Composer Garth Baxter makes his Parma debut with a collection of his exquisite works for voice entitled Ask the Moon. This album is about the human condition and the pursuit of light in darkness. A setting of Sara Teasdale’s “Nights Without Sleep,” for voice and piano commences the album’s journey of introspection. Then there is Three Madrigals—“There is a Lady Sweet and Kind,” combines the elegance of the English art song with the character of a Stephen Foster folk tune; the performance of “The Silver Swan,” a dark Irish ballad of sorts, is evocative of the Leontyne Price recordings of Samuel Barber’s art songs; “Love Me Not for Comely Grace,” embodies its text, demonstrating the sweet, yet complicated burden of affections. Following is “Is This the Cost?” an elegiac exemplar of Baxter’s flair for dramatic writing derived from Act II, Scene II of his opera Lily (Lisa VanAuken, librettist). Four Views of Love begins with “When You Are Old,” a reflective setting of the classic Yeats text. Be prepared for an incredible climax that expresses fully the ranges of the piano and the human voice trailed by blissful catharsis. Closing the album is Skywriting, a cycle “drawing on words by Linda Pastan.” In the composer’s own words—“[Pastan’s] poems have so often touched me so deeply and in such a very personal way that it feels as if she has been listening to my thoughts. The title of the album, Ask the Moon, comes from the closing line of the final song, ‘Why are your poems so dark?’”

Mark John McEncroe, who started his musical training in his late 30's, had always exhibited a varied, profound interest in music – one that led him to work as a major music label manager over the course of two decades. No doubt that it was partially this section of his professional career which formed the basis of his personal compositional language. Unimpeded by the constrictions of a musical academic career, he developed a style which is unapologetically concrete and evocative. Live In Ostrava sets out with a work titled Symphonic Poem – The Passing, a piece which chronicles the renewal of attitudes and ideas; a process that may, at times, be painful, but remains an inevitable part of the human condition. There are wistful moments, too, but the outlook is quietly courageous: like someone who has made peace with his or her fate, The Passing concludes in a soft melancholia. While it draws on the same idea of the cyclicality of life, the initial mood in the following work, Symphonic Suite No. 1 – A Modern Medieval Tale, could not be more different. “Entrance of the King” is expectedly majestic and proud, at times even martial, as is “Strutting Peacocks – Hangers On at Court.” Ever present is the truculent struggle against humanity's universal inner demons. “Rising Discontent” evokes the quiet before a storm, which gets unleashed in a fortissimo tutti in “Peasants Uprising” – the latter intriguingly interspersed by a lone violin as if to remind the listener of the individual being amid a common destiny. “An Uneasy Truce” and “A New Way Forward” both seem to evoke the inner turmoil of grappling with compromise and an uncertain future. The final movement, “The Quest – A Search for Truth,” bears a transformative power reminiscent of that bestowed upon a soul which has found its true purpose. This finale in particular seems to ring true for the composer: while composing music may have been a late vocation for Mark John McEncroe, it is a vocation nonetheless.

This new release features pieces from celebrated contemporary composer Hayes Biggs. 'Pan-Fare,' the album's starting point, is a rare modern classical piece for steel pan and a motley, jazz-inflected ensemble. Fun, energetic, and brimming with rhythmic imagination, it is set against an original percussive backdrop provided by, among others, a vibraslap, a marimba, and a Chinese opera gong. The album's title track, 'When you are reminded by the instruments,' is inspired by a verse in Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Like Whitman's poetry, Biggs's composition oscillates between the concrete and the fantastical, while the traditional classical instrumental grouping stands in stark contrast to the decidedly modern soundscape it creates. One of the most personal tracks on the album, 'The Trill Is Gone' is a dedication to Biggs's fellow composer and friend, the late Edwin London. This solo saxophone piece paints a memorable portrait of a character that, not unlike it's dedicatee, is equal parts nonchalant, mischievous and sophisticated. In the intimate 'E. M. am Fl�gel,' melancholic tenderness meets with moments of precipitous furor. Specifically written for Biggs's colleague - and the performer on this recording - Eric Moe, the piece includes quotations of Gregorian chants as well as a fragment from one of the Moe's compositions. Played to perfection, the piece is a true reflection of their friendship. This album holds quite a few surprises, and the Wedding Motet is certainly one of them. This choral work, inspired by Biggs's interest in liturgical texts, is steeped in the album's most obviously tonal musical syntax, harking back to the traditions of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Late Romantic periods. Ochila laEil, the composer's first choral piece set in Hebrew, develops a dialogue between a horn and the choir, mirroring the dynamic between cantor and congregation. With it's varied moods, it manages to distill the power and serenity of an entire oratorio into less than 14 minutes. In short, When You Are Reminded By The Instruments manages to shed light on Biggs's incredibly versatile musical output - light which, indeed, is well deserved.

