Catalog

Born in 1934 in London, American composer Godfrey Winham died at the age of 40. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music and later attended Princeton where he studied with Roger Sessions. He worked at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center writing for the RCA Sound Synthesizer, which fostered his interest in this medium. From 1964 until his death in 1975, he was a pioneer and authority in the field of computer music. He also wrote music criticism and contributed to journals like Music Review and Tempo. The bulk of his writings on music, theory, logic and philosophy are at the Firestone Library of Princeton. His short life limited his actual number of music compositions, but the works on this recording are representative of his output. This is the first recording devoted exclusively to his music. Every musical work by Winham was an essay on music, showing by example the content and implications of his complex evolving philosophy of music. The music is performed by some of the best-known exponents of contemporary music, including soprano Tony Arnold and pianist Alan Feinberg.

Music by Greek and Greek-American composers is featured on this recording, offering an overview of compositions from several generations. Theodore Antoniou, born 1935 in Greece, maintains affiliations with universities and contemporary music ensembles in the United States and Greece. Nickitas Demos, born in 1962, is the youngest of the composers represented. He studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Indiana University and the Cleveland Institute of Music. He is founder and artistic director of the neoPhonia New Music Ensemble at Georgia State University, where he is also a professor of composition. Christos Samaras, born in 1956, studied at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, the University of Music and Fine Arts in Vienna and the University of Fine Arts in Berlin. He now teaches composition at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki. George Tsontakis, born in 1951, studied at Juilliard and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He has received two Grammy nominations and the University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for his Violin Concerto No. 2. Many of the performers are on the faculty at George State University and conservatories in Thessaloniki and Macedonia.

Spectacular sonics are presented on this unique offering of a Blu-Ray surround stereo disc and a regular cd for those people who do not have Blu-Ray players. The Blu-Ray format permits recordings of works in multi-channel at a higher resolution as well as layering of separate mixes so that surround recording and stereo can be presented simultaneously and conveniently as options to listeners. The pieces written to include electronics are all written for eight channels of electronic sound surrounding the audience. The regular compact disc presents content at a lower bit and sampling rate in comparison with the Blu-Ray, making the music available to everyone with a cd player. Composer David Felder has long been recognized as a leader in his generation of American composer. His music is known for its highly energetic profile, its frequent employment of technological extension and elaboration of musical materials and its lyrical qualities. Felder is on the faculty at SUNY-Buffalo and artistic director of the June in Buffalo Festival.

A native of Washington, DC, composer and pianist Jessica Krash was awarded a Wammie (Washington Area Music Association's Grammy) in 2010. Her work has been presented in both traditional and experimental settings in New York, Germany, Austria and all the major performance venues and museums in Washington, DC. She lectures on topics of music and the brain, music history and the insights we get from dangerous, banned and provocative music. She is on the faculty at George Washington University and has previously been a faculty member at George Mason University and the Levine School of Music. Se is a graduate of Harvard, Juilliard and the University of Maryland, where she earned her doctorate in composition. The major work on this recording, Be Seeing You, for string quartet and piano, was commissioned by the National Gallery of Art and the National Museum of Women in the Arts and is inspired by 14 depictions of women found in these two museums.

This recording of tangos began with the idea of writing music that could allow for freedom of improvisation while adhering to the composer's intent. Composer Pablo Ortiz began writing works for cello, multiple cellos and cellos with other string instruments while exploring the concept of original composition versus transcription, or music inspired by other music. His colleague Anssi Karttunen began transcribing music as well, using music of classic tangos, both from Argentina and Finland. Thus the listener will experience original compositions in the tango idiom along with transcriptions and arrangements of classic tangos. It is often hard to tell whether the composer is the interpreter or the interpreter the composer. This is a study in freedom and the shifting line between invention and re-invention. The two different kinds of tangos -- those from Argentina and those from Finland give different shades to the nostalgia and sadness they are both about.

The distinguished violinist David C. Neely offers a program of two Boston composers who contributed significantly not only to the musical life of Boston, but also to American music. Harry Newton Redman (1869-1958) was hired by George W. Chadwick to teach at the New England Conservatory, which he did until his retirement in 1939. His musical output consists of five string quartets, two violin and piano sonatas, several piano sonatas and songs. He was also known as an avid painter. Clara Kathleen Rogers (1844-1931) studied piano, violin, cello and voice in Germany but could not study composition as no women were allowed in the composition classes at the Leipzig Conservatory. She had a successful career as an opera singer until she retired upon her marriage. She then turned her efforts to composition. Her catalog includes more than 100 songs, two string quartets, piano works, a cello sonata and the sonata for violin and piano heard on this recording. How fortunate that we now have recordings of these works from two American composers of an earlier generation.

