Catalog

Michael Horvit is a Professor at the University of Houston Moores School of Music, where he has headed the Theory and Composition Department since 1967. For 25 years he served as Music Director at Congregation Emanu El, Houston. During his studies at Yale University, Tanglewood, Harvard and Boston University, his composition teachers were Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss, Walter Piston, Quincy Porter and Gardner Read. The Cullen Overture was commissioned by the University of Houston for the rededication of the Cullen Performance Hall in October 1988. The Concerto for Brass and Orchestra was commissioned by Richard Frazier for the Chicago Chamber Brass. The Invocation and Exultation was commissioned by the Missouri Unit of the American String Teachers Association in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Mozart's death and was premiered in January, 1991. There are several references to Mozart's music in the piece. Aleinu was commissioned by Congregation Emanu El, Houston, in 1985, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the ordination of Rabbi Robert I. Kahn. The prayer itself is one of the most important and ancient in the Jewish liturgy - a heartfelt expression of belief in God. Daughters of Jerusalem was also commissioned by Congregation Emanu El. It was dedicated to Fredell Lack who gave it the premiere on February 25, 1996. It is titled a fantasy because it does not follow the usual plan of a concerto, but rather draws its inspiration and meaning from several poems taken from The Songs of Songs. Mr. Horvit's style is in the tradition of the American romantic sound.

The Albany Symphony, conducted by David Alan Miller, performs two world premiere recordings of works by the distinguished and original composer, David Del Tredici. Pop-Pourri is the very first piece in Del Tredici's legendary "Alice" series and is scored for orchestra, soprano, rock band, and chorus. Adventures in Wonderland includes The Pool of Tears and The Mouse's Tale, which are connected with narration, sketching the events occurring in between. Hila Plitman, the soprano soloist is a Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and actress. The Albany Symphony is legendary for its commitment to American music. Conductor David Alan Miller is one of the leading American conductors of his generation. He and the Albany Symphony are the recipients of two Grammy awards.

The four compositions here might seem very disparate: a string quartet; a piece for unaccompanied choir; a sextet with electronic ambience; and finally a trombone solo in which the electronic interventions come right into the foreground. On listening, however, the differences begin to dissolve, leaving behind them the outlines of a distinct creative personality. One feature they share is fearlessness; another is their rhythmic dynamism and another is the containment of rhythmic and harmonic tensions in small motifs. The composer, David Felder, has long been recognized as a leader in his generation of American composers. His works have been featured at many of the leading international festivals for new music and he earns continuing recognition through performance and commissioning programs.

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.

The intensity and focus of David Glaser's music reflect the concentration of his life. He has lived in New York City for the entirety of it -- raised in Queens, and for the past 25 years, living in Manhattan. What characterizes virtually all of his music heard on this recording is its intentional direction towards New York concert-music performers, their ensembles, and the culture and tradition that they embody and extend. His music calls visual metaphors to mind: the luminous radiance of its sparkling timbral textures is a reflection of the focus of an intense conception, asking that an audience shut its eyes in order to see. Glaser is a graduate of Columbia University and is the recipient of awards and commissions from the Fromm Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Alice M. Ditson Fund, and the American Music Center.

David S. Lefkowitz, a native of New York City, studied composition at Eastman, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania. He has won international acclaim as a composer, with his works garnering performances around the world as well as numerous prizes and including recognition from the National Association of Composers, the Chicago Civic Orchestra and the Gaudeamus Music Week. As a theorist Lefkowitz has researched "meta-theoretical" issues such as the process of segmentation and the internal structure of set-classes. Lefkowitz has enjoyed creating music with different, often contradictory faces. The works on this disc in which tonality and atonality, consonance and dissonance exist in tension are not found at one particular point along the continuum from one stylistic extreme to another. Rather these pieces thrive on the tension between the contradictory characteristics.

