subject alluded to in it's title. The concepts for these very personal compositions, which were brought to life by the noted Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Anthony Armore, fall into two basic categories. The five selections on the first portion of the release talk of the wonders of the natural world, of bio-diversity, and of the power of the seasons. From the spry energy of 'That Old Indian Summer', to the majestic dignity of 'Movements in the Night', McEnroe's talent for creating compositions that evoke both image and emotion is on vibrant display. The second half features two tracks that also explore ecological terrain. Those are combined with three distinctively introspective compositions which musically portray the joys and difficulties that are a part of daily life. The tumultuous beginning of 'The Passing', which the composer says is "about letting go of old ideas that are no longer relevant," evolves, as the music becomes brighter, to reflect the promise of a hopeful future. 'Echoes from a Haunted Past' captures the frustration at not having resolved issues from the past. Those tracks bookend the playful, pastoral 'A Pageant at the County Fair.' In his rather brief career, Mark John McEnroe has composed pieces that have been performed by solo pianists as well as by full orchestras. My Symphonic Poems, the latest addition to his robust body of work, confirms that his capacity to portray both ambiance and emotion is truly boundless.

Inspired by poetry and prose, composer Mark Volker’s latest release YOUNG PROMETHEUS is about reactions. From the philosophical reaction to the “Three Quotations" to the physical reactions in “Echoes of Yesterday," Volker creates an atmosphere that both conveys the optimistic and ominous. Each movement of the “Three Quotations" is inspired by a piece of writing from three different authors. The composition starts with the fluttering flutes and lofty strings of “Morning Chorus" evolving into the strong sounds and tense resilience of “I Am." The final movement, “Future Shock," develops relentlessly, creating an overwhelming atmosphere as a reaction to modern society’s never-ending movement. Two of the album’s tracks “Dust to Dust" and “Echoes of Yesterday" stand alone. “Dust to Dust" draws heavy inspiration from Raphaëlle Goethals’ painting “Bliss." The textures and organization of the composition, performed by a string quartet, reflect the painting’s dusty colors. In “Echoes of Yesterday," Volker takes the experimental route and creates a composition in which a solo clarinetist performs a complete composition while a computer is programmed to respond to the live performance. At certain locations in the score, the software creates sonic events including echoes, transpositions, and synthesized sound, persistently juxtaposing the acoustic with the electronic. The album wraps with the epic “Young Prometheus." The eight movements, originally composed as a score for a ballet inspired by Mary Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein," succeeds as a standalone piece. The composition creates a theater of the mind with the orchestra providing personality for all the characters in the production.

Navona Records proudly presents MUSIC FOR WOODWINDS from composer Scott Pender, his fourth appearance on the label. On this album, Pender showcases his chamber works for woodwinds from the last thirty years in ensemble combinations both common and unfamiliar. On this release lyricism abounds throughout. In the lighthearted Kimchi Dreams for two clarinets and bassoon, Pender conjures gentle, dreamy imagery, balancing two lyrical pieces with two quirky, rhythmically charged ones. The cinematic Variations for Oboe & Piano uses the classic theme-and-variations form to paint a broad canvas, which dissolves into a veiled memory at the end. The dramatic Suite for Woodwind Quintet features bubbling, energetic outer movements surrounding a contemplative Adagio. The lower registers are used to great effect in rich, open chordal writing. The most candid and emotional work on the album, Lyric Set for bassoon and piano, fully exploits the wide range of the bassoon. The movements carry descriptive titles: from the flowing opening of “In the Tide of Times,” followed by the reflective simplicity of “Every Day Is Saturday” – then the stubborn humor of “Lord Berners’ Giraffe,” and ending with the sad grandeur of “Hopeful about the Past.” The remaining pieces—Toccatina for flute quartet and Five Dances for bassoon quartet—add an extra element of rhythmic excitement.

