Modern Quant

The name of the musical ensemble 'Contrasti' alludes to the two main emphases in the group's repertoire: works from the Renaissance and those of contemporary composers. This album draws together Renaissance repertoire and music of the 20th and 21st centuries, finding frissons in the similarities and contrasts between quite distant times.

Joseph Kerman was a leading musicologist, music critic, and music educator from the 1950s to the 2000s. He reshaped our understanding and appreciation of Western classical music with his first book, Opera as Drama (1956), to his last, Opera and the Morbidity of Music (2008), including his studies on Bach, Beethoven, William Byrd, concertos, and more. He was a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, where he served two terms as chair of the Music Department. He wrote Listen together with his wife, Vivian Kerman.