Timothy Mcgowen

Winner of the 2014 Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition, Timothy Ridout, joins together with his pianist duo partner, Ke Ma, to record his debut CD with Champs Hill Records. This disc, which is the result of Timothy’s success at the CAIVC, presents the complete Viola works of Henri Vieuxtemps and includes two sonatas, small virtuoso gems and an Etude. Timothy Ridout says of the disc: “Henri Vieuxtemps was one of the greatest violin virtuosi of the 19th century, and as a boy was compared to Paganini, though his compositions often neglected. I believe this is largely due to the fact that he is thought of as a composer solely for the violin, writing music filled with pyrotechnics. However this isn’t true. Vieuxtemps also loved the viola, and it is in his viola works that his lyrical, operatic style is most apparent.”

The third Motorpsycho full length marks an important step for the band, both in terms of musical ambition and execution. The previous album Demon Box was a very diverse album but it could still largely be tagged as a metal/stoner album. With Timothy's Monster, the band found a more personal mix of heavy indie rock with psychedelic experimentation that fans probably identify as psychonaut-rock…

Maybe it's just the somewhat overpowered production – including the electric drums – but this album ended up being a disappointment. The tunes and the songs are good enough, and Schmit is in superb voice, and you have to love the luminous guitar sound in evidence throughout. But it's all a little reminiscent of what happened to the Eagles once they became a top arena act – all of a sudden, their sound started to get bigger and heavier than their music could carry comfortably…

The uncle of the great Giovanni Gabrieli, Andrea Gabrieli is often overshadowed by his nephew, yet he was one of the greatest and most approachable composers of the High Renaissance. Late in his life Andrea composed a Mass for four choirs, but most of his music requires only relatively modest forces; yet it has all the colour, imagination and emotional immediacy that we associate with the best Venetian art of the 16th century. In 1562 Andrea formed a lasting friendship with Lassus while visiting Germany, and the music of Lassus can be seen to be an important influence on his own.