Born in 1959, composer Mark Gustavson studied at Northern Illinois University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Columbia University, Conservatory of Amsterdam, Tanglewood and the Banff Centre. He is on the faculty at Adelphi University and Nassau Community College. He has received numerous honors, including a composer award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and a Fulbright Fellowship. His music has been commissioned and performed by notable chamber ensembles including Speculum Musicae, Parnassus, The Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra and the New Music Consort, among many others. The five pieces on this recording, covering a period of 13 years, are representative of Gustavson's primary interests, which is composing instrumental music from works for solo instruments or orchestral music. His unique voice, influenced by approaches to music from around the world, often sounds spontaneous or improvised, although it is strictly notated.

Four of the five works on this compact disc of new works for voice, viola and piano performed by the Chiaroscuro Trio are world premiere recordings. The only professional chamber ensemble dedicated to this instrumentation, the Chiaroscuro Trio has appeared as guest ensemble at various festivals and concert venues in the United States and will make their European debut in the summer of 2013. The Trio has selected contemporary American works that vary greatly, whether in personal styles of the composers, their background, the texts or the contradictory yet congruent aspects of life that they evoke. What makes these works American, is the sense that unity comes from diversity and plurality and that embracing and encouraging a melting pot of disparate voices and cultures, leads to a healthy and cohesive society and art. These five works are mindful of the past, reflective of our epoch, and relevant to the future.

The Esterhazy Quartet commissioned Samuel Adler's String Quartet No. 9 on the occasion of their 40th anniversary in 2010. Accompanying this string quartet are two other works – a piano quintet written in 2000-2001 and Adler's String Quartet No. 8, which was composed in 1988. Born in 1928, Samuel Adler's has had a long and distinguished career as a composer. He is the composer of more than 400 works; his music has been performed around the world; he is the author of three books; the recipient of numerous awards and prizes including the Aaron Copland Lifetime Achievement in Music Award; and a professor emeritus at Eastman and on the faculty at Juilliard. The Esterhazy Quartet has performed on three continents and garnered international accolades from critics. They are the ensemble-in-residence at the University of Missouri, and are widely recognized for their commitment to performing the music of our time. They are joined by virtuoso pianist Jerome Lowenthal, who, while born in 1932, continues to fascinate audiences.

The works featured on this recording are not united by a single topic or style. What they share is that they are extraordinary, yet seldom heard examples of American music for two pianists. Performed by the husband-and-wife piano duo team of Stacy Rodgers and Diane Wang, the ensemble is a perennial favorite of audiences, with their programs offering an intriguing bland of standard four-hand and two-piano repertoire and daring new works by contemporary composers. Stacy Rodgers is on the faculty at the University of Mississippi and a graduate of Southern Methodist University and The University of Texas at Austin. Also on the faculty at the University of Mississippi, Diane Wang is a member of the faculty woodwind quintet and performs both as a pianist and flutist. She holds degrees from Indiana University and The University of Texas at Austin.

David Walther, the violist of The Debussy Trio, is an active commercial studio musician who has performed on more than 400 motion pictures, television shows, jingles and records. He is a self-taught composer whose influences range from the great past and present masters of classical music to the modern sounds of rock, pop and jazz. This recording offers a sample of this extremely talented musician's work, with the viola as one of the common threads of the compositions. The recording includes a trio for flute, viola and harp; a work viola and piano; one for solo viola; and ends with a trio for violin, cello and piano. Walther is the violist for the recording that features performances by The Debussy Trio and The Capital Trio.

The selected solo instrumental works on this recording by Boston composer Graham Gordon Ramsay span a 30 year time frame and are autobiographical, reflecting the influences and personal events that shaped the works. Ramsay is in demand as a creator of choral and instrumental works for a range of venues, including numerous church congregations in the United States and Europe. He studied at the Tanglewood Institute, Boston University and the Fontainebleau School in France with such masters as Theodore Antoniou, David Del Tredici, and Joyce McKeel. Known for his modern yet tuneful style, Ramsay writes predominantly for solo voice, chorus, solo instruments, and chamber ensemble. This recording, performed by some of the best-known Boston musicians, complements his first recording on Albany Records—a disc of his sacred music for chorus.