Born in 1943, David Maslanka studied composition at Oberlin and received his graduate degrees from Michigan State University where his teacher and mentor was H. Owen Reed. He has served on the faculties of the State University of New York at Geneseo, Sarah Lawrence College, and Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York. He now lives in Missoula, Montana. Maslanka has written nearly 30 major works for wind ensemble, among them five symphonies, nine concertos, a Mass, and a large variety of concert pieces. Four of the five works on this recording are world premier recordings, the one exception being Symphony No. 4, which appears on another Albany Records recording (TROY503). The Concerto for Piano, Winds and Percussion (1974-76) was Maslanka's first work for wind ensemble. The work received its premiere three years later by the Eastman Wind Ensemble conducted by Frederick Fennell. According to Maslanka, "That fine first performance opened the door to my long and happy career of writing for winds." Concerto No. 2 for Piano, Winds, and Percussion is in five movements - each one songlike with a programmatic backdrop. Maslanka says of Testament: "A testament is a statement of belief, in this case in the power of music to harmonize and to heal. Testament was written in response to the events of September 11. Out of the initial stunned confusion has come my firm conviction that making music is now more important than ever." Traveler was written in 2003 to commemorate the career of Ray Lichtenwalter, the Director of Bands at the University of Texas at Arlington. It is based on the chorale melody Nicht so traurig, nicht so sehr ("Not so sad, not so much.") According to Maslanka, "The roots of Symphony No. 4 are many. The central driving force is the spontaneous rise of the impulse to shout for the joy of life..." Albany Records is proud to continue its commitment to the extraordinary music of David Maslanka. Our catalog now boasts 17 recordings of his works. For the complete listing go to www.albanyrecords.com.

This most recent recording from the ever-adventurous Illinois State University Wind Symphony includes a new work by David Maslanka using poems by Illinois native Carl Sandburg. The 11 poems tell both an American, and a very deep human story. Maslanka brought folk songs from the Ruth Crawford Seeger collection into the music enhancing the American spirit of the work. The other major work, Symphony No. 3, is by Kimberly Archer, a former student of Maslanka's and currently am assistant professor of composition at Southern Illinois University.

Conductor Stephen K. Steele comments that David Maslanka's A Child's Garden of Dreams provided bookends for his tenure as conductor of the Illinois State University Wind Ensemble — it was both the first work he conducted by Maslanka performed there in 1989 and the last before his retirement in 2012. Steele's championing of Maslanka's music for wind ensemble is truly impressive. He and the Illinois State University Wind Ensemble commissioned four symphonies and have made more than a dozen recordings for Albany Records that feature his music. They have made an unequaled contribution to the body of music for wind ensemble through their commissioning, performing and recording of this extraordinary composer's work. Coupled with the much-loved work, A Child's Garden of Dreams is a concerto for two horns and wind ensemble -- Sea Dreams, a work inspired by Maslanka's interest with Moby Dick, his boyhood in New Bedford, Massachusetts and his on meditations on the sea.

A world premiere recording of Liberation is paired with Maslanka's almost 45-minute saxophone concerto on this recording by the Illinois State University Wind Symphony. Commissioned by the Japan Wind Ensemble Conductors Conference, Maslanka used the ancient Roman Catholic ritual chant as the basis for Liberation. He realized that the Japanese are the only people on earth to have suffered the devastation of nuclear bombs and from this place of greatest devastation, now rises a musical voice of love and peace. Born in 1943, David Maslanka studied at Oberlin, Michigan State University and the Mozarteum in Salzburg. His works for wind ensemble have become especially well known. They include seven symphonies, 12 concertos and numerous concert pieces.

Once again, the enterprising Illinois State University Wind Symphony offers two world premiere recordings of the music of the distinguished American composer, David Maslanka. Written as a memorial for flutist Christine Capote, the orchestration for the Trombone Concerto contains one solo cello, representing Capote's cellist husband. Maslanka began the composition process for Symphony No. 8 with meditation and was shown scenes of widespread devastation, but the music is a celebration of life -- new life, continuity from the past to the future, hope, faith, joy, ecstatic vision and fierce determination.

The much anticipated world premiere recording of David Maslanka's Symphony No. 9 is a large collection of instrumental songs. There are many influences and underlying elements at work including time (memory, passing of time); water (cleansing and life-giving power); nature (river, ocean); and grace (compassion, forgiveness, rest). Each movement embodies one or more chorale melodies or other songs, such as Shall We Gather at the River and O Sacred Head Now Wounded. Born in Massachusetts in 1943, David Maslanka attended Oberlin, the Mozarteum in Salzburg and Michigan State University. His works for wind ensemble have become especially well known and popular with both performers and audiences. Symphony No. 9, indeed a masterpiece, will be universally welcomed.