So many of us wonder about the big picture questions in life. Why are we here? What is the best I can do in my lifetime? Cosmic Wheel of the Zodiac, with lyrics by astrologer Benita Rainer, presents a cosmic rumination for meditation upon these great questions. These songs guide you through the labyrinth of the Cosmos, which, as perfectly attested to in "As above, so below," is also the labyrinth of your mind; as what is without has it's genesis in what is within. Let yourself relax down into what are the key feature blueprints of your life's sun sign. The twelve songs in the Cosmic Wheel cycle cover a universal span, from each sign's deepest motivation for love, to each soul's most heartfelt desire for spiritual expression. Journey with Aries, the first primal force of the calendar year, to Taurus' expression of security, and onward to Gemini's mercurial desire for freedom. Experience the depths of Cancer's protection, the instinctual and strident soul creativity of Leo, the amazing Virgo the virgin's cosmic genesis, and Libra's search for harmony. Scorpio will take you to depths you've never experienced, and, with Sagittarius, you will shoot for the stars. Catch Capricorn's goat - if you can - and Aquarius' wide-ranging humanity, before experiencing the final resolution of the human spirit with Pisces, the completion of the cosmic wheel. Perfect for times when purpose is lost and goals are hard to find, these twelve quintessential musical mandalas will bathe you in cosmic anchor points. Find out what are the intrinsic motivators of your loved ones, and allow each track to revive the lost purposes of your own tribe or village. We are all different, and yet we all share these inner truths as expressed in Margaret Brandman's transformative melodies.

Composer Eric Klein immediately engages the listener with the mysteriousness of “Nettles,” a quartet for piano, violin, cello, and clarinet. This track’s rhythmic dexterity hints at Klein’s background as a film/media composer, foreshadowing the complexity of the dark, ethnographic “Myth of Tomorrow,” an exploration of the keyboard percussion instruments and the distinctive aspects of the harp. The first movement of the energetic “Hoboken Suite” transpires when flute and free-bass accordion engage in a battle of sonorities, highlighted by the warm depth of strings and bass clarinet woodwinds. It is a cliffhanger with no resolve, and still none is given even in the haunting opening of Movement II, when the tempo is dramatically cut in half. In the similar realm is the rhapsodic “Dream Fragments” a sonata for piano—each hand, at times, so independent one might wonder if two pianos are in effect. “1899” is a pensive survey of the Americana themes of Klein’s predecessors directed by the reminiscent harmonies of the atmospheric woodwinds and vibraphones that have been catalysts for the album so far. Following is “Parallels,” a “tonal and atonal hybrid,” a play on anxiety and confusion. Perhaps the most unexpected gem of this incredible album is the guitar duet “Four Journeys.” There is a subtle dance with modal mixture, providing exquisite chord progressions and arrival points reminiscent of the sweetest of Renaissance madrigals. When the dust settles, it is with a startling jolt.“Hidden Places” is the icing on the cleverly syncopated cake. Klein’s work is smart and sophisticated, accessible even to the untrained ear, and a cool, clever blend of things both old and new.

Acclaimed piano four-hand duo Dana Muller and Gary Steigerwalt come together once more for In Your Head, a collection featuring the work of six composers that highlights both fresh compositional talents and earlier successful works. Each piece demonstrates the unique synergy between the two performers. With twice the hands, twice the talent, and twice the interpretation, the piano is pushed to dynamic and sonoric extremes. Compositions on In Your Head span over five decades, but each is brought to new life by the skilled hands of Muller and Steigerwalt. The duo, who have performed extensively across the Western Hemisphere, found inspiration for this compilation in the success of Lewis Spratlan's Dreamworlds, a piece which they had commissioned in 2015. Using the piano as a canvas, the two paint a psychological landscape exploring the mind within different people, scenarios, and even locations. Sometimes dissonant and flustered, as in 'Mind Games II. Panic,' and other times eerie as in 'The Silent Hearth' which captures the memories echoing like firing synapses inside a dilapidated concert hall, each piece resonates with the complexity of mental activity. Throughout In Your Head, Steigerwalt and Muller compel listeners to zero in on the thoughts of the panicked soul, the trapped bureaucrat, the obsessed dictator, and the mind control of the lucid dreamer. As you follow along, perhaps you'll ask yourself - whose psyche most resonates with me?

