Catalog

Robert De Cormier's Counterpoint, Vermont's premiere professional vocal ensemble, debuted in 2000 and can be heard on Albany TROY676 (When the Rabbi Danced), TROY746 (Misa Criola) and TROY801 (Noel). Here they present their latest album that brings together new arrangements, ranging from traditional to contemporary, of some of the best known and loved Israeli folk-songs. Unlike European folk-songs, whose origins tend to be vague and lost in the past, most of these songs originated in the 20th century and have known composers and poets. Yet they are folk music just the same, for they live now in the oral tradition. Several generations of Jews have grown up singing them, and some songs, such as Tsena Tsena, Shalom Chaverim and, of course, Hava Nagila, have achieved mainstream recognition. The purpose of Israeli folk-songs was to inspire a new national cultural identity through which, in the words of Hinei Ma Tov, Jewish brothers and sisters from many lands would dwell together in unity. Among many Jews and Israelis throughout the world the songs evoke sentiments of pride and belonging. And despite the inner conflicts between Israelis today and the violent conflicts with its neighbors, the message of this disc is the sincere hope that the entire region may someday achieve unity and peace.

Over the past few years the highly charged, exuberant music of Florencio Asenjo has been slowly appearing on CD, and this is his debut on Albany. Asenjo employs an approach to music called maximalism, a method of transition from one theme to another to achieve a highly dense content which is constantly changing. Perhaps the technique sounds experimental, but the music certainly is not avant-garde. The Buenos-Aires born composer is beholden to his country's colorful past, and anyone who enjoys the early works (such as Estancia or Panambi) of Alberto Ginastera will certainly be caught up in the excitement of Asenjo's music. All three works on this disc were composed in 2004, and represent colorful portraits of life (Tearings and Glimpses) as well as various psychological states of mind (Passion and Apotheosis). As Asenjo himself has written, "I like when large-scale forms are built on many ideas. There should be a lot of independent ideas. I think that now the general need is for more substance in music."

If you're of a "certain age," you grew up in the late '50s and early '60s hearing the music of Angelo Musolino without even knowing his name. He was responsible for original music and arrangements for the Ed Sullivan Show, a dozen nationally televised game shows, the Children's Television Workshop, and many more. At the same time, his concert works were being performed in the United States and Europe. He was born in New York City, learned his craft in "formal" institutions during the day while playing with such names as Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Mandel and Oscar Pettiford at night. He carries on the traditions of Copland, Bernstein, and Henry Mancini and Nelson Riddle, writing in a style that freely combines pop elements with a traditional orchestral scoring. This new disc, a companion to his earlier CD Opening Doors (TROY708), reveals a master of light musical forms. You may not know his name now, but you will definitely remember it after hearing this delightful disc.

The fact that Timothy Polashek has lived with moderate hearing loss (and the need to wear hearing aids) has actually had an impact on his compositional aesthetic; prompting him to explore the world of nonsensical speech sounds as music, as well as pitch and timbre manipulations of other sounds in his electro-acoustical works. He wrote his first computer program in the 5th grade to generate time-based graphic animations and by the time he entered high school he had written a computer program in PASCAL that could synthesize musical tones, generate improvisations in blues style, and display them as musical notation in real-time during the computation and reading of the music. As he writes, "all of the compositions on this album were composed recently, with the oldest, Porcupine Quest, dating from 2002...when I was composing these works, I knew that Eric Huebner might perform them so I kept his incredible virtuosity and spirited piano technique in mind...also, I am appreciative of pianist Steven Beck's superb playing on the duets, both in concert and in the recording sessions...overall, aesthetically, I view these works as modern classical music, but spoken at times in the dialect and emotion of jazz."

We lost one of the great American composers in June of 2005 when David Diamond passed away. However, we have been fortunate to have heard his Symphonies, chamber works and complete String Quartets (TROY504, 540, 613 and 727) on record over the years, yet this is the first CD devoted entirely to his songs, though he wrote nearly 100 of them. The songs range in emotion from the sweetly lyrical and wistfully elegiac to the humorously satirical and ironic, from plaintive innocence to homespun world-weariness, from mysterious enigma to heart-rending poignancy, from compassion with souls in torment to the need for humans to connect with others even though the connection may be painful, and from deceptive quasi-simplicity to unearthly and nearly orchestral passion and power. All but one are in English and encompass the full poetic gamut of human emotion and experience. Soprano Helene Williams and pianist Leonard Lehrman have collaborated on performances in Amsterdam, Paris, Germany, the United States, as well as song recitals on CD. This, their first Albany release, is a wonderful memorial to an important American composer.