The major work on this recording of music for wind ensemble by David Maslanka is Unending Stream of Life. Inspired by the hymn tune, All Creatures of Our God and King, Unending Stream of Life consists of seven "songs" for wind ensemble, each embodying the original tune, or relating to it in some way. The title comes from the Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh.

Composer David Patterson is on the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He was a recipient of a Fulbright Scholars Award and the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award. Patterson received his Ph.D. from Harvard and studied with both Olivier Messiaen and Nadia Boulanger in Paris. His compositions have been described as "a clear and natural blending of many different kinds of music." Of special note on this recording of his chamber music are two works written for James Pellerite, former principal flutist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and now a virtuoso on the Native American flute. One work is for Native American flute and percussion, while the other is for Native American flute and chamber ensemble.

The distinguished composer/conductor David Stock is Professor Emeritus of Music at Duquesne University, where he conducted the Duquesne Contemporary Ensemble. He has been Composer-in-Residence of the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Seattle Symphony, and is Conductor Laureate of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, which he founded in 1976. He retired as Music Director of PNME at the end of the 1998/99 season, after 23 years of dedication to new music and the living composer. His compositions have been performed throughout the world and he is the recipient of many awards, honors and commissions. This recording of his last three quartets includes one commissioned by the Cuarteto Latinoamericano (the Seventh), who have been an integral part of Stock's musical universe for the past two decades.

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.

Flutist Erin Murphy and pianist Kirstin Ihde embarked on this recording project as doctoral candidates at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They chose works by Grier and Galbraith because they are both living American composers and works by French composers Boulanger, Tailleferre and Bonis in order to expand the diversity in programming repertoire as well as introducing new audiences to this music. Short miniatures juxtapose lengthier sonatas; darker, more introspective moods contrast with brighter and more energetic offerings in these six compositions. Erin frequently performs with orchestras, in chamber music collaborations, and as a soloist throughout the U.S. and abroad. Dr. Murphy is on the faculty at Oklahoma State University and her articles have been published in flute journals as well as the Journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music. Pianist Kirstin Ihde is on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. In addition to her extensive work as a collaborative pianist, she serves as pianist for the Interlochen Trumpet Institute.

Robert Xavier Rodriguez has been called "one of the major American composers of his generation" (Texas Monthly), and his music has been described as "richly lyrical" by Musical America. He first gained international recognition in 1971 when he was awarded the Prix de Composition Musicale Prince Pierre de Monaco. Other honors include the Goddard Lieberson Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has served as Composer-in-Residence with both the San Antonio and Dallas symphonies, and he is on the faculty at the University of Texas at Dallas. This recording includes the world premiere of Rodríguez' De Rerum Natura from a live performance inaugurating the new Edith O'Donnell Arts & Technology Building at UT Dallas. Commissioned by the university for this occasion, De Rerum Natura is a 27-minute tone poem based on the Latin poem by Roman poet Lucretius. The young violinist Chloé Trevor is featured in the Mozart Violin Concerto. A rising star on today's international violin scene, Trevor has won prizes at numerous competitions and been a featured soloist at venues such as Avery Fisher Hall and the Young Prague Festival.

A program of transcriptions and original works for trombone of fantasies is performed by Rick Stout. Rick has a distinguished performing career both as a member of The Cleveland Orchestra and through his many solo and chamber music performances. He is on the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music where he directs brass chamber music and is a graduate of The Curtis Institute. He is joined by pianist Christina Dahl who is director of chamber music for Stony Brook University. The two collaborators commissioned Caleb Burhans' Phantasie for this recording in honor of their first recorded collaboration.

