Composer Adam Roberts'�Book of Flowers�is a celebration of the large scale collection of character pieces, participating in a tradition that traces from Schumann to Chopin to Debussy to Crumb. Performed by piano virtuoso Conrad Tao, Roberts explores an expansive range of expression and techniques on the keyboard, fashioning many short components into work of epic scope.

Composer Daniel Strong Godfrey's�Toward Light�presents three quintets for string quartet and piano, guitar, and cello respectively, showcasing his expressive, finely crafted chamber music. Featuring performances by the Cassatt Quartet with guests pianist Ursula Oppens, guitarist Eliot Fisk, and cellist Nicole Johnson, the works on�Toward Light�are elegantly balanced compositions, cohesive conceptions that are deeply felt.

Scott Wollschleger wrote�Lost Anthems�as part of The 20/19 project, violist Leilehua Lanzilotti's commissioning enterprise. The twenty five minute work is divided into fifteen discrete sections, what Wollschleger describes as "a melodic, song-like structure in search of itself." By titling the works "anthems," Wollschleger invokes a music that is inherently communal and symbolic of something larger than itself; by presenting music that is often introspective, he subverts the bombastic underpinnings of many anthems.

On Lines and Traces of Desire, composer Mischa-Salkind Pearl collaborates with cimbalom artist Nicholas Tolle on this collection of solo, duo, and ensemble works for the beguiling stringed percussion instrument. These mystical, reflective pieces celebrate the cimbalom's resonant qualities, and honor the eminent composer Gyorgy Kurtag, whose music provided Tolle the inspiration to dedicate himself to the instrument.

Composer Per Bloland newest releaase,�Shadows of the Electric Moon,�highlights his reliance on fiction as an impetus for compositional inspiration as well as his integration of custom designed electronic software into his work. Featuring Unheard-of//Ensemble, Wild Rumpus, Keith Kirschoff, Bill Solomon, and Stephen Marotto, Bloland's music captures his inventive spirit and keen ear for highlighting subtletlies of instrumental characteristics and developing them within the narrative of a composition.

Bologna, Italy based American composer and pianist David Salvage releases�Dreams of Love and Travel,�works he composed for solo piano that engage with journeys physical, literary, and symbolic. A seven movement suite inspired by Marcel Proust's�In Search of Lost Time�occupies a central role in the collection, representing the large structural gesture on the album as it is surrounded by shorter character pieces.

Composer Kay Rhie releases�Cereus,��a portrait album of chamber works, two including voice, featuring soprano Leela Subramaniam, Winsor Music and the Aperture Duo. Rhie's music draws on her experience as a South Korean born artist living in Los Angeles, responding to the lived environment in outward ways through text setting and thematic context, as well as inward impacts on her compositional process.

Que sais-je? is a one-hour composition that explores the life and philosophy of composer Amos Elkana's father, Yehuda Elkana, through music, archival recordings, and visual media. Performed by the Meitar Ensemble, the piece integrates live instrumental performance with multichannel audio and video projections, surrounding the audience with a tapestry of sound and memory.

The Massachusetts based Ecce Ensemble, directed by composer John Aylward, releases this composer portrait album of Trevor Weston's chamber music, Remembrances. Weston's music aims to be transformative regardless of aesthetic, and he seamlessly integrates influences from a wide range of sources into his attractive, cohesive musical language.

Longtime Duke University string quartet-in-residence, the Ciompi Quartet releases "A Duke Moment" featuring three works written for them by Duke composers, Stephen Jaffe, Anthony M. Kelley, and Scott Lindroth. The three works draw some of their inspiration from different sources related to the Duke experience, including the North Carolina countryside and various athletic pursuits.

Composer Richard Festinger's Then and Now includes five chamber works for various instrumentations, featuring Collage New Music, Cygnus, Windscape, Calefax, and other accomplished performers. Festinger's aesthetic springs from the pitch centered modernists of the late 20th century, but is also informed by his background studying jazz with such luminaries as Gary Burton, shaping his music not so much in terms of feel or expression, but in the way in which he approaches harmony and motivic development.

Composer Ryan Vigil releases an album featuring two of his expansive works for violin and piano. Featuring sensitive performances by violinist Lilit Hartunian and pianist John McDonald, Vigil's music unfolds slowly but navigates a diversity of expression within it's frame.

Composer Nils Vigeland releases Perfect Happiness, a compilation of solo piano works that chronicle his intimate relationship writing for and performing on the instrument over the last six decades. Vigeland's work centers on subtleties of resonance and register, two parameters that are uniquely facilitated by the specific characteristics of the piano, with it's expansive range and it's nuanced pedaling. Perfect Happiness features award winning pianist Jing Yang who has been a long time collaborator of Vigeland's and brings a sophisticated understanding to interpretations of his works.

Three musicians from the Italian festival soundSCAPE (Tony Arnold, Thomas Rosenkranz, Aiyun Huang) release a record of new works written for them in association with the festival by Josh Levine, Richard Carrick and Mark Applebaum, alongside canonic works by Webern, Aperghis and Rzewski. Soprano Tony Arnold was hailed by the New York Time as a 'bold and powerful interpreter,' and pianist Thomas Rosencranz and percussionist Aiyun Huang are known for their meaningful collaboration with composers and committed interpretations of music from many eras.

Classical Music