A highly interesting program, made attractive by sensitive interpretations.

Women and War and Peace – took shape during concert pianist Katelyn Bouska’s darkest days of isolation during the coronavirus pandemic. She missed her family and friends, her students at Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and her live performances in front of living breathing audiences. To use the time productively, Bouska revisited omen composers she wanted to explore and realized many of them shared a common theme. They were refugees, or they barely survived, or didn’t survive, and the fact that they were women at the cutting edge of the contemporary music scenes in their various environments made their situations even more difficult. Our earliest composer, Maria Szymanowska, died in the 1830 cholera outbreak instigated by Russia’s invasion of Poland under Tsar Nicholas I. One of our younger composers, Ludmila Yurina, fled her home in Ukraine and found refuge first in the United Kingdom and then Germany after Russia’s invasion in February of 2022 by President Vladimir Putin. Katelyn Bouska is both American and Czech. She was born in the United States, but spends many months a year performing and lecturing in Prague. Stretching from composers born in the 1700s through the 20th Century, Kate’s repertoire includes music by Caroline Shaw, Maria Szymanowska, Ruth Schoental, Ivana Loudova, Vitezslava Kapralova and Ludmila Yurina.

REVIEW:

American-Czech pianist Katelyn Bouska plays works by composers sharing a common theme: « They were refugees, or they barely survived, or didn’t survive, and the fact that they were women at the cutting edge of the contemporary music scenes in their various environments made their situations. »

Now the album opens with a work by Caroline Shaw Gustave Le Gray, which is not related to the subject of the CD. It takes inspiration « from the darkroom exposure of a photograph, hinting at depths before they are actually visible. » The depth here is Chopin’s famous Mazurka in A Minor, which is the focus in a more searching music which frames the piece by Chopin. This makes an interesting opening, very atmospherically played by Katelyn Bouska. And in a certain sense it paves the way for the two chronologically oldest pieces, those by Maria Szymanowska (1789–1831), who died in the cholera outbreak started by Russia’s invasion of Poland under Tsar Nicholas I. It is beautiful music, very imaginative and personal and one can say that Katelyn Bouska really cares for the attractive melodies.

Ruth Schönthal’s Fragments from a Woman’s Diary is the longest piece on the CD at 27 minutes. Born into a Jewish family in Hamburg in 1924, the composer managed to escape the Nazis and flee to the United States, where she died in 2006. Her composition is rich in contrasts, mixing styles and dark as well as bright memories, and in the end it is this mixture that makes the work so poignant.

Ivana Loudová (1941–2017) uses a more modern tonal language in her five-part work Prague Imaginations, but just like Schönthal’s piece, it is very varied in the moods it describes. Katelyn Bouska has the right touch here, too, and plays with a gripping sensitivity.

Next comes the cheerful Dubnová preludia by Vítězslava Kaprálová, who died of lung disease in 1940 at the age of 25, following her evacuation from Paris during the Nazi advance.

The program ends with the stirring composition Shadows and Ghosts by, Ludmila Yurina, who fled her homeland, Ukraine, when Russia launched its barbaric war of aggression against that country in February 2022.

All this together forms a highly interesting program, which is also made attractive by the sensitive interpretations.

-- Pizzicato (Remy Franck)

“Marcus Aurelius, warrior emperor, philosopher and poet during the Second Century AD, reminds us that people with enormous power do not always fall victim to their own vanity. Total power may usually corrupt totally, but not always. I find this heartening, especially in 2022 during another time of war, where titanic egos guiding powerful militaries battle each other with real life consequences for ordinary people and elites alike. Aurelius was indeed a bloodily victorious commander of Roman legions, defeating numerous enemies on the battle field during his reign. But the emperor continued his introspective journey throughout most of his life, honing his “inner world,” to use a modern phrase, as he tried to maintain a balance between being the most powerful person on the planet and a man answerable to his own conscience and higher philosophy.

"Brussels-based classical, jazz, funk and new-age composer Koben Sprengers notes that Aurelius’ “Meditations,” as they are popularly known, were written not for publication but “for himself, as a sort of diary or personal notebook; to frequently remind himself of the important lessons and wisdom he had learned from the ancient philosophers. Since his writings were aimed at himself, I found that these paragraphs had a very intimate, familiar voice to them. Like a grandfather patiently explaining something to his overly curious grandchild, almost soothing….” I hope Marcus Aurelius’ stable intelligent voice and vision, as portrayed in his own words and through music composed by the young firebrand Koben Sprengers, gives you solace and inspiration during this remarkable and troubling period of history.” (Bob Attiyeh, producer)