David Sampson, born in Charlottesville, Virginia, makes his Albany Records debut with a disc of exciting, highly original music. In the past you may have heard such orchestral works as Hommage: JFK, Simple Lives, and Reflections on a Dance (for brass and percussion); you then know his music is rhythmically charged, intense in its emotions and dramatic in its orchestration, comparable to such composers as William Schuman and Benjamin Lees. One of his specialties is writing for brass; among his trumpet teachers were such stellar names as Gerard Schwarz, Gilbert Johnson, Robert Nagel and Raymond Mase. His composition teachers included Karel Husa, Henri Dutilleux and John Corigliano, so you have some idea of the exciting sounds to be heard here. This is an important disc for those with an interest in contemporary American music; brass fanciers will obviously find this very attractive too!

In January of 1892 when Harry T. Burleigh, the 25 year old African-American baritone from Erie, Pennsylvania, arrived in New York City to audition for a place at the National Conservatory of Music, few could have guessed how significantly this young man would affect the course of American music. His influence on Antonin Dvorak, who served as Director of the conservatory during three of Burleigh's four years of study, is reflected in Dvorak's use of African-American musical elements in his New World Symphony and his other American compositions. Burleigh's vibrant singing of plantations songs and spirituals, alongside the traditional recital repertoire, gave Americans accustomed to minstrel performances new aural images of African-American culture. By the second decade of this century, his secular art songs were being sung by some of the most distinguished international artists. And when he began to publish choral and solo arrangements of spirituals (in 1913 and 1916, respectively), he pioneered in bringing a distinctive African-American voice into the American choral and art song repertoire, making these sorrow songs accessible to singers of all national and ethnic backgrounds. Although he did not formally study with Dvorak, he spent many hours in Dvorak's home singing the songs he learned from his grandfather. The composer often interrupted him to ask about specific music idioms such as the flatted seventh, and asked "hundreds of questions" about the lives of slaves. The hours Burleigh spent discussing music with Dvorak and working as his music copyist profoundly affected him. Dvorak's interest in African-American music, his personal encouragement of Burleigh's own composition, and his demonstration of a sophisticated approach to the use of folk music as a creative resource, inspired Burleigh to work throughout his career to preserve the slave songs. Ultimately, he committed himself to fulfilling Dvorak's challenge to "give those melodies to the world."

Here we have the first recording of Handel's final Italian opera with a period instrument orchestra, chorus and a superb American cast. Deidamia was Handel's last opera. He began work on it in October, 1740, at the same time he was completing its companion work, Imeneo, which he had begun two years earlier. On November 8, Handel presented his London winter season - with some new works, some revivals - and for this purpose had engaged the Theatre Royal at Lincoln's Inn Fields. Opening night saw a semi-staged version of the serenata Il Parnasso in festa; later in the month came the premiere of Imeneo. Despite a superb score and fine cast, the production was a failure and was offered only once again in early December. The fact is that opera - Italian opera - was passe in London by this time. The public had turned to other musical delights - stage works in English of a more frivolous nature than Handel's offerings. For serious entertainment, the sacred oratorio, also given in the native tongue, was becoming increasingly popular. Thus, the true merits of Handel's last two operas were ignored at their premieres: Imeneo and Deidamia really never had a chance. For the libretto, Handel turned to his long time collaborator Paolo Antonio Rolli, who devised a "dramatic skeleton" for the composer of the Ulysseys-Achilles-Deidamia legend. As entertaining as the plot was, the new opera met the same fate as Imeneo. So indifferent was the public that it was only presented twice more, January 17, and February 10, 1741. Thereafter, Handel substituted more sure-fire oratorios. Handel was discouraged by the failure of his new stage works. Whether he would have attempted a further London season or ever written another Italian opera was decided by the extraordinary success in Dublin later that same year of a new English-language work he presented to the world. Messiah would change the course of his life. Its reception gave Handel nearly another two decades of celebrity and began a particularly fertile period of composition. Deidamia went by the wayside completely until this wonderful new recording with this first class American group of singers.