With Exhaling Space, Alejandro Rutty and his cast of remarkable performers create one hour of fresh, captivating music combining Latin and world music styles with the classical tradition. With tracks like the futuristic tango Martian Milonga and the meditative More Music for Examining and Buying Merchandise, Rutty composes the album like a breathing exercise, taking in an anxious pace in one movement, and then in the next, letting the melodies exhale gently through the piece. The North Carolina-based composer is renowned for his original blend of South American styles, astonishing rhythms, and lyrical melodies with powerful evocative intensity. Rutty's compositions explore ambitious philosophical queries ranging from the break-neck swells of excitement to the calm delicacy of wonder. Exhaling Space gracefully navigates experimentation and tradition. Works like Transparent Sun interweave piano and violin beautifully, building tension between the two instruments into an engaging conflict like staging a debate within your mind. The title track also inhabits a classically-infused world, yet the rhythms weave in South American tropes as if they were transported into a fourth dimension. Simply put, Exhaling Space is not merely a background soundtrack to your day. Allow yourself to give in to it's demand for attention; your breath will be taken away.

Composer and Clarinetist Mark G. Simon makes his PARMA debut with his first-ever recorded album, Grecian Urn. All selections were composed by Simon, and he is the clarinetist on every track. "Anniversary Sonata" commemorates the 50th wedding anniversary of the composer's parents. "Angel Music," is a bright, yet sympathetic Broadway-style ballad with running eighth-note phrases marked by sentimental modulations, inspired by the congeniality of the composer's parents, his father's vocation as a minister, and the G.K. Chesterton quote, "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly." Concluding the sonata is the progressive "Pleasant Hill," a sweet treasure that could easily be set to words to conclude what is the lounge-style, popular work with innate chamber music tendencies. "Un Buen Piola Porte�o" is a tango/fantasia for clarinet and piano and fabulous in every way - from the transformative qualities of the clarinet's voicing through different octaves to the smooth, indelible, charismatic melody of the tune itself, fleshed out with the glittering harmonies of the piano. In "Ode on a Grecian Urn," Simon and Meir add soprano Linda Larson to their combo. In this setting of four of the five stanzas of the John Keats poem, in which the poet describes his visits to the British Museum, Simon reincarnates Keats' experience noting that "The poem's very existence to the power of art to affect people's lives." "Thou Still Unravished Bride," is reminiscent of an Argento song-delicate and complex, yet unforgiving. "Heard Melodies" is a torrent of surface emotions transpired into a popular folk tune. "Coming to the Sacrifice," is a haunting but spirited dance concluded with an extended instrumental fugue-in homage to J.S. Bach's own Musical Sacrifice (BWV 1097). "O Attic Shape," is an elegy directed to the Grecian Urn itself through which a harrowing soprano outcry lauds the Urn for it's beauty.

Jan J�rvlepp's first Navona release, CONCERTO 2000, presents a tonal concerto, scored for orchestra - one might think Wagner or Mahler when listening. Except that Wagner and Mahler might not quite have agreed with the directness of his tonal language: for J�rvlepp's work unabashedly aspires to appeal on a popular level. J�rvlepp began to play guitar and cello as an adolescent and even studied composition in San Diego - where he didn't quite see eye-to-eye with his instructors. Unimpressed with the dissonance and lack of coherence in Modernist music, the young man turned his back on those teachings the day he left University, and instead began to create music in a style he felt was more fitting: a curious melange of folk elements, neoclassical structure, large instrumental setups, clear melodic lines, accessible harmonies, and pop music rhythms. J�rvlepp has stayed true to this style to this day. The listener who expects a daunting epic in face of an awe-inducing title such as CONCERTO 2000 will therefore be surprised to instead encounter lighthearted, bubbly music able to put a spring in your step. J�rvlepp's deceptively fine brushstroke bears a secret power: that of whisking the listener on a world tour within the span of three symphonic movements. I. Caliente! Would be just as fitting a soundtrack for a film set in Mexico, or perhaps Spain, during a more romantic, heroic age than ours. The calm II. Nocturne is reminiscent of a mysterious urban scene, perhaps in Paris, London or Warsaw; it's the musical equivalent of a walk in nightly fog. The whole concerto concludes with the fittingly-titled III. Fire, Ice and Vodka, a spirited collision of the Champagne Aria, Hungarian-esque folk dances, and the kind of merriment one is likely to find among a group of slightly-intoxicated Russians (but sans the melancholy).