The University of Houston Percussion Ensemble serves as the cornerstone of the Department of Percussion studies at the University's Moores School of Music. Established in 1997 and directed by Dr. Blake Wilkins, the Ensemble has steadily gained recognition throughout the state of Texas through appearances on campus and in public schools. The group achieved further distinction when it performed at the 2002 Texas Music Educator's Convention. Their selection as Winner in the 2003 Percussive Arts Society Percussion Ensemble Competition and its appearance at the 2003 Percussive Arts International Convention has secured its reputation internationally as a leader in percussion performance. Since its inception, the Ensemble has given the world or U.S. premieres of a number of new works. In the fall of 2002 it also initiated its Commissioning Project to encourage new works for the medium. Two of the works on this new disc, Donald Grantham's Houston Strokes and Rob Smith's Surge were among the first in this series. Percussion music has proven over the years to be phenomenally popular with performers as well as listeners. This release is an exceptional addition to the catalog; and wait until you hear Vaughan-Williams' Thomas Tallis Fantasia arranged for five marimbas and two vibraphones!

Joseph Waters writes, "I find this juxtaposition of contemporary electro-acoustic ephemera with a collection of musical instruments and a performance practice that predates the age of technology to be simultaneously anachronistic and engaging. It is my goal to create strong and deep tie lines that connect the present surface to the ancient seabed miles below. This is my celebratory reaction to our current milieu, which juxtaposes Mozart one minute with rap music the next. There are many connections between them, which I find fascinating and exhilarating." This music bears tribute to Debussy and Messiaen (Ocean Eyes), explores Afro-Cuban influences (Witches of the Unconscious) and the worlds of seabirds and exotic marine life (Ghosts and Aloiloi) as well as the phenomenon of intense fright when suddenly awakening from a deep sleep (Kanashibari) and the onset of morning (Loneliness). Born in 1952, Waters is Associate Professor of Music Composition and Director of Electro-Acoustic and Media Composition at San Diego State University. His first musical experiences included playing in a rock band, and the myriad influences of the world and its music figure in his own compositions.

The Scottish-born Judith Weir began her career as an oboist and took composition lessons with John Tavener and Robin Holloway. Her music is performed in Europe and the United States. Her works reflect her diverse interests in narrative, folklore and theatre, with British folk music a strong influence. This release is an excellent sampling for those unfamiliar with her work: The Consolations of Scholarship is a highly-compressed opera, based on 14th century Chinese Yuan plays, where all the characters are played by one multi-voiced singer. The Piano Concerto, where the soloist is partnered by nine solo string players, emulates the scale of the early Mozart concerti; King Harald's Saga, is a "Grand Opera in Three Acts" for solo soprano voice, depicting the attempted invasion of England by Norway in 1066. Inspired by Emily Dickinson, Musicians Wrestle Everywhere is a one-movement concerto for ten instruments, reflecting the "street environment" of Weir's own urban neighborhood. You'll find Weir to be a highly original compositional voice.

Eager to capitalize on the 1875 success of Trial By Jury, impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte organized the Comedy Opera Company, Ltd., and commissioned Gilbert and Sullivan to write a comic operetta. Drawing upon various sources, Gilbert fashioned a plot dealing with the effects of a love potion on an English village. Though Gilbert finished his libretto by April 1877, Sullivan, despondent over the death of his brother Fred, finished the score barely in time for the mid-November premiere at London's Opera Comique. The Sorcerer, satirizing both Victorian customs and theatrical devices, was a success and ran 175 performances; this was to lead to the next collaboration, H.M.S. Pinafore. Once again, Albany is proud to present another wonderfully sparkling performance by the renowned Ohio Light Opera Company, the first complete CD set incorporating Gilbert's hilarious spoken dialogue. Those who have come to know and love the acclaimed series by this group are in for an absolute treat!

Have you noticed how some of the most interesting new guitar music is coming from Europe? Here's what Volkmar Zimmermann has to say: "Our first contact with Jonas Tamulionis harks back to 1997. As always, I was on the lookout for new and exciting works for guitar quartet. As it came to pass, I received a letter from the Lithuanian Music Information Centre telling us about a composer hitherto unknown to us, a composer who we eventually came to discover possesses a loving heart for the guitar... It was truly a delight for us in 1998 when Jonas wrote his guitar quartet, Per Suonare a Quattro, which serves as the ticket for our journey, a serpentine path leading to (this) CD...we sincerely hope you will enjoy the music created by this eminent Lithuanian composer as much as we do." Needless to say, guitarists will want to snap this one up, and listeners who enjoy the music of East Europe will be intrigued as well! More information on the composer and performers is available at the following websites:

