The 29th edition of the acclaimed Society of Composers, Inc. CD Series and the fifth SCI release on the label. Founded in 1965, SCI celebrates their 50 year anniversary with the release of this album, marking their continued dedication to the promotion, performance, understanding, and dissemination of new and contemporary music. This offering in the series features works by ten SCI composers: Christopher Biggs' Greed offers a musical reflection on the depravity of the same name; Federico Bonacossa's Rivir for solo viola was written for violist Vivian Torres, using letters from her name to form a palindrome; Kai-Young Chan's Ignis Fatuus is a musical portrait of the elusive and flickering phenomena of a pale, green light commonly seen in marshes or around graveyards; Kyong Mee Choi and Timothy Ernest Johnson's Tensile Strength focuses on the intersection of the harsh and the harmonious; Shawn Crouch's Adolescent Psychology is an impressionistic scene of youth; Ferdinando DeSena's Between Logic and Rhetoric presents the distinction between logical and rhetorical arguments; Chi-hin Leung's Utmost Attack captures the fleeting moment of shooting an arrow; Anne Neikirk's Gangrel offers a musical narrative illustrating the onset of a terrifying thunderstorm; andri�n Pertout's Echoes from the Past presents a study on extended flute techniques, such as multi phonics, progressive vibrati, and broken sounds; and Mark Zanter's Persistence of Memory, commissioned by WVSO Principal Flautist Lindsey Goodman, explores how a piece of music might attempt to form memories of itself. This compilation reflects the diversity and originality of techniques coming from some of today's most talented composers.

Russian composer Alexander Scriabin is known to enthusiasts for his theory of musical colors, innovative piano works that pushed the boundaries of tonal writing, and for his untimely demise brought on by an unsanitary razor blade. American pianist and music professor Russell Hirshfield has now recorded an ambitiously-broad selection of the composer's early works which may well provide a novel talking point. There are relatively few recordings of Scriabin's music these days, possibly because it's a daunting task: The compositions demand a high level of virtuosity, but also a natural musical expressiveness that few performers are able to capture. Often, as in the case of the 24 Preludes, the performer is required to condense the emotional depth of an entire sonata movement into one minute or less. It's a well-crafted but fragile kind of music: if any one component, say, the phrasing, is off-color, the whole piece can fall apart. Luckily, Hirshfield is more than up to the challenge. His pianistic sentiment, technical command and interpretive clarity is not only impressive, it's the perfect fit for Scriabin. The level-headed yet profoundly empathetic playing truly brings out the shine in Scriabin's idiosyncratic compositional voice. This rendition isn't drenched in pseudo-Slavic drama which often mars contemporary recordings of Russian composers: instead, it rightfully portrays the pieces as the works of the individual. And it's a success. ALEXANDER SCRIABIN: EARLY WORKS couldn't be more aptly titled: Even though they constitute a selection, one would be hard-pressed not to imagine them as the sole recordings of the true, unadulterated Scriabin. Russell Hirshfield adds another exceptional merit to his great pianistic mastery: that to be a good musician is not only to be a performer, but to be an ambassador.

On LINES AT DUSK, acclaimed hornist John McGuire presents seven pieces, written by a variety of composers, with performances that are at once deep and expansive. The three movements of Landscapes, Series II, inspired by Japanese landscape paintings and woodcuts, travel from the dangerous mountains through the tranquility of the countryside and the bustling energy of a large city. It closes with an extended coda, with longer note values and a more sustained piano part that indicates a return to a calmer, more serene environment. Beginning with Landscapes, Series II and throughout the album’s next three selections, McGuire is accompanied by pianist Kevin Chance. The duo’s performance on the programmatic Lines at Dusk: Hymn to the Rising Moon, which was inspired by two of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poems, effectively utilizes harmonic color to convey atmosphere as well as emotion. Nocturne was written by Traci Mendel for horn and piano for McGuire’s birthday in 2000. Embedded in the chords is the opening melody from Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 1, which McGuire was working on at the time. The piece’s solemn, almost foreboding pace belies the composition’s celebratory inspiration. On Bataque, McGuire and Chance are joined by Wesley Ferreira, one of the prominent clarinetists of his generation. “Bataque” refers to a genre of music and dance associated with coastal West Africa and Brazil, and this two-movement composition explores the heterophonic and call-and-response techniques of the genre. The first movement focuses on the tuneful melodies performed by the kantaderas (singers) while the second, more energetic movement captures the complex polyrhythms of the batukaderas (drummers.)

