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Limitless / Jennifer Koh
Cedille

Limitless / Jennifer Koh

$9.99
$19.99 Save 50%

Details

Composer
VARIOUS
Artist
Jennifer Koh, Naqvi, Bielawa, Yun, Sorey, Young, Lu, Iyer, Mazzoli
Format
CD
Label
Cedille
Released
Sep 27, 2019
Catalog #
CDR 191
UPC
735131919128

About

A New York Times 25 Best Classical Track Selection for 2019

Violinist Jennifer Koh’s Limitless, based on her groundbreaking recital project of the same name, bridges the modern divide between composer and instrumentalist, celebrates artistic collaboration, and revives the grand tradition of composers performing their own music. The album features world-premiere recordings of Koh-commissioned duets by a diverse roster of highly accomplished contemporary composers, which she performs with the composers themselves. Premieres include Quasim Naqvi’s The Banquet for violin and modular synthesizer, exploring a convergence between acoustic string and electronic sound worlds; Lisa Bielawa’s Sanctuary Songs for violin and voice, three settings of texts by American women poets of the 1920s; Du Yun’s give me back my fingerprints for violin and voice, representative of what The New York Times calls her “adventurously eclectic” style; and Tyshawn Sorey’s In Memoriam Muhal Richard Abrams, dedicated to Sorey’s beloved mentor, the avant-garde pianist, composer, and founding president of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Limitless also offers the first recording of Nina C. Young’s Sun Propeller for violin and electronics, inspired by traditional Tuvan throat-singing; Wang Lu’s Her Latitude for violin and electronics, with a quasi-improvised piano part and electronically processed sounds of Buddhist chants and old Korean pop songs; and jazz luminary Vijay Iyer’s The Diamond for violin and piano, inspired by an early Buddhist text. The album concludes with Missy Mazzoli’s A Thousand Tongues for violin, piano, and electronics, an intense response to a line in a Stephen Crane poem; and Vespers for violin and electronics, “deliciously disorienting” (National Public Radio) with a soaring solo violin.

REVIEWS:

Koh, needless to say, is sensational throughout: responsive to each composer’s demands, and fiercely committed to making each piece sing true in collaboration with its creator. The project is a paradigm shift in thinking about composers who perform, and about representation on the concert platform; the result is a beautiful, compelling collection of intimate conversations and collective statements.

– National Sawdust

Part of Ms. Koh’s double-disc project of collaborations with composers who also perform alongside her, Du Yun: ‘Give Me Back My Fingerprints’ rises from quietly uneasy to rabid and raw, then back again. Violin lines emerge, as if from far away, to mingle with Ms. Du’s earthy, murmuring, sometimes choking voice.

– New York Times (Zachary Woolfe)

Tracklist 16 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 The Banquet 12:19
    Track
    1
    Title
    The Banquet
    Duration
    12:19
    Composer
    Qasim Naqvi
    Performer
    Jennifer Koh, Qasim Naqvi
  3. 2 No. 1. Broken 05:09
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 1. Broken
    Duration
    05:09
    Composer
    Lisa Bielawa
    Performer
    Lisa Bielawa, Jennifer Koh
  4. 3 No. 2. Speak Softly 03:47
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 2. Speak Softly
    Duration
    03:47
    Composer
    Lisa Bielawa
    Performer
    Lisa Bielawa, Jennifer Koh
  5. 4 No. 3. My Marvelous Wall 04:00
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 3. My Marvelous Wall
    Duration
    04:00
    Composer
    Lisa Bielawa
    Performer
    Lisa Bielawa, Jennifer Koh
  6. 5 give me back my fingerprints 09:25
    Track
    5
    Title
    give me back my fingerprints
    Duration
    09:25
    Composer
    Du Yun
    Performer
    Jennifer Koh, Du Yun
  7. 6 In Memoriam Muhal Richard Abrams 06:56
    Track
    6
    Title
    In Memoriam Muhal Richard Abrams
    Duration
    06:56
    Composer
    Tyshawn Sorey
    Performer
    Jennifer Koh, Tyshawn Sorey
  8. 7 Sun Propeller (version for violin and electronics) 12:26
    Track
    7
    Title
    Sun Propeller (version for violin and electronics)
    Duration
    12:26
    Composer
    Nina C. Young
    Performer
    Jennifer Koh, Nina C. Young
  9. Disc 2
  10. 1 I. — 07:18
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. —
    Duration
    07:18
    Composer
    Wang Lu
    Performer
    Jennifer Koh, Wang Lu
  11. 2 II. — 02:54
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. —
    Duration
    02:54
    Composer
    Wang Lu
    Performer
    Jennifer Koh, Wang Lu
  12. 3 III. — 04:53
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. —
    Duration
    04:53
    Composer
    Wang Lu
    Performer
    Jennifer Koh, Wang Lu
  13. 4 I. A Dream 05:34
    Track
    4
    Title
    I. A Dream
    Duration
    05:34
    Composer
    Vijay Iyer
    Performer
    Jennifer Koh, Vijay Iyer
  14. 5 II. A Phantom 03:15
    Track
    5
    Title
    II. A Phantom
    Duration
    03:15
    Composer
    Vijay Iyer
    Performer
    Jennifer Koh, Vijay Iyer
  15. 6 III. A Drop of Dew 05:23
    Track
    6
    Title
    III. A Drop of Dew
    Duration
    05:23
    Composer
    Vijay Iyer
    Performer
    Jennifer Koh, Vijay Iyer
  16. 7 IV. A Flash of Lightning 06:00
    Track
    7
    Title
    IV. A Flash of Lightning
    Duration
    06:00
    Composer
    Vijay Iyer
    Performer
    Jennifer Koh, Vijay Iyer
  17. 8 A Thousand Tongues (version for violin, piano and electronics) 07:09
    Track
    8
    Title
    A Thousand Tongues (version for violin, piano and electronics)
    Duration
    07:09
    Composer
    Missy Mazzoli
    Performer
    Jennifer Koh, Missy Mazzoli
  18. 9 Vespers for Violin 05:08
    Track
    9
    Title
    Vespers for Violin
    Duration
    05:08
    Composer
    Missy Mazzoli
    Performer
    Jennifer Koh, Missy Mazzoli