Arthut Beiser

Cellist Maya Beiser’s latest CD for the Innova imprint seeks to craft music that celebrates the rich multiculturalism of the Iberian peninsula. Using medieval Spain as a jumping off point, Beiser has commissioned a collection of works that celebrate Christian, Jewish, and Muslim musical traditions. The participants frequently interweave stylistic and ethnic boundaries. The results are frequently engaging musical hybrids.

Michael Harrison's (b. 1959) Just Ancient Loops, a kaleidoscopic, three-part meditation for cello, combines ancient scales and harmonies with contemporary looping techniques that make Beiser’s solo instrument sound like an orchestra. Meanwhile, Hijaz, a brilliantly schizophrenic work that veers between slow, lyrical passages and fast, rhythmic spasms, unites an aged Middle Eastern and North African mode with the youthful voices of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City.

Cellist and producer Maya Beiser's latest solo album reimagines Terry Riley’s epic In C as a series of ever-evolving cello loops and drones. In her multi-cello solo version, the C string - the cello’s lowest, most resonant string - forms the depth and sonic architecture of the album. Enveloped by live drumming by Shane Shanahan and Matt Kilmer, Maya creates a hypnotic, rapturous soundscape that re-envisions this epic minimalist masterpiece.