Inspired by Virgil's Aeneid, the three works comprising Gates of Silence are connected but independent. Each is a passage that echoes with relevance today — our fallen cities, our physical passages and in our personal interactions with each other and our destinies. The third piece, Dido Refuses to Speak, sets poetry by National Book Award finalist, Linda Gregerson. As a composer and performer, Susan Botti's eclectic background and experiences are reflected in her music. Theatre and the visual arts play a formative role in the aesthetic of her work, which have encompassed traditional, improvisational and non-classical composition and singing styles. A recipient of numerous grants and awards, Botti specializes in the performance of contemporary music by composers of diverse styles, in addition to her own works. She studied at the Berklee School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, where she currently is on the composition faculty.

The compositions on this recording of music for saxophone ensemble represent traditional Western classical music combined with such diverse styles as jazz, popular and folk music, Asian and African music and even show the influence of television. It also represents contemporary music of flexible instrumentation. The Alloy Saxophone Quartet was formed to explore contemporary music and includes Bill Perconti, Sean Fredenburg, Duke Sullivan and Erik Steighner -- all noted performers. Perconti, who performs the works for solo saxophone is a graduate of Bowling Green State University, Baldwin Wallace Conservatory and the University of Iowa. He has made 26 world premiere recordings of 15 composers on five record labels. He is on the faculty at Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho.

This disc of chamber music by Lansing McLoskey includes works for large chamber ensemble as well as smaller ensembles and songs. Lansing McLoskey came to the world of composition via a somewhat unorthodox route. Instead of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, his three "B's" were the Beatles, Bauhaus and Black Flag. His first experiences in composition were writing for punk rock bands in San Francisco, which is where he developed his love for classical music. His music has an emotional intensity that appeals to audiences and defies traditional stylistic pigeonholes. His music has been performed across the U.S. and in 14 other countries on six continents. A graduate of Harvard, UC Santa Barbara and the USC Thornton School of Music, with additional studies at the Royal Danish Academy, McLoskey is on the faculty at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami.

Born in Berkeley to a mother of Peruvian/Chinese ancestry and a father of Lithuanian/Jewish descent, Gabriela Lena Frank explores her multicultural heritage most ardently through her compositions. Franks has traveled extensively throughout South American and her pieces reflect and refract her studies of Latin-American folklore, incorporating poetry, mythology and native musical styles into a western classical framework. Winner of a Latin Grammy and nominated for Grammys as both composer and pianist, Ms. Frank holds a Guggenheim Fellowship and a USA Artist Fellowship. This disc includes four works composed over a seven-year period and all feature the piano — one for solo piano; one for flute and piano; another for flute, clarinet and piano; and one for piano quintet, beautifully performed by Ensemble MEME and pianist Molly Morkoski.

Ross Bauer's music is intensely lyrical, powerfully dramatic, harmonically rich and variegated, beautifully proportioned, rhythmically agile and dynamic, vibrantly hued, and emotionally and expressively generous. The stellar performances on this disc will bear this out for the listener. Bauer is a consummate composer, deeply committed to writing music exhibiting not only the utmost skill and integrity, but also the desire to connect with his listeners. On the faculty at the University of California, Davis, Bauer's music appears on the Albany, GM, Centaur and New World record labels. He received a 2005 Academy Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Walter Hinrichsen Award.

Captivated by the sound of the native American flute, virtuoso flutist James Pellerite has virtually single-handedly reinvented the playing of the instrument by commissioning dozens of composers to write for it. The resulting new works have challenged Pellerite to develop new techniques for the instrument. His legacy is therefore both an entire body of literature for the instrument and the development of techniques necessary to perform the music. Former principal flutist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Pellerite has also had a long and distinguished career as Professor of Flute at Indiana University. This recording showcases the native American flute in a range of contemporary styles by eight composers, performed by the man who re-imagined the instrument.

The Buckley Chamber Players, named in honor of its home venue, Amherst College's Buckley Recital Hall, was founded in 2008. Its members are on the faculty at Amherst and Smith College and the University of Massachusetts. Playing a varied repertoire, it is dedicated to a close collaboration with composers who write works for the ensemble. This recording is representative of their concerts, and includes three works written for them, two of them by composers on the faculty at Amherst (Eric Sawyer and Lewis Spratlan).

