Catalog

Born in Poland, composer Jakub Polaczyk graduated from the Penderecki Music Academy, Jagiellonian University, and Carnegie Mellon. He lives in New York City and is on the faculty at the New York Conservatory of Music. His music has won numerous awards, including the American Prize in Composition, and the Iron Composer First Prize. His music has been performed around the world in concert hall and music festivals. This recording features his chamber music, most of which was composed in New York City. Union Square, the title of the recording as well as one of the compositions, is a special place to Polaczyk. He goes there for inspiration, to play chess, and enjoy the intermingling of many cultures. He often describes his compositional approach as playing a game of chess.

Jason Calloway of the Amernet Quartet says that "The string quartets of Steven R. Gerber represent a deeply personal testament for the composer himself while serving as a spiritual bridge to us as performers " His first three quartets span the period of 1973 to 1988 and offer a glimpse into the transitional period of his musical development. His last quartet, composed for the Amernet in 2012, shows his evolution to a unique brand of polystylism. Steven Gerber (1948-2015) held degrees from Haverford College and Princeton. His music has been performed by noted orchestras and chamber ensembles around the world and recordings of his music appear on Opus One, CRI, Naxos, and Albany Records. The Amernet Quartet has garnered international recognition as one of today's exceptional string quartets. They have performed throughout the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Esteemed composer Bernard Hoffer's eighth recording for Albany Records features three works for piano — one with string; another with French horn and violin; and the third with two trumpets. Hoffer is known not only for his chamber and orchestral music but also for music written for films, television, and commercials. He scored the hit children's cartoon series Thundercats and the theme for the PBS News Hour. Winner of the First Prize at the New York International Artists Association Piano Competition and the Silver Award at the Paris International Competition, pianist Kayoung An made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2013. She has performed with orchestras both in the United States and abroad. On the faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, Ms. An studied at the Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, Colburn Conservatory, and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her collaborators include conductor David Gilbert, violinist Kurt Nikkanen, horn player Dan Wions, and Gil Hoffer and Christian Hinkle, trumpets.

Joseph Summer is familiar to audiences both as a composer and as the founder/director of The Shakespeare Concerts. Summer's oeuvre includes eight operas, chamber opera, cantatas, more than 100 vocal works, string quartets and many works for chamber ensembles. He studied at Oberlin and Carnegie Mellon University. This is the sixth recording of his music for Albany Records. The Ulysses Quartet was founded in 2015 and won a gold medal at the 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and first prize in the 2018 Schoenfeld International String Competition. They have performed around the world to critical acclaim and advocate for music by underrepresented composers.

Cellist Clancy Newman has enjoyed an extraordinarily wide-ranging career, not only as a cellist, but also as a composer, producer, writer, teacher, and guest lecturer. He has performed as soloist throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. Newman's interest in composition focuses on works for cello, one of which (From Method to Madness) is heard on this recording. His collaborator, pianist Natalie Zhu, is the recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, as is Newman. Zhu has performed throughout North America, Europe, and Asia as a soloist and chamber musician. For this recording they have chosen works for cello by Samuel Barber, Lukas Foss, and Kenji Bunch, in addition to the work by Newman. The earliest work on this recording, the Barber, was written in 1942; the Foss in 1946, while the Bunch and Newman are recent works.

American composer Vivian Fine (1913-2000) wrote more than 140 works during her 70-year career, including 20 pieces that feature the flute in solo and chamber music settings. Only two of her flute works have been professionally recorded and this recording aims to fill this gap. The recording features selected chamber music for flute by Fine, which create a varied recording of beautiful and exciting works. Flutist Erin K. Murphy frequently performs with orchestras, in chamber music collaborations, and as a soloist throughout the U.S. and abroad. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Northwestern University, and the University of Michigan, she is currently on the faculty at Oklahoma State University. She is a founding member of Lakeshore Rush, A Chicago-based chamber ensemble that performs 20th and 21st century works.

With the exception of far sight sun light, the compositions on this recording of music by Ketty Nez take their inspiration from East European folk sources, including an Anatolian Turkish folk song and Bartok's transcriptions of Rumanian folk tunes. Ketty Nez is on the faculty at the Boston University School of Music and was a guest teacher at the Liszt Academy in Budapest and has had residencies at the Ecole Nationale de Musique in Montbeliard, at CCRMA, and at the Institute de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique. Her music has been performed in Europe, North America, and Asia. She is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, the Eastman School of Music, the Curtis Institute of Music, and Bryn Mawr College.