An axiom is a self-evident truth. Everything on this album represents different aspects and shades of truth. On their debut recording, Axiom Quartet probes the soul and delivers a deeply satisfying statement on truth and inner fulfillment. Each track is a whirlwind journey of soul-searching expression. From the bravado of "Insight" into the confounding swirl of "Hindsight," and on to the profoundly elegant "Pur Ti Miro," this recording turns tempo and style on a dime leaving the listener exhilarated. While "Insight" is the exhilarating realization of truth, "Little Lies" bends truth. Axiom Quartet's arrangement of the Fleetwood Mac classic is a refined, yet provocative update that feels surprisingly at home in a chamber setting. An understated dignity adds depth to country-folk standard "Wagon Wheel," with a delicate banjo dancing under the Quartet's strings. In "Everything Means Nothing to Me" an artist painfully expresses the truth in his heart while Billie Holiday begs a lover to not tell her the truth in "Don't Explain." "Axiom" is a work about seeking truth and reason, only to have had the answers present from the beginning. Karl Blench wrote all of the arrangements and original compositions for this album. There are small moments of music, also original compositions of Karl Blench, between each of the longer sections of this album. They blend and blur the ideas of the music that comes before and after them to portray the grayer tones of truth. Known for creating and performing programs that mix traditional string quartet repertoire and transcriptions of works from a variety of genres, Axiom Quartet introduces audiences to extraordinary music from different genres and creates new fans of the classical repertoire.

Spectra 2 unveils the works of six composers, each of whom tells a unique, memorable story. First up is Elizabeth R. Austin's 'B-A-C-HOMAGE,' an intricately constructed tribute to the German Baroque composer. Based on Bach's name and his "Air on G" respectively, the first and second movements reflect upon the clarity of his work through the lens of Austin's decidedly modern tonal language. John Alan Rose's 'Sleepy Hollow Suite' for piano mesmerizes with a timeless appeal that bridges centuries: aesthetically gratifying and inventive all at once, Washington Irving could fittingly have imagined this as a soundtrack for his eponymous story. 'Bells and Grass,' composed by Juliana Hall, brings five poems by Walter de la Mare to life with only a soprano and an oboe. A related theme could be discerned in Ryan Jesperson's 'Icarus,' a riveting duo for alto saxophone and piano. Like the eponymous mythological character, it starts out soaring, but undergoes a considerable transformation, culminating in a spectacular fashion. There is nothing random about Frank Vasi's saxophone quartet 'Random Thoughts': the four-movement work is so refreshingly tonal, as well as rhythmically and harmonically engaging, that it wouldn't be out of place in an upscale jazz venue. The quirky 'Picasso's Rag' sounds exactly how one would imagine it according to the title - only better. Nancy Tucker brings the album to a close with two of her playful, upbeat compositions. 'Escape of the Slinkys' imagines the life of named perennial childhood toy with bewildering depth of imagination. 'Grasshopper's Holiday,' an unapologetically catchy guitar piece, evokes images of road trips and carefree summers with such cheerful drive that one might find it difficult to stop listening to it on repeat. With it's variegated selection, Spectra 2 packs a veritable punch in just about one hour of music - music composed in Connecticut, but with an artistic appeal that easily transcends the borders of the Constitution State.