Minju Choi, a passionate performer with a love for contemporary compositions, unveils the works of three powerful composers in Boundless, her album for solo piano works. Boundless covers it all: love, the transcending of cultural boundaries, and music's ability to communicate the abstract and indescribable. The first two arrangements on the album, Pulse and Sonata Andina No. 1, speak to a topic that Choi doesn't just communicate well, but understands. Pulse is written by Ching-Chu Hu, a Chinese-American composer who has balanced his Eastern background and traditions with his Western music education. As a Korean-born American, Choi can empathize with this experience, as her own background contains a balance between identities and cultural representation. Neither identity is consumed by the other, but rather the East and West work together in a complex dance that magnifies and celebrates the other. The compositions extend even beyond the East-West dichotomy and plunge south, to the rhythms and strains of South America in Gabriela Lena Frank's Sonata Andina, which showcases the styles of Peru and Bolivia among other nations. Sonata for Piano Les Hiboux Blancs (The White Owls) takes on a different challenge. The composer, American-born and French-rooted Philip Lasser, expressed his view of writing in the abstract language of music - a language communicating that which cannot be expressed in spoken word. Choi takes the varying tempos and feelings within the piece and puts them through the exhilarating paces of her fingers across the ivories. Choi has been a champion of contemporary composers throughout her career, and her debut album demonstrates this championship while also celebrating the many cultures and customs that make up American music. Boundless proves that there are no boundaries - cultural, energetic, or dynamic.

Following their debut release DRESS CODE on Navona Records, Altius Quartet returns with a drastically different set of repertoire on SHOSTAKOVICH STRING QUARTETS 7, 8 & 9 but is played with the same passion and meticulous dedication one could expect from the group. The quartet notes that through studying these works the group was able to find their artistic voices both as individuals as well as an ensemble. Through listening to their performances, one can really get a sense of their personal connection to these pieces, and that reverence only helps to highlight the personal connection Shostakovich felt to these quartets as well. In fact, these three quartets are each written in honor of different person or group he felt a close connection to.Shostakovich’s Seventh Quartet was written in memory of his first wife, she had died suddenly from complications during an emergency surgery. He even goes so far as to write “To live for you! To die for you!” in his score; that anguish is abundantly clear through the complex and chromatic harmonies he brings forth. Altius’ blazing technical facilities in the allegretto is nothing short of awesome, and their careful balancing of Shostakovich’s dense harmonies makes even the strongest of dissonances ring sonorously. Written after reluctantly joining the Communist Party and in the midst of his first instance of debilitating muscle fatigue, Shostakovich dedicated the Eighth Quartet “to the victims of fascism and the war.” Whether this is a reference to the atrocities he experienced during World War II or an expression of his closeted dissent of his country’s regime, the brooding largo and visceral allegretto demonstrate that this quartet could be dedicated to victims anywhere. In this work, the group’s cohesion comes to the forefront; the way in which the group can achieve dynamic unity in every swell and change allows the atmospheres that Shostakovich intended to come vividly to life. Finally, the Ninth Quartet was written in dedication to his third wife and it’s clear this work is written with a much more hopeful tone than his other pieces. For instance, this quartet doesn’t end with a morendo like so many of his other works; in fact, the quartet ends with a luminous forte. Even within the first few measures, it’s clear the ensemble has taken the time to live within the work. Although contingent upon rhythmic accuracy, the group still allows each phrase to breathe, ebb, and flow; all within perfect unison of one another. In the following brisker movements, the group is still able to convey the passion and fervor this work emits, whether it be the softest sul tasto or strongest fortissimo. HIGHLIGHTS This is Altius Quartet’s second Navona Records release, following their debut DRESS CODE. Each of these works were written in the early 1960’s, arguably one of the most tumultuous points in Shostakovich’s life.

What happens when you stop taking yourself - and your music - so seriously? Sometimes, the abandonment of rigidity can result in a performance that is more impressive, and memorable, than before. Turkish pianist Hakan Toker proves this point in Toker Messing Around, where he takes some well-known melodies from sources all across the map - and adds his own twist and flare. Hakan Toker was born in a southern Turkish town called Mersin in 1976. He holds a BM from Indiana University School of Music, where he studied piano, composition, jazz, and electronic music. To date, he has performed in 28 countries, both solo and alongside other artists. He has shared the stage with many masters of Eastern and Western music; he has collaborated with various groups, singers, dancers, poets, and jugglers, He has done classical and improvised recitals, informative concerts, music for silent films, multi-media, and musical-comedy shows.

