Guerrero: Missa Ecce Sacerdos Magnus, Magnificat, and Motets Brabant Ensemble, directed by Stephen Rice Hyperion The Spanish Renaissance composer Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599) does not have the profile or deep discography he deserves. Brabant Ensemble, directed by Stephen Rice, seek to raise the former and enhance the latter with Missa Ecce Sacerdos Magnus, Magnificat, and Motets, a Hyperion CD of pieces by Guerrero that have not previously been recorded. While hearing them is past due, it is welcome all the same. The ensemble has an exquisite blend, doubtless helped in part by being populated by performers who also collaborate
Read moreBruce Liu Waves Deutsche Grammophon At twenty-six years of age, pianist Bruce Liu has already received much acclaim, most prominently by winning the Chopin Competition. His recital disc, Waves, released on Deutsche Grammophon, could easily have been a selection of familiar finger busters from the center of the classical repertoire and been quite popular. Instead, it is a program of French composers: Jean-Phillippe Rameau, Maurice Ravel, and Charles-Valentine Alkan. Liu’s Rameau performances take into account the resonance of a modern grand piano, but his tempos, phrasing, and ornaments are well-informed by historical performance practice. The rondeau was
Read moreThe Sorcerer – Gábor Szabó (Impulse) Hungarian guitarist Gábor Szabó performed the music on The Sorcerer in 1967 at the Jazz Workshop, Boston. His first live recording as a leader, Szabó is joined by guitarist Jimmy Stewart, bassist Louis Kabok, percussionist Hal Gordon, and drummer Marty Morrell. Szabó plays a diverse array of originals, standards, and even a pop tune by Sonny Buono. It’s fair to say that not many jazz artists have recorded “The Beat Goes On,” but here it is stripped of its sentimental associations, with the emphasis being instead on its backbeat and effusive duo
Read moreJessica Pavone Clamor Out of Your Head Records Violist Jessica Pavone has made a detailed study of microtones, excelling as well at techniques such as harmonics, bow pressure, and multi-stops. Clamor, her latest recording for Out of Your Head Records, combines all of these in four extended solo works. As the title of the recording suggests, there is a fair amount of dissonance and noise. Not so on the first track, “Neolttwigi,” in which sumptuous multi-stops, modal melodies, and the exploration of multiple overtone series combine in one of Pavone’s most memorable compositions to date. “Nu Shu,”
Read moreSalvatore Sciarrino Paesaggi con macerie Kairos Monica Bacelli, mezzo-soprano Icarus vs. Muzak, conducted by Marco Angius Salvatore Sciarrino (b.1947) is one of today’s most prominent Italian composers. His work encompasses the effects and inflections of second modernity, frequently alongside transcriptions of earlier music. This combination yields singular pieces from a composer who has a distinctive and compelling voice. Icarus vs. Muzak, conducted by Marco Angius, adopts well the various facets of Sciarrino’s music, performing the quotations with clarity and the frequent contrasts energetically. The influences incorporated on Paesaggi con macerie, Sciarrino’s latest portrait CD for the Kairos imprint,
Read moreBracing Change 2 Piatti Quartet, Heath Quartet, Quatuor Bozzini NMC Recordings The first Bracing Change recording dates from 2017, when Wigmore Hall decided to use the moniker as the title for a series of string commissions. Three string quartets play on Bracing Change 2, another collection of commissions by the organization. The Piatti Quartet plays Mark-Anthony Turnage’s “Contusions.” It begins with sforzando punctuations of a modal ostinato, gradually picking up steam, accumulating material, and more dissonant harmonies along the way. An emphatic and knotty passage of counterpoint marks the end of the first large section, after which there
Read moreJustin Dello Joio – Oceans Apart (Bridge Records) Composer Justin Dello Joio enjoys a top flight slate of performers on Oceans Apart, his latest recording for Bridge. The title work is a piano concerto, performed live here by the Boston Symphony, conducted by Alan Gilbert, with Garrick Ohlsson as soloist. A short bit of applause is left on the tail end of the recording, otherwise one would never be the wiser. The quality of the rendition and recording are excellent. Dello Joio conceived of Oceans Apart when watching surfers being challenged by massive waves. The concerto translates this
Read more“I remember first reading Robert Fanning’s poetry in 2014; it was as if he was able to give voice to feelings and experiences in a way that made them feel like my own. His words reveal a world of profound beauty that transcends the page.” – David Biedenbender Shell and Wing – YouTube David Biedenbender All We Are Given We Cannot Hold Blue Griffin CD Lindsay Kesselman, soprano; Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Kevin Noe, Artistic Director; Garth Newel Piano Quartet with Mingzhe Wang, clarinet; Haven Trio. If a composer is able to find a poet who
Read moreMozart Recital Su Yeon Kim Steinway & Sons CD During her studies, pianist Su Yeon Kim has kept Mozart close. She studied for a decade at Mozarteum University, won first prize at the Concours international de Montréal in 2021 and second place in the International Mozart Competition in Salzburg. Kim has lived for some time in Salzburg. In 2023, she will also reconnect with her hometown Seoul as Artist-in-Residence of Kumho Art Hall. For her Steinway & Sons Mozart Recital, Kim plays two sonatas and a number of smaller pieces, some obscure and seldom performed. Even in these
Read moreEvery Living Creature Choral music by Kenneth Leighton Rebecca Lea, Nina Bennet, soprano; Ciara Hendrick, mezzo-soprano; Nick Pritchard, tenor Finchley Children’s Music Group, Grace Rossiter, music director Londinium, Andrew Griffiths, director SOMM Records Kenneth Leighton (1929-88) was a distinguished composer and academic. He taught at various places, including Oxford where he had studied as an undergraduate, spending the bulk of his academic career at the University of Edinburgh. He wrote in many genres, but it is his music for choirs that is most prized. His choral music is rigorous in construction with vibrant rhythms and skilful formal designs; tonal,
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