Navona Records artist Clipper Erickson presents a solo piano album of works by composers Richard Brodhead (1947-), David Finko (1936-), and Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) entitled Tableau Tempest & Tango. The mostly Russian-themed album climaxes with Erickson's masterful interpretation of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. The original version for solo piano precedes the iconic orchestrations by many composers, most notably Maurice Ravel. For Erickson, the piano is his orchestra, and he conducts it marvelously through every movement, down to the famed finale, The Great Gate of Kiev. Stellar, too, is Erickson's interpretation of Finko's Fantasia on a Medieval Russian Theme, which is inspired by a grievous poem about the oppression of the Russian people. Finko's Sonata No. 1 Solomon Mikhoels is next. It has folk roots-budding from the composer's interest in Yiddish and Slavic cultures. Erickson executes the polarity in dynamic contrast and rhythmic complexity with incredible manual dexterity. Finko writes that his Sonata No. 2 "expresses the acute feelings of a sensitive intellectual who goes through several stages of personal sufferings and struggle." Finko's Sonata No. 3, composed in 2009, is evocative of the evolution of the composer's technique since his first sonata in 1964. Erickson, too, shows an evolution - the melodies become more fluid, the separation between each note more precise. The listener is transported to Brazil where Erickson presents Richard Brodhead's Una Carta de Buenos Aires, a truly dark tango. It is mysterious and vacant, but Erickson handles it like a delicate flower. The finale is Brodhead's Sonata No. 2, Sonata Notturna, dark, too, in it's presentation, but Erickson's light shines on the meditation of terrors we hear at night. As evidenced on his previous recording, 2015's My Cup Runneth Over, Professor Erickson's prodigious performances are not only products of his superior musicianship, but also the in-depth studies he completes on every work performed. This is the best collection of such works to date. Tableau Tempest & Tango is a must-have for the collections of piano dilettantes and savants alike. As the LA Times notes, Erickson plays "with extraordinary dash and power and he never let[s] flamboyance obscure art."

Bearing musical witness to the versatile talents of two acclaimed northern California-based composers, The Life Before Us combines works from John G. Bilotta and Allan Crossman. Bilotta's cycle of Yeats Songs, performed by baritone Andrew R. White, highlights five of the poet's shorter lyrics in predominantly bi-tonal or atonal settings. His collection of Renaissance Songs is based on the work of several Elizabethan poets, including John Donne and Thomas Lodge. They're brilliantly delivered by tenor Justin Marsh. Bilotta draws on two American poets, Carl Sandburg and Edna St. Vincent Millay, for "Lost" and "Prayer to Persephone," two songs united by a single poetic theme and elegantly performed by soprano Cass Panuska accompanied by pianist Hadley McCarroll, who are also featured on The Hippocampus' Monologue, the closing aria from the first act of Bilotta's opera Rosetta's Stone. Allan Crossman's ten songs on The Life Before Us include four inspired by the Spanish poet Federico Garc�a Lorca and an international array of others: from Ireland (James Joyce), Germany (Hermann Claudius and Ricarda Huch), Russia (Alexander Scriabin), and America (Louis Phillips), performed by mezzo-soprano Megan Stetson and bass Richard Mix, with the composer himself at the piano. Crossman's three-movement Sonata fLux, with pianist Keisuke Nakagoshi, flows from the energetic "Moto Atlantico" through the vibrating "fLight of the Firefly" to the swirling fluidity of "Rondo a Pollock" - inspired, as it's title suggests, by Jackson Pollock's 'action painting' technique - and brings the eclectic program to an impressive conclusion.

Navona Records presents ANCESTRIAL VOICES, the Apollo Chamber Players’ next installment in their 20x2020 project. 20x2020 is an initiative to commission 20 new folk music-inspired and multicultural works by the end of the decade. This fiery release comprises four 20x2020 works from composers Gilad Cohen, Arthur Gottschalk, Malek Jandali, and Javier Farias. Gottschalk’s Imagenes de Cuba incorporates sounds and music from Cuban culture, from the Cuban national anthem to protest songs to the sounds of a busy Havana square. Cuban percussion virtuoso Adel Gonzalez joins for the final movement of the work, an exploration of historic salsa and pachanga dances. Cohen’s Three Goat Blues is inspired by the Passover prayer “Chad Gadya,” a fable that concerns a goat that falls victim to the natural laws of predator and prey. The soundscape of Javier Farias’ Andean Suite is situated on the Andean mountain region. He melds the sounds and virtuosity of a classical guitar with string quartet to evoke the ceremonial blood fight of the Peruvian Yawar Fiesta, the Altiplano (“high plains”) of the Andes, and La Diablada, the traditional dance of the Bolivian Oruro Carnival. Syrian-American composer Malek Jandali's String Quartet in E-flat Major connects Middle Eastern modes and Western classical forms. His passion for humanitarian efforts and the music of his home country emanates through expressive and powerful settings of centuries-old Syrian folk melodies, thoughtful interpreted by Apollo Chamber Players.

Award winning cellist Carmine Miranda and violinist Boris Abramov’s new Navona release Mozart / Beethoven: Violin and Cello Duets is an intimate gem of delightful chamber music from the Classical Period. Drawn from various duos by Beethoven and Mozart, this album is substantive, and showcases a wide stylistic breadth of late eighteenth century German instrumental music, from the sumptuous levity of the divertimento, to the full brilliance of sonata form. In this recording both performers balance concepts of classical performance, musical research and virtuosic dexterity combined with a high-definition audio engineering in order to create the most realistic sound and definitive version of these works. The pieces in this recording have never been paired together. Their unique styles, and carefully researched interpretations by Miranda and Abramov, create exceptional recordings with equal parts nuance and bravado.