SMALL STONES showcases Dr. Nancy Zipay Desalvo’s exploration into both minute and immense concepts. Recorded on solo piano, DeSalvo performs the compositions translating the compressed beauty of Jason Tad Howard and the expansive universe of Daniel Perttu. In the first half of the recording, Howard’s set of nine “short shorts” feature songs all under the two-minute mark (with the exception of his final track, “Reconciliation: A Not Quite So Short Short Short,” which runs just over four minutes long). Despite their short run times, each composition is satisfying. DeSalvo makes the melodies twinkle and shine in multidimensions like small diamonds. Based around the pitch of “C,” each short short establishes its own character and technical approach while sharing the common thread of its pitch. The compositions ring with recurring themes in melody and rhythmic texture, coming together at the final “Short Short No. 9” which unveils a grand finale. Born out of a visit to Stonehenge, Perttu’s compositions expand on the pebble of a simple vision into a larger, more complex structure. In her ambitious, emotional performance, DeSalvo is translating Perttu’s pursuit to achieve full comprehension of the mystical nature surrounding one of the Natural Wonders of the World.

In many ways, Walter Steffens' Two Cells in Sevilla is a work of polar opposites. Quasi-tonal but modern, traditional but minimalist, the German composer has created an opera uniting two historical protagonists as multi-faceted as the music itself. The libretto, written by Steffens' son Marec B�la Steffens, fancifully merges the lives of Brother Gabriel T�llez, best known under his pen name Tirso de Molina as the inventor of the fictional womanizer Don Juan, and that of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of windmill-fighting Don Quixote. Both look upon the world from their own respective confines - the monk Brother Gabriel from his cloister, Don Miguel from a debtor's prison cell. Their divine literary outbursts are provoked by a very mundane desire indeed: Both habitats share the same slothful cook, a lady with a penchant for gallant novels. Spurred by the same simple wish of enjoying a heartier fare, both Brother Gabriel and Don Miguel de Cervantes embark on a competition to come up with the raciest, most exciting novel to win the good will of their cook. The music captures this dialectic perfectly, conveying a grandiose arc of drama with deceptive ease and at the same time elevating the mundane to greatness. It would be tempting to diagnose enlightened undertones in the libretto as well as in the music: For as sublime as the work sounds, it remains deeply committed to the human spirit. Two Cells in Sevilla is rounded off by Steffens' musical interpretation of five poems by fellow-German Friedrich H�lderlin, widely known for the intensely lyrical, idealistic quality of his work and his tragic descent into insanity. With these lieder's ethereal fluctuation between beauty and pain, they truly are an apt choice for an album as full of contrasts as this one.

In Mezzanine Seat, Michael Cunningham exhibits a mastery over all aspects of the orchestra, filling out every bit of space with breathtaking melody and harmony. The arrangements emote a sophistication that echoes J.S. Bach, one of Cunningham's greatest inspirations. In the three-part composition Bach Diadem, Cunningham pays tribute to the famed composer and incorporates 18th-century orchestral influence in his compositions. Backed by the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Croatian Chamber Orchestra, Cunningham uses his compositions to create stories that intertwine darkness and beauty. The instruments interact at the forefront of the pieces as though they are characters in an opera, singing with backdrop of the chamber orchestra. A classic example occurs in the second work, Clarinet Concerto. The composer highlights the clarinet as the protagonist in a fantastic narrative carried by the orchestra. Throughout the three movements, the clarinet creates a conversation which moves the production forward. The somber melodies form a dramatic dialogue with the rest of the orchestra, presenting a chain of events that captures the listener's attention immediately. The captivating compositions in Mezzanine Seat will ensure to listeners that anywhere they listen to the album, they will feel as though they are sitting in the best seats in the concert hall.