Navona Records presents SOUNDTRACK OF THE AMERICAN SOLDIER, an album of contemporary works for wind band performed by The United States Army Field Band. Led by Colonel Jim R Keene, the Army Field Band is the U.S. Army’s premier touring musical organization. In SOUNDTRACK OF THE AMERICAN SOLDIER, the Army Field Band presents music of classic American films and video games, and in doing so celebrates the stories they portray and the men and women who inspired them. Monitored and mixed in Immersive Audio, Surround, and Stereo, the album immerses the listener in a multi-dimensional soundscape that creates a deeply meaningful connection to the music and the stories it portrays. Teaming up with some of the most-heralded composers in Hollywood, the Army Field Band performs fresh arrangements of music from the 1941 Gary Cooper classic Sergeant York, the legendary Electronic Arts video game Medal of Honor, and everything in between. The album begins with Brass Ceiling: The Journey of General Ann Dunwoody, honoring the life and work of Four Star General Ann Dunwoody who was the first woman to achieve the rank of four star general. The music is meticulously crafted with latent symbolism, such as a fanfare that portrays the movement of “supply lines” like those Dunwoody oversaw when she was in charge of the Army’s logistics. Later we hear an arrangement of the 1917 classic, “Over There,” which became a hugely-popular anthem during both world wars; this time, it is reimagined by the Army Field Band as only they can. March from 1941, written by film-scoring legend John Williams, captures this Spielberg film’s lighthearted humor and underlying emotional gravitas. The album concludes with an unexpected treat and homage to the Skywalker Ranch, home of Skywalker Sound where the album was recorded: “The Jedi Steps and Finale” From Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

Ruth Lomon (1930-2017), Composer and Resident Scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis University and Composer-in-Residence with Boston Secession, and her friend Iris Graffman Wenglin, Florida-based pianist and lecturer, came to a stunning realization after Ruth traveled to London, where she looked for music written by women. There were very few scores to be found, and even fewer that were properly printed. With that, the duo set out on a mission to uncover the buried works of female composers over the years and bring them deserved recognition. The results of this endeavor come to life in HOMMAGE TO WOMEN COMPOSERS. Featuring compositions by 11 female composers—Clara Wieck Schumann, Germaine Tailleferre, Louise Talma, Miriam Gideon, Barbara Pentland, Marga Richter, Thea Musgrave, Jacqueline Fontyn, Marta Ptaszynska, Shulamit Ran, and Lomon herself—HOMMAGE TO WOMEN COMPOSERS offers a cross-section of genius and innovation from the Romantic period to the late 20th Century. From the grace and rhythmic definition of Schumann’s Five Caprices (1831) and Polonaise (1832), to the array of lyricism, rhythmic momentum, and moments of pointillist texture in Pentland’s Three Piano Duets After Pictures by Paul Klee (1958) and the brief yet personality-packed movements of Ran’s Children’s Scenes (1970), the diversity of styles, textures, and arrangements all within the genre of piano duet is a marvel to behold. The impact of female composers on the world of music is known by some, although there is a long way to go in unearthing the full treasure trove that is compositions by female artists throughout history. With HOMMAGE TO WOMEN COMPOSERS, the impact is unignorable.