An exploration of the unique timbral characteristics and technical extensions of wind instruments, Gregory Wanamaker's LIGHT AND SHADOWS, WAVES AND TIME is comprised of eight compositions that collectively illustrate the composer's ability to integrate various genre influences into a distinctive whole. His music has been lauded as "pure gold, shot through with tenderness and grace" by the San Francisco Chronicle and "achingly beautiful" by the Palm Beach Daily News. The album's first track, "des ondes et les temps," which translates to "of waves and time," explores the saxophone's full range of possibilities. A solo piece performed by Casey Grev, "des ondes et les temps" waxes and wanes and rises and falls. Wanamaker expands to a quartet setting for "... unsettled, unphased... ," whose rhythmic roots can be found in genres ranging from Eastern European folk and dance music to jazz and progressive rock. The somber, poignant "Elegy," written for and performed by the Akropolis Reed Quintet, was originally composed in memory of those who died in the September 11 attacks, while the virtuosic musical fantasy, "Ragahoro Breakdown" intricately weaves elements of North Indian Raga with characteristics of a Bulgarian Horo and subtle hints of American folk music. The track that represents the second half of the album's title is a sonata in two contrasting movements, the first a quiet nocturne, the second it's polar opposite, each exploring the extended timbres of the saxophone and extreme ranges of the piano, while the dynamic "Out of Mind, Into Body" travels a similar path taken by John Friedrich's solo bass clarinet. While less than two minutes in length, the spirited "Counterpunch" effectively alternates elements of driving American-style minimalist with a fusion of jazz and funk. The album concludes with a concr�te version of it's opening track, transforming it into the form of experimental music in which sound identities are intentionally manipulated to appear unconnected to their source, creating an ambient, layered soundscape.

Multi-award-winning composer Anthony Brandt makes his Navona Records debut with MATERNITY / ULYSSES, HOME. The album includes two very distinct compositions with equally distinct inspirations. Maternity for soprano and chamber orchestra is based on neuroscientist David Eagleman's short story "The Founding Mothers," published in Slate Magazine on Mother's Day, 2010. Eagleman reads the complete story on the album, which traces a maternal line back through history. In the space of seventeen minutes, the composition touches on the lives of twenty-one mothers spread across millions of years of history. Brandt's setting begins with a fragment of a lullaby sung to a child; as the piece progresses, that lullaby becomes more and more distorted as the evolutionary chain rewinds to early humans, primates, aquatic creatures, and eventually to a single cell. Ulysses, Home imagines Homer's story of Ulysses and his return to Penelope after the Trojan War in a more contemporary context, portraying the hero as a modern soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Scored for soprano, baritone and string quartet, and comprised of five continuous scenes, the opera's opening evokes the ferocity of combat and Ulysses' many tours of duty. As the couple is reunited, the battle music becomes submerged-but it is never gone entirely. Instead, it hovers in the background, gradually re-emerging as Ulysses struggles to leave the battlefield behind. Both pieces on MATERNITY / ULYSSES, HOME were recorded live in Houston TX. Riveting, moving, and altogether unforgettable, Brandt's album covers the multifaceted experiences of human life from it's very beginnings all the way to today.

Pianist Roberta Rust brings her own unique dynamism to the works of eight composers with whom she has had direct contact over the years. Dedicated to her late mother and step-daughter, this collection is as personal and touching as it is memorable for the broader audience. The album commences with Blues from George Rochberg's Carnival Music. This piece is true to it's name in style and form with the riffs and improvisations to prove it. Michael Anderson's Thirteen plus 4 and Sonata create a contemplative setting, where every tone cluster and arpeggio is connected to the next. Rust skillfully gives each phrase it's own story. Rust shares three selections from Leo Brouwer's Diez Bocetos. Moving from dark and mysterious to mischievous and experimental, the piece shows that after the darkness, light does emerge, leaving the listener on a hopeful plateau. In Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Lament, Rust pays close attention to structure, truly capturing the traditional yet experimental compositional style for which Zwilich is known. In Almeida Prado's Halley, all the forces of nature appear in this tonally-liberated work, likely influenced by the composer's studies with Messiaen and Boulanger. It is a voyage into the uncharted, but the finish is demure. In Phillip Evans' Suite 1945, the pianist graces us with a "Sarabande" and "Aria." The composer's affinity for Bartok is evident in this piano composition that spans a breadth of emotions. His exquisite "Minuetto" is nuanced and precious and Rust gives it the delicate delivery it deserves. Thomas L. McKinley's Fantasy Pieces for Piano demonstrates Rust's ability to portray more rustic, raw themes in her performances. Concluding the album are three selections from John Sharpley's Four Preludes. Rust thrills her listener with suspense, the latter party holding on in anticipation of her every note and phrase. The New York Times hailed Rust as "a powerhouse of a pianist-one who combines an almost frightening fervor and intensity with impeccable technique and spartan control."

