LUMINOUS Kirsten Ashley Wiest, sopranoSiu Hei Lee, piano Centaur Records Centaur Records has recently released LUMINOUS, a new CD of contemporary art songs featuring coloratura soprano Kirsten Ashley Wiest, accompanied by pianist Siu Hei Lee. Three original pieces by composers Jeffrey Holmes, Jack Van Zandt and James Erber were written specifically for Ms. Wiest’s extraordinary voice and explore the eternal contrast of darkness and light. Also included is the technically challenging Mysteries of the Macabre by György Ligeti. The opening piece, Fragments, by Jeffrey Holmes is a four-movement work based on Latin texts compiled by the composer. The first movement,
Read moreJoVia Armstrong is an accomplished musician from Detroit, winner of the 2014 Best Black Female Percussionist of the Year, given by the Black Women in Jazz Awards. She is a member of the jazz group Musique Noire and has appeared with a wide variety of artists and has also toured with the J.C. Brooks Band. In this podcast, JoVia describes her early musical education in the Detroit public schools, her experiences as a music major at Michigan State and her subsequent career as a professional musician based in Chicago. The story of the challenges she faced and overcame along the
Read moreCatherine Lamb – Point/Wave Giacomo Fiore Populist Records Los Angeles-based Populist Records has released a new digital recording by Catherine Lamb titled Point/Wave. Performed by Italian guitarist Giacomo Fiore, Point/Wave features a single 55 minute track that combines Fiore’s guitar playing with environmental sounds processed by an electronic synthesizer jointly developed by Lamb and Bryan Eubanks. The guitar tuning and electronic processing are both in just intonation. Point/Wave is written for acoustic guitar in just intonation where the tuning of the strings is based on whole number harmonic ratios instead of equal divisions of the octave that comprise our conventional
Read moreJulian Bennett Holmes is the Sacred Music Coordinator of the St. Paul Chapel at Columbia University. He is an award winning composer, having studied with Lowell Liebermann and Richard Danielpour. Julian also teaches undergraduate courses at the Manhattan School of Music. In this podcast we cover a variety of topics including Julian’s music, pipe organ improvisations, the future of sacred music and the state of composing and performing in a time of pandemics and isolation. With Paul Muller and Jim Goodin.
Read moreMichael Vincent Waller A Song Longform Editions The Longform Editions label has recently released a new piano music EP from Michael Vincent Waller, available via digital download. Dedicated to “the slow recovery of our times”, A Song is a quietly atmospheric piece, improvised by the composer and recorded in a single take with no editing. The opening chords of A Song are simple yet elegant. The first tones are clear and sustained, ringing out like church bells on a quiet summer morning. There is nothing technically demanding here, but Waller’s touch in these opening moments is impeccable. The quiet, introspective
Read moreNicolas Horvath Grand Piano Records The Naxos Grand Piano Records label has released a new CD by Nicolas Horvath, The Unknown Debussy – Rare Piano Music. Known for his interpretations of the piano music of Philip Glass, Franz Liszt and Erik Satie, Nicolas Horvath here performs previously unheard works by Claude Debussy as reconstructed by scholar Robert Orledge. According to the liner notes: “Robert Orledge’s research into Debussy’s sketches and incomplete drafts has resulted in the unearthing and reconstruction of numerous lost masterpieces, the piano versions of which are given their première recordings here.”
Read moreOn Tuesday, February 18, 2020, Brightwork newmusic presented the Los Angeles premiere of Separation Songs, by Matt Sargent. A 70-minute work for two string quartets, Separation Songs comprised the entire program. The Eclipse Quartet was joined by the Aperture Duo, Grace Oh and Julie Jung to complete the eight-piece ensemble. Seating in the Monk Space venue was reconfigured to accommodate the larger musical forces and to take full advantage of the close acoustics. Everyone in the audience was within twenty feet of the players, allowing the listeners to be immersed in the warm sonority of the strings. Separation Songs is
Read moreOn Saturday, February 1, 2020 the Shannon Center for the Performing Arts at Whittier College staged a concert titled Terry Riley with Gyan Riley – Live at 85. Featuring one of the founding fathers of classic minimalism – now in his 85th year – along with his talented son Gyan, this concert was a chance to catch up on the current output of the innovative composer of In C. The Shannon Center was the perfect venue for the two musicians who filled the stage with keyboards, synthesizers, guitars plus assorted amplifiers and speakers. There was no printed concert order and
Read moreOn Tuesday, January 28, 2020 Tuesdays@Monk Space presented a concert titled 20/20 Visions which consisted of several new pieces for microtonal keyboards. Presented by Brightwork New Music, the concert featured five contemporary works – including three world premieres – all performed by the Ray-Kallay Duo. Four of the composers were in attendance to offer comments on their music to the knowledgeable audience that filled the intimate Monk Space venue. The first piece in the program was Atlantys (1984) for two DX7 keyboards, by Tristan Murail. The Yamaha DX7, manufactured from 1983 to 1989, was the first successful digital synthesizer offered
Read moreOn Wednesday, December 11, 2019 REDCAT, in downtown Los Angeles, hosted the Isaura String Quartet in a concert of new music titled hum. Five works were presented by contemporary composers including two world premiers and a West Coast premiere. A fine mid-week crowd filled the REDCAT venue, braving the fierce holiday traffic. Darkness is Not Well Lit (2016), by Nicole Lizée, opened the concert and for this piece the quartet was seated on low risers with an floor fan stationed in front of each player. The concert notes explained that this work is “…a sonic imaging of a film noir
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