Ursula Ribeiro

Eighteenth-century Europe was home to an infinity of musical styles. The fascination of composers with developments elsewhere led to a multitude of creative imitations and further transformations. Our recording is a sounding illustration of the results: a German embraces the French orchestral suite and an Italian is the driving force behind the new concerto form, only to inspire another German to other creative ventures.

Fantasy: Oppens Plays Kaminsky is the culmination of a decades-long personal and musical friendship between Ursula and composer Laura Kaminsky. Listen to learn more about this intriguing new collection of contemporary piano works through the esteemed pianist’s personal insight.

After an already healthy representation of the compositional prowess of Heinz Holliger, ECM decided to put out this disc pairing some of his earliest work from the sixties with that of decades later, thereby providing an engaging survey of a musical mind that turns like a kaleidoscope: holding tight to symmetries so that it might fragment their interiors in ever-novel, I would say linguistic, combinations. For indeed, language is what Holliger is all about. From the poetry that inspired him as a youth to the poetry that he creates as an adult, the Swiss composer revels in every portion of his mental reserve to fish out some of the most heartfelt music of the twentieth century.

After what seems like years of delay, Mode has released this CD of chamber and vocal music in time for Elliott Carter's 95th birthday, which fell on Dec. 11, 2003. It was worth the wait. The Quintet for Piano and Strings (1997) is one of the two or three pinnacles of Carter's prolific eighties. Though undeniably an example of the his late style, it harks back to the First Quartet (1951!) in its long-lined writing for strings. The music is expansive and concise, light-hearted and dramatic all at once, and it is played to perfection by Ursula Oppens and the Arditti Quartet, the performers for whom it was written.