For her debut album on PARMA recordings, SHE, Emily Sternfeld-Dunn serves as the voice of two of history's strongest female characters. The poetic musings in the lyrics soar with Sternfeld-Dunn's unmistakable soprano under the current of the tender, delicate melodies performed by pianist Amanda Pfenninger. Split into two mini-albums, SHE serves as a definitive recording that both showcases Sternfeld abilities as a vocalist and preserves the compositions for educational use. The first collection, titled "Too Few the Mornings Be (Eleven Songs for Soprano and Piano)," is composed by Ricky Ian Gordon. Gordon complimented his compositions with the poems of Emily Dickinson. Despite the relatively short run-times of these tracks, Sternfeld-Dunn takes the poet's philosophical themes and wraps them in raw emotion as though pleading for answers to life's biggest questions. The second half of this album "Eve-Song" features music by Jake Heggie and text by Philip Littell. Here, Heggie creates a moving soundtrack to Littell's poems about the biblical Eve. The composition is a monodrama. The longer compositions allows Sternfeld-Dunn to truly harness the character of Eve. She employs her vocal melodies like ancient chants exploring moods and feelings of wonderment, yearning, and even humor. The power of SHE comes from the strength of it's female performers. Sternfeld-Dunn and Pfenninger play off each other well to give life to these historically-renowned women, and translate their quests for life and purpose into a grand, new meaning.

Flutist Lindsey Goodman presents her second album, Returning To the Heights Unseen. Goodman grasps the listener's attention right away with Roger Dannenberg's "Separation Logic" for flute and live computer processing. In this futuristic work it is the listener's responsibility to determine what is real and what is imagined as his ears are fed short melodic phrases that have been electronically manipulated. It's this sort of electronic genius that allows Goodman to play a duet with herself in the second track, David Stock's "A Wedding Prayer" for 2 flutes, stark and striking. In Tony Zilincik's "I Asked You" for solo flute and mixed media, Goodman competes with samples of spoken text and percussion riffs in "Everything I Love." "I Play Music" boasts a similar challenge, but without percussion and with the addition of the atmospheric pads of a modern synthesizer and the sound of ocean waves. Elainie Lillios's "Sleep's Undulating Tide" for flute in C and live, interactive electroacoustics seems to be a continuation of the previous Zilincik track, until the entrance of a ghostly mezzo-soprano voice-the flutist's herself. Next is Linda Kernohan's "Demon: Daemon," a performance art piece in which the flutist is both musician and actor as she is seemingly possessed by an evil spirit. Randall Woolf's "The Line of Purples" for flute and pre-recorded electronics is the least harmonically experimental of the works so far, but perhaps the most complex to categorize. In Judith Shatin's "For the Fallen" for amplified flute and electronics the listener must decide who is fallen-Adam and Eve? A young soldier? Or the listener herself? Here Goodman offers the entire spectrum of possible flute sounds and colors though an electronic backdrop of dark chimes, pipes, gongs, and cymbals. This masterfully mixed album is a must-have for any new music or electronic music savant.