Wong Hok-yeung opens the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild’s RESONATING COLOURS 5 with Night Poem, a composition for cello and piano. Rhapsodic and ambling, the piece conjures nightly thoughts, welling up and vanishing with lifelike authenticity. Chan Chin-ting brings two pieces for solo violin: Cross Currents, an exploration of the violin's full tonal range, and Postcards, an assortment of "six miniatures/musical gifts," which can be played as standalone pieces, but also feature a common theme that unites them. Lee Kar-tai's Pyrus Flower in the Rain is a minimalist evocation of temporality. Written for solo piano, its structure and execution reveal a great deliberation and decisiveness behind every single note and effect, quite like a traditional ink-and-washing painting. Stretch of Light, a contrabass quintet by Chen Yeung-ping, starts out with drawn-out notes more reminiscent of fragmented Indian raga music than of Chinese composition. But the surprise is unwarranted: After all, Stretch of Light is supposed to be an examination of the nature of space, and the long, layered lines evoke this quite naturally. Dyeing, a trio for violin, clarinet, and cello by Au Tin-yung was inspired by an anecdote experienced by the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi, who was mesmerized by the process of coloring fabric. Au Tin-yung aims to explore this fascinating yet utilitarian process in his composition, in which he handles the instruments' different timbres in quite the same manner in which a craftsman would handle differently-textured fabrics. Seasonal changes are at the heart of November Winds by Ng Chun-hoi, a string quartet as ephemeral as the annual variances in weather and nature. This impression is counterbalanced by another work by the composer, Prelude II, a tonal composition for two guitars which employs the instruments in both a melodic and percussive fashion. Finally, Wong Chun-wai's Clouds in Twilight rounds off the album with an atmospheric meditation on a sunset. In its dramatic ebb and tide, culminating in a rich, full orchestration, lends the perfect and indeed, the most fitting, ending to RESONATING COLOURS 5.

The music on MEMORY, the Navona Records debut by acclaimed violinist Patrick Yim, is linked together by the themes of memory, culture, and identity. The album’s title track was composed by the Chinese-born composer Chen Yi who searched for a harmonious marriage of centuries-old Western and Chinese musical traditions as she remembered her beloved violin teacher, Lin Yaoji. In the liner notes for this bittersweet and poignant piece, the composer addresses her mentor directly, saying “…I expressed my deep sorrow in the music, to remember your fatherly mentorship.” Away, Alone, Aloft, written by Kai-Young Chan, is a touching and penetrating work which draws upon an ancient Chinese tale about the loneliness and regret of the legendary Moon Lady. The melodic materials and overall character of the piece are based on a poem by Tang Dynasty poet Li Shangyin, who expressed with his words the Moon Lady’s deep emotions. Miles upon Miles is composer Yao Chen's personal meditation on three of the myriad facets of the Silk Road, which unleashed the free flow across borders of sound. The composition’s first movement, “Silk Road,” makes strong use of tremolos and trills to evoke a specific atmosphere, a rhythmic momentum that heightens the degree of expression before ultimately fading into a more peaceful environment. “Buddhist Mantra” is marked by the use of open strings, built on a cascade of restless three-note patterns that are always striving forward until a moment when the mantra takes effect and sustained harmonics rise to the fore. Pizzicato is the dominant trait of “Kung Fu,” the closing movement, which is sprightly but sophisticated, exciting and endearing. Miles upon Miles, composed for amplified violin and electronics by Austin Yip, is in three movements entitled “I. Gilt Bronze”, “II. Cameleer”, and “III. Sancai”, referring to the features of artifacts in the Hong Kong Museum of History’s special exhibit, Miles upon Miles: World Heritage along the Silk Road. “Gilt Bronze” refers to the materials used for a silkworm of the Han dynasty; “Cameleer” refers to a painting of a Tang dynasty cameleer, and “Sancai” refers to the colors that were used during the Tang Dynasty. In the work, field recordings of the Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam, taken in Xinjiang 2015, are operated through granular synthesis and serve as an extra dimension to the work. Miles Upon Miles was commissioned by violinist Patrick Yim in 2018. The album’s final selection, Relics, composed by Michael-Thomas Foumai, was commissioned by Yim as a suite of companion pieces to be performed at the Hong Kong Museum of History’s special exhibit. The work is a suite of eight movements inspired by artifacts featured at the exhibition.