This recording of Gregg Smith's works for voice and instruments honors the life and work of this incomparable choral conductor and composer. Smith, who died in July, 2016, was one of the most influential leaders of the American choral movement and championed the music of American composers throughout his long career. His professional chorus, the Gregg Smith Singers, is world-renowned. Gregg Smith himself was also an important American composer, whose works deserve to be better known. The soprano Eileen Clark, who first met Smith more than 25 years ago, has spent several years going through manuscripts and deciding which of his works for voice and instrument to include on this recording. They are all major works that belong in the canon of American art song. Ms. Clark, a member of the Gregg Smith Singers, has an impressive list of performances with opera companies and festivals throughout the United States. Her singing has been described by the New York Times as "a knockout" for her interpretation of Gershwin and Porter, and "shining, confident" for her rendering of Krenek's Kantate. She is joined by colleagues Thomas Schmidt, piano; Ari Streisfeld, violin; and Evan Ziporyn, clarinet.

The last 50 years has seen an amazing explosion in both the quantity and quality of composition for wind band and ensembles. In a frenetic effort to create new music for the medium, conductors and performers have sponsored, commissioned, and performed a staggering number of new works. It is now, after so much work has been done, that we must take time to rediscover and preserve some of the fine music this period of activity has produced. It would be truly a shame to neglect such a significant body of excellent work. It is in this spirit of preservation that we offer these "old," sometimes forgotten, but interesting works. Also, please note that the flute soloist in the Henk Badings Concerto is Donald Peck, the recently retired principal flute of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Tuba and bass trombone soloists who wish to perform with wind groups do not have a large, established repertoire from which to choose. In addition, there are not many recordings of that repertoire that can serve as models for aspiring soloists. This CD helps to solve that problem. Eric Ewazen writes: "The Concerto for Bass Trombone and Wind Ensemble began life as a sonata for tuba and piano. On the suggestion of Warren Deck of the New York Philharmonic, I turned it into a concerto for tuba or bass trombone and orchestra, for the Low Brass Competition at The Juilliard School in 1997. It was subsequently arranged for wind ensemble by a colleague at The Juilliard School. I have had the genuine pleasure of working with Charles Vernon over the years, and his wonderful musicality and amazing virtuosity are inspirations to me as a composer. Having heard an extraordinary performance of this work by Charlie and the DePaul University Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Donald DeRoche, I am delighted that their interpretation of the Concerto is now recorded for posterity." Edward Gregson is one of Britain's most versatile composers, whose music has been performed, broadcast, and recorded worldwide. He was a prize winning composition student at the Royal Academy of Music from 1963-67. A noted conductor of contemporary music, he has also held numerous academic posts, including Professor of Music at Goldsmith's College, University of London, visiting teacher and conductor at the Royal Academy of Music, and Principal of the Royal Northern College of Music.

The 20th century has seen the role of the American wind band expand from being primarily ceremonial or functional, to one including both indoor and outdoor entertainment, utilizing a wide variety of music from light to serious. Bands conducted by such "superstars" as Sousa and the Goldmans performed serious music through transcriptions and some original band compositions, but it was Frederick Fennell who really defined the notion of original concert music for winds. By encouraging the finest composers to write for winds, and by giving those composers the freedom to define the instrumentation of the groups for which they wrote, he paved the way for composers to take wind groups seriously as a medium for concert performance. Donald DeRoche writes: "Since 1952, when Fennell's vision began to take shape, thousands of new pieces have been composed for winds. In that time, those of us who conduct wind groups have frantically sought to perform the latest new works in hopes of developing a new repertoire. To paraphrase the outstanding wind conductor Frank Battisti, we hoped to find an audience that would listen to our music rather than just to our players. While we play a good deal of new music, I don't believe we are doing as well at finding and preserving that body of music that will, or should, find its way into the permanent repertoire. It is with this repertoire-building function in mind that I assembled the works for this recording." And it is with this in mind that Albany Records is pleased to bring this disc to you.

James Stuart, who prepared the new English version of the libretto for this operetta writes: "after the success of the Ohio Light Opera's production of The Bayadere in 1998, Yvonne Kàlmàn, the composer's daughter, and I talked of the possibility of resurrecting Kaiserin Josephine, her father's last work before emigrating to America in 1936 and one that had never been performed in the United States. I was excited about the venture. What beautiful music it was: I certainly could understand Yvonne's desire to have it produced. But when the vocal score and libretto arrived, I had second thoughts about the feasibility of staging so elaborate a work. Nevertheless, I was determined to have a Kalman operetta revival, but which work? When I turned to Der Zigeunerprimas, which one might translate as "The Gypsy Virtuoso," I became committed to it: voluptuously sweeping melodies, lively gypsy tunes, languid waltzes, comic songs and dances - all masterfully orchestrated. I began to translate the German libretto and at the same time to sketch out staging notes. Thus resulted the wonderful production which we presented at our 2001 summer festival and have here recorded for your enjoyment."