To celebrate their 100th anniversary, the Pro Arte Quartet commissioned works from four distinguished American composers (Walter Mays, Paul Schoenfield, William Bolcom and John Harbison), which were given their world premiere performances in 2011-2012. The Pro Arte Quartet was founded in 1911-12 by teenage prodigies who were students at the Brussels Conservatory. Stranded in the USA in 1940 by the outbreak of World War II, the Quartet became established at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where they became the first professional string quartet in residence at an American university. In all, the Quartet has commissioned more than 100 new works so it was fitting that the centerpiece of their centennial celebration include commissions, performances and recordings of these new works.

Compositional clarity of purpose amid a counterpoint of ideas and materials brings together this generous collection of Jeffrey Mumford's music, all of which are heard in thoughtful and sensitive performances. A native of Washington, D.C., composer Jeffrey Mumford has received numerous fellowships, grants, awards and commissions including the Academy Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. Formerly on the faculty at Oberlin College, he is now Distinguished Professor of Music at Lorain County Community College. Mumford was in residence at the National Gallery of Art in 2013 and some of the works on this 2-CD recording come out of this residency.

Composer Bevan Manson has received commissions for both classical and jazz music from numerous ensembles including the Sierra Chamber Society and the San Francisco Symphony. He is a founding member of the Los Angeles composers' group Improvisatory Minds, an organization that provides a platform for concert music written by composers who have jazz as an extensive part of their musical backgrounds. A noted jazz pianist, Manson was director of UC Jazz at Cal Berkeleyand has served on the faculties of New England Conservatory, Berklee College and the Thelonious Monk Institute. This recording, the first devoted entirely to his music, combines his classical and jazz roots in a unique style that is complex but very tuneful.

The Palisades Virtuosi (Margaret Swinchoski, flute, Donald Mokrynski, clarinet, Ron Levy, piano) have an admirable and well-earned reputation as "The Commissioners" because of their ongoing program of commissioning and premiering works for their ensemble from American composers. This recording, the fifth in their series of New American Masterpieces, features new works from seven distinguished composers whose music displays an array of styles, while exhibiting richness and depth. In all, the Palisades Virtuosi have commissioned and premiered almost 70 new works, giving performances throughout the northeastern United States. Palisades Virtuosi have been appointed "Visiting Artists" at Bergen Community College in New Jersey.

This recording is a result of the collaborative cross-relations that exist between the musicians and composers on the disc, and their enthusiasm for each other's work. Violist Jonathan Bagg, composers Scott Lindroth and Stephen Jaffee are colleagues at Duke University, while flutist Laura Gilbert and Bagg were co-directors of the Monadnock Music Festival. While Miriam Gideon's playful and probing Creature to Creature was not written for these players, it seemed to add a different, powerful voice that was aesthetically consonant with the other works on the CD. Gilbert and Bagg are joined by harpist Stacey Shames, pianist Donald Berman, guitarist Daniel Lippel and mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Shammash for performances that evoke the character of these wonderful recent compositions.

Members of the Divan Consort, a Los Angeles based ensemble present a program of music by composers from Turkey, China, Armenia, South America and the United States. Reflecting the ethnic and national backgrounds of the performers in the ensemble, the Divan Consort is committed to enhancing diversity in music, exposing music by composers from underdeveloped countries to audiences in the U.S. and Europe, as well as performing landmark compositions of the 20th and 21st centuries. Pianist and founder of the Divan Consort, Füreya Ünal, hails from Turkey, while clarinetist Virginia Figueiredo is Portuguese; violinist Mira Khomik from the Ukraine; cellist Maksim Velichkin from Uzbekistan; percussionist Yuri Inoo from Japan; and flutist Pamela Martchev from the United States.