Solo violin discs don't get more varied than this! Movses Pogossian is a prizewinner of the 1986 Tchaikovsky International Competition, and the youngest-ever First Prize winner of the USSR National Violin Competition. His American debut was in 1990 performing the Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Boston Pops. He has since performed with major orchestras in Europe and the United States. A major proponent of new music, he has premiered over 30 works. He is currently a Visiting Artist Teacher at SUNY Buffalo, and a member of the Baird Piano Trio and Duo Forza. As you can imagine, the styles and technical approaches are as eclectic as the backgrounds of the composers themselves, which allows for some wonderful contrasts along the way. A definite must for adventurous chamber-music listeners.

Peter Westergaard taught composition and theory at Princeton University from 1968 to 2001, and also directed the Princeton University Opera Theatre during this time. Moby Dick is his fifth opera, the others being Charivari (1953), Mr. And Mrs. Discobbolos (1964), The Tempest (1990), and Chicken Little (1997). As he writes about Moby Dick: "Melville's novel paints a vast canvas. But of the many stretches that might have made good scenes for an opera, I have chosen only those I deemed absolutely necessary to spinning the central yarn. Gone is Father Mapple's sermon, all that's left of Pip is his tambourine...there are a few brief glimpses of Queequeg, Tashtego and Daggoo." In terms of being imaginary, Mr. Westergaard recognizes the complexities of adapting the many elaborate scenes from the book into a viable stage presentation, especially the struggles of attacking the whale, etc. As he continues, "With a recording, of course, all these problems conveniently disappear as you, the listener, imagine from Ishmael's words and the music that surrounds them what Ishmael sees in his mind's eye as he tells us his tale." In essence, Mr. Westergaard has created the ideal opera for the recording medium.

As we pointed out in our previous release of Wallace's orchestral music (TROY557), he is no relation to the Scottish composer of the same name who lived from 1860-1940. He is definitely a modern composer with roots in traditional Romanticism but with contemporary elements that give his music a fresh sound. His principal teachers were Utah's Leroy Robertson, Egon Wellesz and Edmund Rubbra. The last is the composer Wallace most resembles; the Concerto Variations is a work of grand stature, similar in scope to the British master's earlier Symphonies. In contrast is the delightful Second Dance Suite and Cantilena, which reveal Wallace's affinity for Baroque forms. The Viola Concerto is a concise, lightly-scored work which certainly makes a welcome contribution to the still-small repertoire of modern works for the instrument. This will have great appeal for listeners who enjoy neo-Romantic music.

Alva Henderson contributes wonderful recollections of his youth collecting classical and opera recordings in the 1950's, leading to comparisons and contrasts of studio and live recordings of operas. These annotations more than explain how Mr. Henderson came to love modern opera and how his creative path was chosen. This fascinating new release presents his and librettist Dana Gioia's interpretation of the classic 1922 F. W. Murnau silent film Nosferatu, probably still the most haunting and certainly most expressionistic vampire story in motion picture history. Though Henderson entered San Francisco State College in the 1960's for drama studies, he changed to music and studied under Wayne Peterson and Robert Sheldon. While supporting himself as a member of the San Francisco Opera Chorus, he completed his first opera, Medea. The 1972 San Diego Production brought him national attention. In the years that followed came the operas The Last of the Mohicans, The Tempest, The Last Leaf, The Room Across the Hall and Achilles. Dana Oland of the Idaho Statesman wrote, "The opera...is a success and a stunning addition to the world of contemporary opera. Henderson composed rich, luscious melodies to meld with Gioia's delicious poetry, written in English...an opera than can make English a poetic, operatic language. Henderson deserves acclaim for his brilliant and sweeping score." Here is a modern opera that is romantic and passionate with beautiful vocal writing.

Italian opera was all the rage in German courts at the turn of the 18th century and the young Handel's trip to Italy from 1706 to 1710 allowed him to immerse himself in Italian music. This spurred a remarkable output of cantatas, many written for the meetings of the Arcadian Academy, a group of noblemen and artists who gathered in Rome to further their literary agenda and raise the level of Italian poetry. Though their main interests were in pastoral subjects, these three cantatas dealt with portrayals of tragic heroines, the scorned and betrayed: Agrippina, Lucrezia and Armida, whose stories were drawn from Roman history and myth. No doubt the Academy was impressed with subject matter, which would have been at home in full operatic treatment! Hailed as "outstanding" by the New York Times, soprano Melissa Fogarty's wide range of experience has taken her from the stages of the Metropolitan Opera and New York City Opera to the world of early music. She has appeared in concert with the Seattle Baroque, New York Collegium and Concert Royal. Her unusual experience (in rock bands during her college days) has given her the kind of versatility to branch out into other fields, including the works of Harry Partch and even klezmer music.