The University of Calgary Wind Ensemble is widely recognized as Canada's leading wind orchestra. It is made up of the most advanced performers of wind and percussion instruments at the University and has earned a substantial international reputation. Under the direction of Dr. Glenn D. Price, the Ensemble has received great critical acclaim for its performances, recordings and broadcasts. Dr. Price is also a renowned percussionist and a graduate of the Eastman School of Music. This recording, featuring music by European, Asian and American composers (including one of the most recent works by the popular Michael Torke), is the ninth in their series and the first to be released on Albany. The works represent a wonderful range of colors, styles and compositional techniques.

This recording of music by John Harbison and James Primosch contrasts their piano music with compositions for voice, with a major work for each by each of these esteemed composers. Harbison, a faculty member at MIT, has enjoyed a long and distinguished career. His more than 300 compositions have been performer around the world by premiere musical organizations and soloists. James Primosch serves on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, and his discography includes more than 25 recordings of his compositions. Noted for her "dazzling, virtuoso singing" Lucy Fitz Gibbon is a dynamic musician whose repertoire spans the Renaissance to the present. She has performed at prestigious venues in the United States, Canada, and England and is on the faculty at Bard College. Pianist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough has an impressive career as soloist, lieder and chamber music collaborator, and recording artist. His discography includes many world premiere recordings and has taught piano and courses in electronic composition at Cornell University.

Born in Massachusetts in 1943, a pupil of Joseph Wood and H. Owen Reed, David Maslanka has become especially well known for his works for winds in many combinations -- solo sonatas, chamber works and substantial works for wind ensemble -- including five Symphonies. Of these two recent works, he writes "The title Desert Roads suggests an interior journey, a time of inner searching, of not knowing, of creative incubation. I have chosen to call these four movements "songs" for clarinet and wind ensemble. This connects them directly to the romantic idea of Ôsongs without words'...because of my longtime and persistent use of chorale melodies, it has been suggested that I am somehow proselytizing for the Christian faith. This is not the case. My attraction to these melodies is that they are the product of countless generations of human seeking, and have about them an aura of depth and power. The word "book" gives the feeling of a larger collection of material, something extensive and varied, and something that may have a story to tell."

The di.vi.sion piano trio (Kurt Briggs, violin; Matt Goeke, cello; Renée Cometa Brigg, piano) was formed in 2001. Its repertoire ranges from Haydn and De Fesch to Shostakovich and Ravel. The ensemble regularly programs and commissions new works that incorporate the musical structure of division. This recording of Merrill Clark's music includes Prime Divisions, which interweaves the compositional techniques of division with the composer's own system. The other work on the recording, Eighth Avenue Tango, was written as a birthday gift for violinist Kurt Briggs. Merrill Clark (b. 1951) has written many works in a wide variety of genres, from unaccompanied solo works to large-scale orchestral works. Clark finds writing for virtuoso musicians, whose playing one admires and who are also good friends, as the most gratifying creative event possible. The performances on this recording reflect the strong connection between the composer and performers.

Conductor Andrew Koehler comments that Steven Holochwost’s compositional language is almost always informed through conversations with the past and though he does not shy away from sonorous climax, his music tends toward a mode of expression that favors the quiet and reflective. Holochwost studied composition at Yale and Rutgers, earning his doctorate under the tutelage of Charles Wuorinen. Holochwost has received grants, awards, and fellowships from Rutgers, Princeton, the National Association of Composers, the Fisher Foundation, and ASCAP. He also has a PhD in developmental psychology. This is his second recording for Albany Records. Currently the music director of the Kalamazoo Philharmonia, Andrew Koehler has been honored for his innovative and thoughtful programming. He is active as a guest conductor in the U.S. and throughout the world.