Missa Charles Darwin will be released as a special edition deluxe package on PARMA Recordings/Navona Records. It will include an all-new remastering of Missa Charles Darwin as well as liner notes, biographies, and excerpts from the Darwin texts featured in the music. A select number of the deluxe packages include a limited edition photograph hand signed by the composer and author. All of Gregory's proceeds from this release are being donated to musical education charities including Chorus America, American Choral Directors Association, and the International Society for Music Education. Vocal music with texts from Charles Darwin Performed by New York Polyphony

John A. Carollo's fourth Navona Records release, and follow up to 2017's The Transfiguration of GIovanni Baudino, is a wondrous musical journey through the world of desire. With Music From the Ethereal Side of Paradise, Carollo makes an impassioned plea for the power of romance. From the opening tensions and mystery of "Awakenings for String Orchestra" through the surprising, amorous joy of "Romanzo!" "Splendido Affare," and "La Tortura dell' Amore," Carollo's compositions communicate what mere words cannot: the inner rapture, utter fulfillment, and yes, the torture, of being in love. Shifting slightly, and perhaps more into the ethereal, "Metamorphosis No. 3 for Solo Violin" introduces a newer, more contemplative element. With short notes and runs, the violin first cries out with unanswered questions followed by furrowed introspection. Two Guitar Etudes follow, demonstrating both intimacy and technique, while maintaining an inquisitive tone throughout. As the album continues, we arrive at a vocal suite with "Little Gems" to be discovered throughout. T.S. Eliot wrote "... The end of all our exploring/Will be to arrive where we started/And know the place for the first time." Musid From the Ethereal Side of Paradise does just that. Concluding as we began with a sumptuous string orchestra, we arrive where we started - enlightened and wise from our journey.

Since the late 18th century, art songs have combined poetic vocals and equally intricate instrumental accompaniments to delight listeners with intimate compositions across the globe. The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra Trio's CANTILENA spans the centuries and continents to highlight the form's enduring appeal. CANTILENA transports listeners through time and cultures as soprano Gillian Zammit, harpist Britt Arend, and cellist Frank Camilleri explore the national traditions and stylistic traits of individual composers who embraced the emotional impact and stripped-down arrangement of the art song. The album opens with works by Debussy, Duparc, Faur�, and Massenet, who exemplify the French penchant for precision and expression in elegant m�lodies with accompaniments that shine a light on the emotions expressed in their texts. The lyrical traditions of Italy then come into focus, with folksong-inspired pieces by Tosti featuring beautiful Italianate melodic phrases and a haunting instrumental by Tedeschi. The European tour is concluded with Strauss, with a series of lieder that range from joyous and playful to dark and brooding. The program takes a contemporary turn with Alexander Vella Gregory's Tluq, based on poetry by John Aquilina. The short song cycle spans the gamut of human emotion in relationships, beginning with the loss of love and regret to the eventual relief of reconciliation. To close things out, Heitor Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileiras pays homage to Bach's Baroque idioms with a heady fusion of Brazilian folk and popular music.

Eleanor Alberga explores the whole gamut of the human experience in WILD BLUE YONDER, an equally diverse and coherent set of four contemporary chamber music pieces. While written over the course of twenty-two years, these pieces burst the limits of both space and time. No-Man's-Land Lullaby reaches back over a century to World War I; Shining Gate of Morpheus enters the realm of the mystical; Succubus Moon explores the dark sides of the human psyche; and The Wild Blue Yonder offers a glimpse into a world that is at once alien and wonderful. Undauntedly, positively unsettling album; perfect listening for these unsettling times.

Timothy Kramer has recorded and released a full album of his orchestral works with Navona Records. The result: SENTINELS, an evocative representation of Kramer's compositions that span several decades, with influences ranging from Baroque to rock. The bold, prominent horn introduction of BACH meets ESCHER opens the album with a sense of mystery. This is the first movement of Symphony B-A-C-H, the largest work on the recording. Drawing from his training as a music scholar and theorist as well as a composer, Kramer chose to base each movement of this symphony on an overarching musical texture: the first focuses on polyphony, then monophony, homophony, and finally, cacophony. Everything is a deliberate choice: even the individual notes chosen by Kramer in certain sections can be "decoded" to reveal the names "Bach" and "Escher." Next comes A Fivescore Festival, a work commissioned by the City of Kent WA for their Centennial celebration. The piece, a series of four preludes and a rondo, has a spirit of resoluteness which imagines the city marching through successive generations toward the promise of the future. Sentinels of the Dance breaks from the traditionalism of the preceding piece, with the timpani and other instrument sections snarling and biting at each other with spontaneous, syncopated rhythms. Finally comes All in Golden Measure, another commissioned piece-this time for the Jacksonville Symphony Society celebrating the 50th anniversary of their Symphony Orchestra. Appropriately, Kramer chose to integrate the golden ratio into the fabric of this composition. Here, Kramer's sensitivity to rhythm and timbre allows him to conjure up images of the train whistling through Jacksonville, the hissing of cicadas, and the electric excitement resonating through the summer air from the racetrack.