In MOTO CELESTE, the fifth installment in Navona Records’ MOTO series, the internationally-acclaimed Trio Casals takes on eight new works by eight preeminent composers. It is an electrifying collection, full of drama and adventure. The compositions borrow from an eclectic array of musical traditions, including rhumba and flamenco music. MOTO CELESTE is forged into a cohesive work by the trio’s sensitive and highly-organic performances. Earth Rise by composer Diane Jones kicks off the recording. This piece is inspired by the cosmic dance between the sun, moon, and Earth, and features lively dances and ethereal strains. Next comes Edna Longoria’s Los Ritmos Para Tres, which translates to “rhythms for three.” It is a mischievous and thrilling piece, rife with shadow and mystery. Ovidiu Marinescu, Trio Casals’ cellist, composed I’m All Ears, which is inspired in part by the musical gestures of a flamenco guitar and features a muscular performance by Marinescu. Next comes Christina Rusnak’s Glacier Blue, in which the trio reflects on the fundamental physical elements of “Mountain,” “Sky,” and “Water” over the course of three movements. Darkbloom by Chad Robinson follows, exploring the full range of the cello with boisterous interjections and tentative replies. After that comes Clive Muncaster’s Palette No. 2, a grand, sweeping piece seasoned with cross rhythms and even rhumba-inspired passages. The penultimate track is Joanna Estelle’s Faraway Star, which includes songful themes that passionately recount the story of two (literally) star-crossed lovers. Finally, Eliane Aberdam’s Grisailles Vaporeuses or “misty grayness” is a three-movement work inspired by nature in New England, with all its joy and drama. The piece ends without a firm musical resolution, leaving the listener already longing for the next album in the MOTO series.

The third installment in Navona Records' series for orchestra is here: DIMENSIONS VOL 3, featuring the work of contemporary composers Michael G. Cunningham, Andre' Godsey, Miguel Matamoro, Paul Osterfield, and Eric Simonson. Harnessing the power of a concert hall full of virtuosos performing original compositions from today's composers, DIMENSIONS VOL 3 packs a powerful punch. The compilation kicks off with the work of Dr. Andre' E. Godsey, Sr. The first movement of his Symphony Number One in C# Minor: Themes for S�ren Kierkegaard is a sweeping programmatic piece imagining the life of the legendary Danish philosopher and polymath. This movement deals with Kierkegaard's heartbreak following the cutting off of his wedding engagement to the love of his life. Paul Osterfield's Silver Fantasy follows, a concertante wind ensemble piece featuring graceful lyrical passages and vibrant rhythmic energy. In Br�tema, named after the Galician word referring to dense fog and clouds, composer Miguel Matamoro draws parallels between the Spanish cliffs that perpetually emerge and retreat among the smoky mist and the prism-like fluidity of his own musical idiom. Eric Simonson contributes Maples and Rondeaux avec Berlioz from his TWO PICTURES FOR ORCHESTRA. Both are based on musical "snapshots" of pieces from Beethoven and Berlioz, respectively. These quotations, taken from less well-known passages, provide the basis for Simonson's compositions, which reconsider their fragmented primary sources in a new light. Michael G. Cunningham's Symphony No. 7 and Impromptus-featuring all the sophistication and nuance listeners have come to expect from him over the years-round out the album.

Christopher O'Riley's THE WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER BOOK I delves into the subtle intricacies of Bach's famous masterwork, revealing the composer's nuanced craftsmanship through an exploration of the spaces between notes. Inspired by Bach's profound lyricism and informed by historical insights, O'Riley's interpretation transcends conventional keyboard traditions. Embracing the expressive potential of articulation and texture, he illuminates counterpoint with dynamic contrast, unveiling hidden dialogues within Bach's compositions. Through meticulous attention to intonation and rhythmic flexibility, O'Riley uncovers layers of meaning, echoing the Japanese concept of "Ma" - the significance of space and silence. This album invites listeners to immerse themselves in Bach's universe, where every pause resonates with depth and possibility.