Something magical can happen when two rivers meet, two traditions collaborate, or two talented friends work hard on a joint creation. Paul Livingstone on sitar and Pete Jacobson on cello take inspiration from the Hindustani musical tradition, and from Paul’s teacher and mentor Ravi Shankar who collaborated so eloquently with Yehudi Menuhin on violin and helped to popularize Hindustani music in the West. Pete and Paul also draw inspiration from American jazz improvisation. Sangam, in Hindi, means many things, including “confluence,” or the blending of two people, ideas or traditions into something fresh and new. Paul and Pete focus on the Hindustani tradition in this recording. Hindustani music centered in Northern India after diverging from Carnatic music in the 12th Century. The most basic elements in South Asian classical music are the raga and tala. A raga is traditionally a monophonic melody, though Paul and Peter take liberties, incorporating occasional counterpoint and harmony (often in thirds). Each raga adheres to a strict musical structure, which can be executed vocally or on instruments in their individual styles. The tala is the cyclic rhythmic framework which outlines a beat cycle and provides the glue to bring the instruments together in polyrhythmic play. I love what Pete and Paul do within this classical tradition, blended from time to time on this album with their inspired incorporations of new music and jazz. This is not as far-fetched or radical as it may at first seem; both Indian classical musicians and modern jazz cats focus on improvisation on the main melody or idea, just as European players did in the Renaissance. (Bob Attiyeh, producer)

GRAMMY� Award winning Yarlung Records celebrates it's 10th Anniversary and continues to bring fresh musicians to the classical music world using minimalist audiophile recording techniques to deliver sound as close to living performance as possible, engineering these albums in concert halls famous for their acoustics such as Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Yarlung uses analog tape and high resolution digital media for CDs made with special alloys, high resolution digital downloads, and 180 Gram vinyl LPs, mastered by Steve Hoffman and Bernie Grundman. The label's philosophy is to present the music like a clean window, which does not distract from the beautiful "view" on the other side. Among it's greatest successes featured on this compilation was Antonio Lysy at The Broad: Music from Argentina, which won the label's first GRAMMY Award and was ranked in The Absolute Sound as one of the 40 Best recordings of all time.

South America pays tribute to the historic and contemporary ingenuity of musicians and composers from South America, including Astor Piazzolla, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Carlos Gardel, Antonio’s father the violinist Alberto Lysy, and new work by the Argentine bandoneon master Coco Trivisonno. In South America, Antonio and Yarlung break new ground once again, using SonoruS Holographic Imaging technology to enable Antonio to play every part in a cello orchestra. To learn more about how SHI works, please visit yarlungrecords.com/sonorus/ This recording includes harpist Marcia Dickstein Vogler in Villa-Lobos’ Black Swan for harp and cello, flutist Anastasia Petanova in Villa-Lobos’ Jet Whistle for flute and cello, and Coco Trivisonno in three of his arrangments of Volver, Divina and Yo Te Bendigo, songs immortalized by Carlos Gardel. Coco is one of the last living members of Astor Piazzolla’s intrepid ensemble. As standard in Yarlung albums, Antonio's performances with Marcia, Anastasia and Coco are all single takes. The Kodály Duo and Antonio’s father Alberto Lysy: Along with pianist Martha Argerich, Antonio's father the violinist Alberto Lysy remains one of South America’s most celebrated classical concert musicians. Alberto learned this work with the composer in advance of a performance with Gaspar Cassadó in 1958. Alberto's next performance of the Duo was with Jacqueline Du Pré. Later, Antonio and Alberto became major performers of the piece.

Petteri, Juho and Samuli founded Sibelius Piano Trio a few years ago, and catapulted to success on the European concert stage. When three international soloists of this caliber unite to form a chamber music ensemble, the results are predictably electric. These three friends love playing together, and this love is easy to hear in their concerts and in their recording. Sibelius Piano Trio and Yarlung Records dedicated this album to Finland’s 100th Anniversary. I want to say a personal thank you to Executive Producer Ann Mulally, a friend who serves on the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra board of directors, and to Randy and Linda Bellous for enabling Yarlung to create this double album in honor of Finland’s centennial. As a proud Finn and as a representative of the Finnish government, I salute Sibelius Piano Trio for their talent and join them in celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Finland’s independence in 2017. Petteri, Juho and Samuli embody and exemplify the best of our country, and as someone who lives in Los Angeles, it gives me great pleasure that the Trio is so intimately connected with California and Yarlung Records. Please join me in celebrating this dynamic young trio, and in celebrating the magnificent country of Finland. Suomi 100!--J.P. Markanen, Consul General of Finland.