The three pieces on this compact disc are the results of a collaborative effort between composer John Allemeier and dancer/choreographer E.E. Balcos, who together created an evening-length, dance-theater work based on three murder ballads — folksongs that describe homicides and their aftermaths. As both artists live and work in North Carolina, they fittingly focused their collaboration on murder ballads from that state. Poor Ellen is based on a balled that recounts the 1892 shooting of Ellen Smith by her lover, while Pieces of Silver was inspired by a murder ballad about Frankie Silver who killed her husband with an ax. Deep Water (Omie Wise) tells the story of how Jon Lewis drowned Omie Wise in 1807. Described as "rapturous" by American Record Guide, John Allemeier's music has been programmed at festivals around the world, including Europe, Russia, South Korea, and Brazil as well as in the U.S. A graduate of the University of Iowa, Allemeier also studied at Northwestern University and Augustana College with additional work in Germany and the Czech Republic. He teaches music theory and composition at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

The five works on the first disc are by two of the sons of J.S. Bach, and all are examples of what were known at the time as trios. Yet they are a diverse group, reflecting not only the distinct styles of their two composers by also the various types of sonatas written by them. The works on the second disc illuminate the crucial role played by C.P.E. Bach in the shift from the Baroque to the Rococo style and the tremendous artistic value of his work. On the faculty at Duke University, flutist Rebecca Troxler specializes in the music of J.S. Bach's sons and other Rococo composers and this repertoire shows off her warm tone, stylish phrasing and brilliant technique. A graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts and Juilliard, she was a founding member of Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the North Carolina Baroque Orchestra. Her colleagues are all noted specialists in Baroque music.

These three sonatas for violin and piano, all of them from the last five years of Schumann's life, have always been curiously little known and underplayed. While the first sonata is the best known of the three, it is not uncommon to come across musicians who are not familiar with the second and third sonatas, with many assuming that there are only two sonatas. The structures of these sonatas may not be the most readily comprehensible, however the musical inspiration Schumann displays is hauntingly original, rewarding for the performer and listener alike and deserving to be as much a part of the canon as the more frequently performed Brahms sonatas. Acclaimed artists, violinist Jennifer Frautschi and pianist John Blacklow, give compelling performances of these sonatas. Performing together since 1995, they were selected by Carnegie Hall for its Distinctive Debuts series and have performed at world famous venues in Europe as part of the European Concert Hall Organization's Rising Stars series.

Born in 1950, composer Tom Flaherty is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including Meet the Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. His music is performed throughout Europe and North America by some of the best known contemporary music ensembles in the United States A graduate of Brandeis, SUNY Stony Brook and the University of Southern California, he currently is on the faculty at Pomona College. An accomplished cellist as well as composer, Flaherty's compositions reflect his love of this instrument. The music on this recording was written over a seven year span and was inspired by his friends, colleagues and family. His compositions juxtapose simple things in interesting ways. Colliding meters, tempos, modes and levels of dissonance permeate his recent music but the performer's experience remains at the forefront.

Albany Records continues its series devoted to the music of Pulitzer Prize winning composer Charles Wuorinen with this disc, which includes the world premiere recordings of two major chamber works from 2008, as well as new recordings of two Wuorinen classics. The music is performed by several of the finest Wuorinen specialsts: the New York New Music Ensemble; violinist Mark Steinberg; pianist Alan Feinberg; and percussionist George Nickson. In the notes, Frank J. Oteri writes that "At this point in his career, his [Wuorinen's] chamber music output must now be one of the most extensive ever created by an American composer." The four works are performed in descending order of the number of musicians involved: quartet, trio, duo and solo percussion, although the final work is every bit as multilayered as the earlier works, giving the impression of a work for chamber ensemble.

Among the oldest of all musical instruments, the harp remains an under-utilized instrument in contemporary compositions. Composer David S. Lefkowitz thrives on pondering the nature of the harp and exploring the harp's unique limitations in new and imaginative ways. The music presented on this recording includes prize-winning compositions, commissions, as well as music written for the composer's friends and spans 20 years of Lefkowitz's compositional efforts. A graduate of Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania and Eastman, Lefkowitz has won international acclaim, having works performed in Europe, Asia, Russia, and throughout North and South America. He is a two-time winner of the Fukui Harp Music Awards Competition as well as having received awards from the National Association of Composers, the Society of New Music's Brian M. Israel Prize and the ALEA III International Competition, among many others. This is the second recording of his music to appear on Albany Records.

Alvin Singleton studied at New York University, Yale and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He served as Composer-in-Residence with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and is the recipient of many fellowships and awards. Singleton was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2014 and recordings of his music appear on the Albany Records, ACA Digital, Elektra/Nonesuch, Telarc and Innova labels. His music is soulful, with an understated simplicity that glows with warmth and is honest and self-assured. This recording of his chamber music includes four works for solo instruments in a series titled Argoru (an African word meaning play), as well as a work for clarinet, violin and piano; a work for winds; and a work for solo piano titled In My Own Skin.