Accomplished Brazilian pianist Eliane Rodrigues interprets Chopin with a highly combustible melange of precision, expressiveness and dynamism on her newest release, DREAMSCAPE. With her trademark crystal-clear tone and larger-than-life interpretation, Rodrigues brings Late-Romantic grandeur to the Romantic composer. The juxtaposition of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 with his famous Preludes op. 28 impressively highlights one of the greatest strengths of Rodrigues: her ability to coax orchestral colors from seemingly straightforward solo piano pieces. The shades and hues she manages to produce unveil an entirely new facet of the Polish composer's works: a sense of spatial vastness and exuberance.

The singing quality of string instruments ties together "SONGS FOR A NEW CENTURY," a program featuring both world premiere recordings of new music commissioned for the artists and world premiere recordings of masterpieces by Mendelssohn.

The program opens with a set of Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words, beginning with the Opus 109 written by the composer for cello and piano. It continues with a set of arrangements for cello and piano, some recorded for the first time, by the 19th-century cellist Alfredo Piatti, a personal friend of Mendelssohn’s upon whose cello Jonathan Miller plays. Gabriela Lena Frank’s Operetta for violin and cello, the composer writes, expands upon Mendelssohn’s concept of the “song without words,” creating opera without words that evokes scenes and characters through singing music for the duo of violin (Lucia Lin) and cello. Scott Wheeler’s second cello sonata, Songs Without Words, was inspired by Miller’s singing cello tone. Finally, Judith Weir’s Three Chorales for cello and piano meditate on religious poetry, departing from hymn texts –– and in the third Chorale, a melody from Hildegard of Bingen –– in a triptych that evokes the human condition.

"Operetta," "Three Chorales," and "Cello Sonata #2: Songs Without Words" were commissioned by Jonathan Miller and Diane Fassino for the Boston Artists Ensemble.

Society of Composers, Inc. presents 10 works from boundary-defying composers on TRANSITION AND APOTHEOSIS, the 35th installment of their celebrated Composers’ Series.

"Carnyx" by Chris Arrell employs the carnyx, the ceremonial and battle trumpet used by Iron Age Celts, to conjure the terror of an army encroaching through the morning mist.

Jiyoun Chung’s "Scissors" is a fantasia-toccata for solo piano inspired by the traditional Korean Scissors dance.

"24/7" by Yunfei Li honors the healthcare professionals who served on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Transition and Apotheosis" from Mike McFerron is a multichannel fixed media piece that maps Danish composer Per Nørgård’s “infinity sequence” to sound elements.

Paul Lombardi’s "Unwoven" incorporates the fractal-like technique used in his past pieces to startling new effects.

Robert McClure’s "struggling in excess" decries the vast amounts of waste humans produce on a daily basis.

"glass, evaporate[d]" from to?-dr?-'ki is a hauntingly beautiful reimagining of 2019’s "lips evaporate".

William Price’s "Sans Titre VII (B)" is a modified variation-rondo that explores the wide range, technical agility, and unique extended techniques offered by the saxophone.

"Der Saus und Braus" by Joseph Klein is the sixteenth in a series of short works for solo instruments based on characters in Elias Canetti’s "Der Ohrenzeuge: Fünfzig Charaktere" (Earwitness: Fifty Characters).

Finally, Ania Vu’s "Tik-Tak" sets the composer’s Polish poem to remind us of the relentless flow of time.

SCI renews its decades-long mission to promote and disseminate contemporary music in this Navona Records release.

Transmutation: “to change or alter in form, appearance, or nature, and especially to a higher form.” Joanna Estelle embodies this definition in her deeply personal and profound compositions on TRANSMUTATION, a communal effort featuring various talented performers coming together to transmute their message to you. With music as vulnerable and exposed as the stories it tells, TRANSMUTATION is a reflection on the patterns of life through periods of both rain and shine, and the constants that keep us grounded through the changes that they bring. Estelle’s message is clear: to allow for change is to allow for healing.

Even the most fearful of the cold will draw warmth from Joe Summer’s comforting No Enemy But Winter and Rough Weather, the sixth album honoring The Shakespeare Concert Series, of which he is founder and executive director. Summer’s own Concert Overture for Piano is an icy introduction performed by SangYoung Kim. (Navona)