Sparks New Music For Amnesiacs

Listening to just the first minute of Stephen Scott's "Rainbows, I" (the album's first track) will shatter your notion of what piano music should sound like. With a heavy nod to the minimalism of Steve Reich, Scott and his group of students from Colorado College created one of the most memorable and original compositions of bowed piano strings ever recorded. Here, the white and black keys are overshadowed by a handful of musicians crawling over the open-topped instrument, armed with Popsicle sticks glued with horsehair (the perfect bow for reaching into a grand's tight corners).

David Starobin - New Music for Guitar, Vol. 8 (2013) {Bridge 9404}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 233 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 133 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 9 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2013 Bridge Records | BRIDGE 9404
Classical / Modern Classical / Modern Classical / Guitar

David Starobin continues his award-winning New Music with Guitar series after a six year hiatus. Volume 8 includes two solo works and two chamber pieces in their premiere recordings. Starobin's own composition, Variations on a Theme by Carl Nielsen, takes Nielsen's “Song Behind the Plow”, first published in 1899, and subjects it to 12 variations. Paul Lansky's Partita for guitar and percussion is in four beautifully wrought and intricate movements. Six Pages by the Danish composer Poul Ruders, presents miniatures that range from light and comic to sustained and meditative. George Crumb's Ghosts of the Alhambra is a song cycle based on poems of Lorca, and features the distinguished American baritone, Patrick Mason.

The generous recording, with over 80 minutes of music, also features four superb soloists who have appeared at the Festival several times; fabulous Australian saxophonist Amy Dickson, richly-voiced Welsh mezzo Rebecca Afonwy-Jones and the brilliant flute and harp duo of Katherine Baker and Suzy Willison-Kawalec. Founded in 1982 in the former county town of Radnorshire, the Presteigne Festival has become a significant part of the Welsh cultural calendar and is internationally renowned for its commissioning of new work, support of living composers and with a long tradition for the encouragement of young artists.

The initial impetus of the ‘Australian Thais’ project came from David Howie’s Thai family connections and the shared interest to explore the connections between the music and people of both countries. This led to collaborations with some of Thailand and Australia’s premiere composers to commission, workshop and produce new music for a cross-cultural exchange aimed at enhancing and strengthening links between the two countries, greatly increasing cultural awareness and understanding through music. This project was made possible by a Sydney University, Conservatorium of Music internal research grant.

The Pasture & Storm Project brings together the composer Sadie Harrison, three pianists in Nicholas McCarthy, Sophia Benton and Tomáš Klement, the singer Peyee Chen, flautist Stephanie Gilbert, violinist Roger Huckle, and the Bristol Ensemble, conducted by John Pickard. The CD includes 8 new works written to celebrate the unique talents of the left-hand-only pianist.

Like alchemists of old, attempting to recombine the four elements, here Fábio Brum presents four distinct musical languages in a programme forged during lockdown. Gabriele Roberto’s Tokyo Suite charts the astonishment of a traveller dazzled by the vast megapolis, whereas Dimitri Cervo’s The Brazilian Four Seasons offers a colourful, energetic panorama of the natural and human worlds. Fábio Brum’s very personal musical journey is highlighted by the contrast between the Talmudic contemplation of Menachem Zur’s De Profundis and the abstract ruminations of Nicola Tescari’s Trumpet Concerto ‘Nine Moods’.

For the first time on CAM JAZZ, Ramberto Ciammarughi, a pianist from Assisi, makes his debut on the Roman label with his "new music for a trio". A top-class trio, with the well-known Miroslav Vitous on double bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums. These two musicians are in perfect harmony with the leader, thanks also to the numerous collaborations during the course of their training. Ciammarughi wrote almost all of the tracks.