Clarinetist Christopher Nichols makes his PARMA and Navona Records debut with ELEGIA, a compilation of Italian, French, and American clarinet works spanning two centuries. These works include repertoire standards, little-recorded rarities, and recent music from contemporary composer Kevin Cope. Collaborative pianist Julie Nishimura joins Nichols for these recordings. Among the widely-known works featured on the album is the operatic and energetic Adagio and Tarentella by Ernesto Cavallini, a clarinetist/composer known in Italy as “the Paganini of the clarinet.” As the principal clarinetist at Milan’s La Scala opera house, Cavallini’s astounding virtuosity caught the attention of Giuseppe Verdi, who was moved to write the stunning, lyrical Andante for clarinet in act three of his opera La forza del destino (The Force of Destiny)—a piece also included on this release. Nichols also features a favorite recital piece, Elegia. Composed by Aurelio Magnani, another Italian clarinetist/composer, the work is little known and rarely recorded. Two French staples are included as well: Henri Rabaud’s 1901 Solo de concours, Op. 10 and Camille Saint-Saëns’s Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 167. Each work is divided into contrasting sections or movements, thus displaying the clarinet’s wide-ranging sound in different contexts. The album’s two American works are both for unaccompanied clarinet. John Cage’s rarely heard, early Sonata for Clarinet is a challenging work: at its premiere in 1933, the clarinetist refused to play it, forcing the composer to play it with one finger at the piano. Even as an early piece, it foreshadows Cage’s later forays into the radical avant-garde. Kevin Cope’s 2012 piece Sirocco rounds out the album. The word “sirocco” refers to a desert wind that blows around the Mediterranean coastline, evoked in the piece by wandering tonality and blending of different musical styles. Clarinetist Christopher Nichols is nationally and internationally active as a solo performer. As a soloist, he has been featured at conferences of the International Clarinet Association, European Clarinet Association, and College Music Society. His performances have been broadcast on Kansas and Michigan Public Radio, and have been included in the Audio Performance Archive of College Music Symposium. In 2015, his solo work garnered him an Established Artist Fellowship from the Delaware Division of the Arts. Nichols also frequently performs in ensembles. He is a current member of the Christiana Winds, and regularly performs with mid-Atlantic orchestras such as the Pennsylvania Philharmonic, the Kennett Symphony, and the Allentown Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with the Serafin String Quartet, the Taggart-Grycky Duo, and members of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Baltimore Symphony. Nichols is a dedicated teacher, having been Assistant Professor of Clarinet at the University of Delaware since 2013. He is also the Audio Reviews Editor for The Clarinet, and is a Légère Reeds Endorsing Artist and a Buffet Artist Clinician, performing exclusively with Légère Signature Series reeds and Buffet clarinets. Julie Nishimura has been faculty accompanist for the Department of Music at the University of Delaware since 1988. She is active throughout the country as a performer, appearing at music festivals, such as the chamber music series of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall; with several symphony orchestras; and as a guest artist at over 45 college campuses. She is artistic director and co-founder of Distant Voices Touring Theatre, which tours two documentary theatrical works: Distant Voices, based on Nishimura’s father’s account of his time in a Japenese-American internment camp, and September Echoes, which chronicles the events surrounding the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Kevin Cope’s music has a dark, engaging character. He works can be tonal and atonal, and is known for his mixing of styles—such as Arabian modes with Western theory. Sirocco was commissioned by clarinetist Arianna Tieghi for a project called “From USA,” where she performs a piece by a composer from each of the 50 states. This is also the world premiere recording of Sirocco.

The four works on this recording, Unexplored, offer a wide spectrum of musical styles and introduce listeners to new additions to the recorded cello oeuvre. Works by Tchaikovsky, Cassado, Rudnytsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov are presented by the dynamic and versatile cellist Nada Radulovich with Cullum Bryant, one of the most active chamber and collaborative pianists in New York City. Tchaikovsky composed Six French Songs, opus 65', to the original French text by three French poets. Although this is a fully instrumental program, Radulovich provides the first English translation of these songs sonata. The four movements of Cassad�, written by composer and cellist Gaspar Cassado (1897-1966), represent various moods and dances. At times poignant, dramatic, playful, or uplifting, this compelling work, recorded here for the first time, is an effective synthesis of tradition cast in striking, harmonic terms. Romantic Fantasie for Cello and Piano, Op 43, by Ukrainian composer Antin Rudnytsky (1902-1975), displays a conservative 20th-century harmonic language, while exploring the folk idioms of the composer's native land. The intricate dialogue between the instruments illustrates the composer's skill at evoking a variety of moods within a single composition. One of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's best-known works, Flight of the Bumblebee, evokes the erratic path of the tiny insect. The unique transcription of this work was created by pianist Bryant and inspired by his collaboration with Radulovich.