In Music for Pieces of Wood, Joe Beribak, sitting in the center of a semicircle, begins to strike the first pattern. Joe will maintain this pattern, unflinchingly, for the entire duration of the piece. Katy, Jessica, Derek and Eddie contribute all of the sinuous and minimalist variation which they weave into filaments of sound and rhythm as if all five musicians were one person. Smoke & Mirrors takes us on many journeys in this album. These are refreshingly fully-developed works, each very different from the others, each with its own story. As a whole, these pieces illustrate the breadth of contemporary classical music written for percussionists, as well as the flexibility and virtuosity of Smoke & Mirrors. World class and sophisticated as this ensemble is, these musicians retain and communicate the sheer joy we experienced when banging pots and pans as two-, and three-year olds. Do you remember your own pleasure making a racket as a kid? Smoke & Mirrors: Katalin La Favre, Jessica Cameron, Joe Beribak, Edward Hong and Derek Tywoniuk have never forgotten it.

Classical Music

James Matheson composed his Violin Concerto specifically for violinist Baird Dodge, conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Having lived in many places, Matheson feels as if Los Angeles "claimed him as their own". While in Los Angeles, Mathson has served as the director for the LA Phil Composer Fellowship Program, mentoring a number of young people, as they navigate the perilous, sometimes lonely and often exhilarating career into which their talents propel them. "Although this recording celebrates the wonderful music of James Matheson, Baird Dodge was the secret force that enabled the whole enterprise to reach fruition. The Violin Concerto was written for him. He played the premiere performance that is memorialized here. A streamed recording of that performance was briefly available on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra website was what convinced me to pursue Jim for our first commissioning project. Baird is a key player in Color Field, the wonderful quartet who perform Jim's piece brilliantly in this recording. Baird and I enjoy the serendipity involved in projects like this, the collision of happy and odd events, often over a loong period of time, that magically result in a wonderful work of art. But serendipity by itself is not enough. A "special sauce" is needed to bring it all together. From my view, Baird is just that. Thank you, Baird" - J. Schlichting

Martin Chalifour is Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and is a professor at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. Chalifour is a frequent guest at several summer music festivals. Maintaining close ties with his native Quebec, he has returned there often to teach and perform as soloist with various Canadian orchestras.

Bach’s cantata BWV 199 begins “My heart swims in blood/The results of my sins/Transform me into a monster,” and ends, “And through my grief and pain/No longer am I excluded/From His bliss or His heart.” Serious, pious, introspective stuff, indeed, and this recording, in superb sound, features the lamented Lorraine Hunt Lieberson performing the cantata live in Los Angeles in 2003.

The disc’s brief playing time (the cantata takes just 28 minutes) should not put you off: there is a lifetime of great and deep music-making here. Lieberson’s flawless tone, utterly even and capable of a dozen shades of dynamics and colors, along with her almost uncanny ability to convey feelings as rich as those expressed here, turns this half hour into an almost intimate experience, as if one were hearing the confession of a dear friend or a dear soul. Her simplicity is epic, to coin an oxymoron; she can drive one to tears. I’m unaccustomed to gushing like this, and my connection with devout anything, let alone Christianity, is less than tenuous, but I was stunned by the beauty of the singing, playing, and sincerity and so will you be. It’s like listening to the truth.

A quick, sharp performance of Bach’s Fourth Brandenburg serves as a curtain-raiser. The solo violin (Margaret Batjer is the leader and soloist) takes a wild ride in the last movement, and throughout, the performance is brilliant and exhilarating.

-- Robert Levine, ClassicToday.com

Internationally recognized organist Jung-A Lee performs an intimate recital on the great Walt Disney Concert Hall organ as a gift to Simon Woods (the new CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic) and as a token of appreciation in honor of the orchestra's 100th Anniversary season. Jung-A's infectious and delightful sense of humor infuses her musical performance and repertoire choices. Jung-A Lee has performed in Europe, North America, and Asia as organist, pianist and conductor. She currently serves as organist at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach. In addition, she teaches at Biola University and Vanguard University. Lee is also the Artist-in-Residence for Pacific Chorale which is directed by Maestros John Alexander and Robert Istad. In 2009 she founded Music Mission International in order to promote organ music. She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance from Boston University, and earned her Master of Music from Yale University with a full scholarship.

Classical Music

Showcasing Metropolitan Opera and GRAMMY® Award-winning mezzo-soprano Cooke, and the Colburn Orchestra led by Gilad. The recording includes Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder, the aria ‘Am I in Your Light?’ from Doctor Atomic by John Adams, Chausson’s sweeping Poème de l'amour et de la mer, all with full orchestra, and two Handel arias, ‘Scherza infida’ and ‘Ombra mai fu’ performed with chamber orchestra. The members of the Colburn Orchestra create a distinct orchestral sound (a great one), and Maestro Gilad elicits sensitive and lyrical interpretations of the repertoire. This recording won the Audio Oasis Award even before it was released at THE SHOW in Newport, 2012.

Classical Music