Catalog

The 11 works on this compact disc represent four generations of American composers and a compositional time span of eight decades. In the ensemble repertoire for voice and flute, only Corigliano's Three Irish Folksong Settings and Copland's As It Fell Upon a Day enjoy wide recognition; the remaining works are relatively unknown and deserving of a broader audience. The artists comment: "In selecting music for this disc we sought works that define skillful text setting and showcase contrasting compositional styles. Just as American "character" defies definition because of its rich cultural blend, the American musical "style" comprises myriad voices--each distinct in its conviction." Five of these compositions are world premiere recordings Ñ Martin Amlin's Two Songs on Poems of Anne Fessenden; Kenneth Gaburo's Cantilena One for solo soprano; Braxton Blake's Three Songs on Poems by Marianne Moore; Ralph Shapey's Lullaby; Scott Gendel's Patterns; and Kurt Stallmann's Lumina II for solo flute.

For her third recording on Albany Records, Lisa comments: "This album presents a number of songs I wrote both on my own and in partnership with some terrific musicians with whom I have performed over many years..." New songs written for this album include Manhattan Under the Paris Moon, In the Shadow of a Crow and I Don't Believe in Romance. Kirchner performs an international jazz repertoire embracing American standards, French classics and Brazilian music. She is a singer, songwriter and actress equally at home in clubs and in theatre.

This recording is a joint effort between American composers with ties to the Midwestern states and Russian performers associated with the Moscow Conservatory Studio for New Music, and as such represents a unique collaboration meant to deepen artistic and cultural bonds between the two nations in this early portion of the 21st century.

Born in New York City, Alan Seidler studied at The Juilliard School, but after leaving Juilliard, his career took a left turn and he soon became one of the pioneers of the Blues and Ragtime revival of the 1970s. The most successful of his recordings from this era was The Duke of Ook, which became and still remains a cult classic. In the late 1980s he returned to composition and in the past decade, he has focused primarily on vocal and choral works.

Mathias Wexler comments in the notes that "Perhaps a musician's greatest responsibility is finding and championing important new works, forging an ongoing relationship with the music of his time and expanding the repertoire for future generations. If he is very lucky, the work is a great pleasure both artistically and personally. In certain extraordinary circumstances, the music also speaks profoundly to him and allows him to shine as a performer..." This is certainly true in the case of these five new works for solo cello.

Jerome Kern wrote The Cabaret Girl at the suggestion of London producer George Grossmith who, teaming with famed literary figure P.G. Wodehouse, provided the book and lyrics. The show opened at London's Winter Garden theater on September 18, 1922. The show ran for 361 performances and showcases both the unparalleled wit and sentimentality of Wodehouse and the inexhaustible melodic genius of Jerome Kern.

George Enescu was an extraordinary musician. One of the most acclaimed violinists of the last century, he was also an accomplished pianist, conductor, and composer. As a composer he is still too little known and his music too little analyzed outside his native Romania. His music exhibits a very personal blend of time-honored procedures, forward-thinking techniques, and ethnic intimations. The works on this recording belong to the last period of his career and show a rare maturity and depth that contribute to a unique and sometimes difficult to define language.

Brian Hulse says in his notes on the music: "If the music on this recording is "for" anything, besides simply being for itself, it is for remembering the quirky, the impure, the rogue, and the ambulant of music. It is for a vision of music as a theater of sound-sensation in which what happens is not determined in advance and not bound by neat categories." Hulse, a PhD in composition from Harvard is currently assistant professor of music at the College of William & Mary. Among his compositions are numerous chamber and choral works, film scores and several chamber operas.

Hailed as "one of the foremost performers and teachers of trumpet in the U.S.," Richard Stoelzel maintains an active career as an international soloist, chamber and orchestral musician. He began his career as solo cornet with the U.S. Coast Guard Band. As a soloist he has performed throughout the U.S. and abroad including three tours of China and has been named Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Shen Yang Conservatory of Music. This is his second recording for Albany Records.

This CD of recent piano music by Allen Shawn provides the opportunity for repeated consideration of his very personal, confessional approach to the piano, as well as the sequel to musical topics more implicit than explicit in his first piano solo recording on Albany Records. Shawn's music reveals a unique and complete musical universe, the result of perfect fusion of the musical sensibility of the composer and the intellectual image of the work. Shawn's rare gift is his ability to confide his innermost thoughts and feelings through music that is at once well-crafted and emotionally accessible.