Three Orchestral Works by Dwight Beckham, Sr. marks a tremendous sample of American composer Dwight Beckham’s lyrical style and command of the orchestra. Based in Kansas, Beckham is part of an important generation of composers who, in the latter half of the twentieth century, persisted in their pursuit of a classically Romantic aesthetic. To this end, Beckham’s orchestral music is stalwartly thematic, crisply orchestrated, and centered on dramatic melodic and harmonic ideas. The music on this album demonstrates Beckham is also a facile, expert orchestrator, who can draw any mood with the instruments at hand. In this regard, the album’s longest work, Feather Sound, is the most dynamic. At first plaintive, the piece is enlivened by triumphant percussion and brass, and includes a variety of wonderful textures, particularly in its heavily contrapuntal sections. Feather Sound features an impressive and intricate section dominated by a web of canons, which Beckham deftly illustrates with crystal clear and clever orchestration. Feather Sound also speaks to Beckham’s attraction to lyrical and thematic melodic material, a characteristic that dominates the other works in this collection. Fanfare 40, though brief, features a handful of memorable themes, some stately and others more delicate and charming. Like in Feather Sound, Beckham is cleverly economical here, and uses sections of counterpoint to re-purpose and disguise his ideas, giving the listener the sense that we are hearing something new, when in fact, the opposite is the case. Fanfare 40 also features structurally significant orchestration, as to the two themes at the heart of work are scored very contrastingly. Memorial Ode, the remaining work on the album, again demonstrates Beckham’s skill at painting mood through orchestration. Its contemplative opening, scored simply for solo flute and chimes, is extraordinarily compelling, so much so Beckham meaningfully recalls aspects of this texture later in the piece. The remainder of Memorial Ode is dominated by elegant and glorious re-settings of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Sine nomine” hymn tune, which was a favorite of the work’s dedicatee, Harold Romoser. HIGHLIGHTS Dwight Beckham’s orchestral music is defined by Romantic lyricism and crisp, clear orchestration, which particularly shines in contrapuntal sections Feather Sound, being the longest work, is the most texturally dynamic work on the album, while Fanfare 40 and Memorial Ode are the most classically thematic

Nicholas Vines presents Hipster Zombies from Mars, his third PARMA Recordings album. This collection of three major piano works by Dr. Vines was recorded on location at Cornell University with artist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough at the piano. For all of the flash one might expect from the album title, Vines bypasses gimmickry in order to capture something sophisticated. Standouts include the four-movement Terraformation for pianoforte, inspired by Kim Stanley Robinson's science-fiction novel "Red Mars." Vines depicts the technology's influence on nature by lifting traditional classical forms and acclimating them to a modernist viewpoint. McCullough captivates the listener with his careful attention to the futuristic timeline into which Vines' tone clusters have been poetically mapped. Indie Ditties: Twelve Scapes for Piano is a social commentary on the modern hipster movement. The multi-genre piano melodies are thoughtfully constructed, telling a story that is both interesting and musically complex. Concentrating carefully, a keen listener will hear familiar incidental phrases in the most unexpected of places (hint: Movement III, Bad Appletude is not about produce). Vines describes his compositional technique as " firmly rooted in the technical resources of the Western classical canon, while embracing sounds and ideas from an array of popular, experimental, Australian and non-Western traditions. This combination of rigour and pluralism gives rise to music at once vectored and kaleidoscopic." Popular media outlets have called the work of Dr. Nicholas Vines "exquisite," "riveting," "arresting," "edgy, bright and entertaining as hell." Hipster Zombies from Mars does not fail to deliver on these accolades.