Christopher Theofanidis’ music has been performed by many of the world’s leading performing arts organizations. He is a two-time Grammy nominee for best composition and his work for viola and chamber orchestra won the 2021 Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. He is on the faculty at Yale University and the Aspen Music Festival. Italian guitarist Nicolò Spera initiated this project of recording all of Theofanidis’ music for guitar, which includes a work for viola, guitar, and flute; a work for flute and guitar; and a large work for chorus and guitar. Spera enjoys a distinguished career as a recitalist and chamber musician. He is known for his research on the Franco-Andalusian composer Maurice Ohana. He is on the faculty of the University of Colorado Boulder. EXIGENCE is a professional vocal ensemble highlighting artistry within Black and Latinx communities. Melissa Studdard is the author of two poetry collections. Her awards include The Penn Review Poetry Prize, the Poetry Society of America’s Lucille Medwick Award, and the Tom Howard Award.

di.vi.sion is an active and driven chamber ensemble that collaborates with composers who inspire them. Drawing from its 35 musicians, they curate a chamber series in the Bronx and around the New York metropolitan area. di.vi.sion regularly premieres new works by American composers and this recording, featuring premieres by Steven Burke, is one example of their commitment to contemporary music. Originally dividing his time at university between science and music, he turned to composition and studied at Sarah Lawrence, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Yale and Cornell. He has won recognition from the American Academy of Arts and Letters as well as fellowships and prizes. His music has been performed by distinguished ensembles including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, and Eastman Wind Ensemble, among many others. Performers on this recording include Renée Cometa Briggs, Matt Goeke, and Donald Mokrynski, all of whom enjoy distinguished careers.

This recording commemorates the assassination of President John F. Kennedy through three works. The Julius Quartet, based in Dallas, still sees the remnants of the assassination and its effects throughout the city. Two of the works (One Red Rose and The Sixth Floor) were commissioned in commemoration and the third, Samuel Barber's famous Adagio, was performed on a nationally broadcast radio concert on the day after the assassination. Commended for leaving audiences "mesmerized by its resonant sounds" The Julius Quartet has cultivated a distinguished voice since its formation in 2012. They have performed all over North America and shared in numerous collaborations with celebrated artists. Winners of numerous awards, The Julius Quartet served as ensemble-in-residence at Southern Methodist University and continues an active performance schedule.

The works heard on this recording were written by composers who are friends of both performers, Tim Gill and David Gompper. Cross-cultural connections extend beyond the two universities represented: Cambridge and Iowa. Both Richard Causton and David Gompper studied with Jeremy Dale Roberts, who taught at the Royal College of Music and at the University of Iowa. Their colleagues — Jeremy Thurlow and Darren Bloom, Jean-François Charles and Zack Stanton — are joined by Zoë Martlew, a cellist/composer who received a commission to write for this duo. The music reflects the diversity of styles being written today on both continents. Tim Gill is recognized as one of the most versatile instrumentalists of his generation, equally at home in the works of Beethoven or Xenakis. He is in demand as a soloist, chamber musician, and principal cellist, having led the cello sections of all the London orchestras. He is a professor at the Guildhall School of Music. David Gompper studied at the Royal College of Music and the University of Michigan. He is on the faculty at the University of Iowa, and directs the Center for New Music. Noted as a composer and pianist, his compositions have been performed around the world.

This recording of music for violin by women composers comes from the first two volumes of a four-volume anthology compiled by Dr. Cora Cooper. Her intention is to offer an easily obtainable collection of short pieces by women that could be integrated with standard literature. This recording, then, will be a great resource for students, teachers, and performers. Canadian violinist Maureen Yuen has performed, taught, and adjudicated globally. A graduate of the University of British Columbia, and Columbia University, she is on the faculty at Drake University and enjoys an active career as a solo and chamber music performer. Her colleague, pianist Eric Ruple is on the faculty at James Madison University. An active member of the American Liszt Society, he has also been a regular adjudicator in Hong Kong.

Composer Jeremy Haladyna has created compositions inspired by his trips to the Mayan region and his research of more than 35 years into Precolumbian thought. His Mayan Cycle now stretches to 37 pieces, some of which are heard on this recording A laureate of the Lili Boulanger Prize, he taught at the University of California Santa Barbara for 29 years and was director of their Ensemble for Contemporary Music. His music has been heard at major venues around the world and his discography includes recorded performances of him as a pianist, conductor, and organist.

On this recording by the Dallas Chamber Symphony, two major works by American composers offer representative views of the migrant experience. In Chasing Home, composed in 2017 by Joseph Thalken, conversations with refugees from around the world inspired dance scenes based on the plight of migrants fleeing the Syrian Civil War. Appalachian Spring is a ballet about pioneers in Pennsylvania in that time when opportunity and open space drew Americans ever farther west. The Dallas Chamber Symphony, led by Richard McKay, was founded in 2011 and is renowned for its musical excellence, imaginatively curated concerts and groundbreaking multidisciplinary collaborations.

Saxophonist Allison Adams, along with collaborators Andrea Lodge and Liz Bouk, has recorded seven new works for saxophone. Adams is on the faculty at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, where she shares her excitement for music with the next generation of music educators and performers. A versatile performer in addition to a pedagogue, Adams has been a featured soloist at venues across the world. A graduate of Ithaca College, the University of Minnesota, and Arizona State University, she also does research and writes about performance injuries.

This collection of recordings of works for cello and violin represents a long-time collaboration between Curtis Macomber and Norman Fischer. Their respective careers have featured countless contemporary music performances and recordings, so it was only natural that they would record these duos, composed by five renowned creators of new music. Both Macomber and Fischer have enjoyed stellar careers. Macomber is hailed as one of the most versatile solo and chamber musicians before the public today, with a discography ranging from complete Brahms String Quartets to the Roger Sessions Solo Sonata. Fischer is a Grammy-award winner and has concertized on five continents and 49 of the 50 United States.