Irwin Bazelon's percussion writing is known and performed by percussionists the world over and is truly unique. With this recording, Albany Records continues its commitment to present Bazelon's works (the sixth since his death) and the first to be devoted solely to chamber works with percussion being the binding element.

Tanya Bannister's career began with her victories at the Concert Artists Guild International Competition and the New Orleans International Piano Competition, confirming her status among the leading pianists of her generation. Ms. Bannister has a special affinity for contemporary music. As she says, "I find the experience of working with composers to be an enlightening and energizing one..." Three works on this recording Del Tredici, Farrin, and Theofanidis were commissioned for her by Concert Artists Guild.

Efra'n Amaya was born in Venezuela. He studied composition and piano at the University of Indiana and conducting at Rice University. He is on the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University and founder and conductor of the Point Chamber Orchestra. His children's opera, featured on this recording, was first performed by the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh. The other work, Clepsydra premiered as part of the First Night celebrations in Pittsburgh as a collaborative multimedia performance.

The two programs on this double CD were presented at the Pacific Rim Music Festival in 2003. They were offered as part of the Festival's tribute to Chou Wen-chung in honor of his 80th birthday. What brought these works together is their relationship to Chou Wen-chung. Some were students; some associates and in the case of Varèse, Chou's teacher.

Robert Schulslaper, a writer for Fanfare Magazine stated: "Reflections is a large-scale work in seven movements and Walwyn has the concentration, intensity and technique to focus attention on its every phrase and transformation. A large dynamic range, excellent pacing, attention to detail, and fleet-fingered dexterity serve her vision with grace and nobility...Walwyn has written music that will surely resonate with listeners' own reflections on 9/11. In my case, at least, it's left a lasting impression."

Continuing Albany Records' series of music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Walker, this recording focuses on his chamber music. The music ranges from his first string quartet composed in 1946 to the piano sonata composed in 1985. Walker is the recipient of six honorary doctoral degrees and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame in 2000.

Richard Wilson writes: "The music on this compact disc spans my entire composing career...The three short pieces for piano from my senior year in college reflect an enthusiasm for Boulez, who was teaching at Harvard that year. Quite different in style are the herbal pieces that were intended as teaching material for young piano students but are, without doubt, a bit too complex for that purpose. My propensity for technical challenge is even more evident in the solo works for bass and oboe. Chamber music has always been my preferred milieu."

World premiere recordings of Symphony No. 2 and the Quintet highlight this compact disc of the esteemed Robert Helps' compositions. Conductor William Wiedrich thinks of Helps as a "romantic renegade." Each work on the recording has a truly unique and emotional bent that speaks deeply and meaningfully to the heart and soul.

Roberto Sierra notes in his comments that "The unifying factor of all the works on this CD is that in one way or another they relate to variation form, as is the case of Antonio Soler's Fandango. This work from the Spanish Baroque has always fascinated me for its strange and whimsical twists and turns. My Fandangos is an orchestral fantasy that takes as a point of departure Soler's piece." Sierra's Reflections on a Souvenir and Variations on a Souvenir both take as their inspiration Gottschalk's Souvenir de Porto Rico. Ian Hobson serves as both pianist and conductor for these inspired performances.

Like all of Wuorinen's music from the past three decades, the duos on this recording take the long view of musical history and align themselves not only with its expressive traditions, but much more importantly, with its secure and sustained future. The spare utterance of those works of the great European tradition that are composed for only two musicians, leave no margin for error: all is exposed when writing for two contrasting instruments. These duos, spanning slightly more than a quarter century of Wuorinen's oeuvre, never lapse in their intensity and invention. They display an impressive fecundity of sources and outward forms.

The Moores School (University of Houston) Percussion Ensemble was established in 1997 and is directed by Blake Wilkins. The Ensemble's selection as a Winner in the 2003 Percussive Arts Society Percussion Ensemble Competition and is appearance at the International Convention established its reputation as a leader in percussion performance. The Ensemble was again selected as a Winner for 2006. Under Wilkin's leadership, the Ensemble has emerged as a leader in the promotion and performance of new music. In 2002 a commissioning series was begun to encourage new works for the medium. Since the inception of this project, the Ensemble has commissioned six composers, some of whose works are heard on this recording -- the second made by the Ensemble for Albany Records.

This recording contains the work of six contemporary composers either currently active in, or with some connection to the American Midwest. The works were composed during a six-year span, from 2001-2007 and are performed by Stacey Barelos, a DMA student in piano and composition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Noted for her presentation of music of the 20th and 21st centuries, her performances of the music of Henry Cowell have attracted special recognition and acclaim.

A disc of first recordings, the Bernstein is presented in the original narrative context, while the Moyse is a 2002 Counterpoint commission. These two works are complimented with Castelnuovo-Tedesco's spirit of flamenco and the jazzy swing idiom of the Levi. Founded by Robert De Cormier in 2000, Counterpoint is dedicated to performing choral chamber music of diverse cultures with an emphasis on rarely performed works, unique arrangements and the work of contemporary composers.

Formed in 1995 the Corona Guitar Kvartet's repertoire spans music written in the Renaissance to music written in this century. The Kvartet has worked with composers from Denmark, the US, Latvia, Germany, Italy, Canada and Lithuania and actively promotes new compositions for their medium. This second recording for Albany Records is a recital of works that reflects their musical interests.

These are first recordings of two dramatic works by American composer Thomas Pasatieri. Written for Beverly Sills, Before Breakfast dates from 1978 and has an unusual history (including having the original score accidentally thrown in the trash by the maid). After an unsuccessful performance the score was put away and it wasn't until 2002 that it was revived and revised for Lauren Flanagan. Flanagan was the inspiration for Lady Macbeth and premiered the work in 2008 with the forces on this recording.

The Kobayashi/Gray Duo is in demand throughout the world for their skillful presentations of works by 19th to 21st century women composers. They have presented their discoveries of new and unknown works at national and international conferences. This recording reflects their interest and enthusiasm and contains four world premiere recordings of music by women from the U.S., Poland, Norway, France, Spain and the Czech Republic.

Jake Heggie composed this musical play in three acts for Frederica von Stade, who has had a large influence on his composing career. Heggie was working in the press office of the San Francisco Opera when he first met von Stade. She listened to some of his songs and became so enthused that Heggie received a commission for his first opera. Three Decembers is taken from a play titled Some Christmas Letters and tells the story of the emotional lives of three people: mother, adult daughter and son through letters and phone calls during three Decembers in three different decades of their lives.

Julius P. Williams is an award-winning conductor, composer, recording artist, educator, author and artistic director. A prolific composer, Williams has created dozens of works for virtually every genre of contemporary classical performance. His film score for Lifetime TV's Fighting for our Future won the Gracie Allen Documentary Award in 2003. Williams included the composition by Joe Westmoreland (Somewhere Far Away) as a tribute to him and to his mentor Coleridge Taylor Perkinson, who orchestrated Westmoreland's work.

Cary Ratcliff, a native of California, studied composition and piano at the Eastman School of Music. He says in his notes that, "Accompanying in the voice studio of the late Jan DeGaetani exposed me to depth of interpretation and commitment to the artsong tradition that plays in my head whenever I write songs....Composed over the years for many singers and occasions, my solo songs vary widely, but Katie [Kathryn Lewek] has taken on the lion's share of them and unified them under her wide-ranging and vibrant artistry."

Highlighting this recording is Ward's First Symphony, written in 1942 when he was a graduate student in composition and conducting at Juilliard. This was his first work to bring him national attention with a critic noting that "...he has the gift for the lyric line...strong melodic expression is supported by an active and resourceful imagination for contrapuntal design, by a great talent for rhythmic variety....The sum of these excellencies is greatness." Ward comments: "In the years after the war I have written many works for diverse media and under other influences. Looking back I hope these efforts might still merit the high praise that critic Glenn Dillard Gunn gave my First Symphony."

This fascinating program of music for flute and piano juxtaposes composers from the US and Russia whose compositions were all written during the sixties at the height of the Cold War. Composers in the US were subject to very different influences and pressures than their colleagues in the Soviet Union and the music reflects these influences as well as the turbulent decade of the 1960s. Beautifully performed by flutist Brian Luce and his pianist Rex Woods, the recording is a super audio compact disc.

Two internationally renowned soloists, David Shifrin and Ransom Wilson, are featured in this eighth volume of Albany Records' series devoted to the music of Ezra Laderman. Laderman remarks: "I have been among those who move from writing for orchestra to chamber music, to vocal, and solo and operatic works -- feeling the need to explore and stretch my musical language as I go -- to reach for a new constellation. My most recent works for flute and clarinet attest to that and this cd clearly shows the path I have traveled."