You may already be familiar with Mr. Martin from his collection of Preludes and Fugues that have appeared on other labels. He is currently professor of music at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and has pursued a career as a composer-pianist specializing in jazz and Western tonal tradition. His teachers have included Milton Babbitt and David Del Tredici. The works on this disc exemplify Martin's attraction to past influences and how tonality is still a viable form of expression. The Piano Trio is his own take on the Brahms works in that form; the Sonata for Solo Cello, which he describes as one of his darker works, was inspired by the Bach Cello Suites. A more "modern" work, This Living Hand is based on the writings of John Keats, which also influence Sweet Converse. The three members of Innisfree all have musical connections to the Northeast; all are members of or have performed with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and its associated String Quartet. This is an exceptional disc for those who believe that the Romantic impulse is still alive in today's music.

We admit it: Sessions' music is not for the casual listener or someone just getting into modern music. If you start cold with one of the later symphonies, it's like jumping into the middle of a book on advanced physics. But if you start at the beginning and work your way through, you will enjoy some of the most profound music written by an American. The early works might bear a passing resemblance to Copland, but by the later works it is obvious that Sessions has absorbed the complex sound world explored by Schoenberg and refined it. In all of his music, you are struck by the realization that these intense works are truly music, and not mere exercises in sonority. That is why this reissue is so important: spanning his creative lifetime, this collection of the complete solo piano works will give you a remarkable insight into this most significant of modern composers. Barry David Salwen has been the Executive Director of the Roger Sessions Society since 1988. Besides specializing in new music, he has performed widely the music on this disc as part of his original lecture-recital, "The Piano Sonatas of Roger Sessions," first presented in 1986. This and his contact with the composer during his doctoral work at Juilliard make him the authoritative performer. This CD is a major contribution to the recorded Sessions canon.

This is one high-class kid's record! Actually, the subtitle is Ballets for Children of All Ages, and both scores take an off-beat spin on two familiar storylines (somehow, the Red Sox get involved with Cinderella's family). Bernard Hoffer, born in Switzerland, studied at Eastman with Louis Mennini, Wayne Barlow and Bernard Rogers. Even if you've never heard of him, you've heard his music for his specialty over the years has been commercial music for such clients as McDonald's, Ford, and Chevrolet. He was nominated for an Emmy for his theme for the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour on PBS. For the past fifteen years he has devoted his time to concert works. These two delightful scores (featuring small instrumental ensembles) are performed by none other than famed new music specialists Boston Musica Viva and Richard Pittman and the one-and-only Bob McGrath, who has just celebrated his 35th year on Sesame Street.

The Iranian-born Reza Vali is just now gaining much attention in the musical world, with works steadily appearing on CD. This recording by the renowned Cuarteto Latinoamericano presents significant contributions to the string quartet literature. Vali studied first in Vienna but came to the United States, receiving his Ph.D. in composition in 1985. He has been a faculty member of Carnegie-Mellon University since 1988. His music has been performed by the Seattle Symphony, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Orchestra 2001 and many other new-music ensembles. The works on this disc are a departure from his earlier, experimental works of the 1980's. Here, the music reflects influences of Persian folk music. Of special interest are the three Calligraphies; the material is derived entirely from Persian traditional music. The tuning, rhythm, form, as well as polyphonic constructions relate to the Persian modal system, the Dastgah. This fascinating music, combined with the performances of the Cuarteto Latinoamericano, one of the major exponents of new music today, should have strong appeal to the modern music specialist as well as the world-music listener.

Here's some music that proves that it's okay to write in a recognizably American style that's reminiscent of the recent past and fresh at the same time. Many of Zaimont's works have won prizes; she composes in all media; and is one of the most recognizable among today's composers. Her chamber and symphonic works have been widely recorded, and her orchestral works have been performed by the orchestras of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Mississippi and groups in Europe. As she writes about this collection, "...I've been fortunate throughout my teaching career to have experienced performance collaborations with a good number of top-rate faculty colleagues-including the past fourteen years at the University of Minnesota...This disc celebrates several mostly "Minnesota" collaborations, centering on more recent solo works. Several of these pieces received their premieres in vital interpretations by the same artists heard here."

Here we have an international collection of bassoon music, recorded in Edvard Grieg's house. The highly original wind music of Maslanka is surely known to you through his many releases on Albany, and this recent work is a significant contribution to the bassoon literature. James Lassen, born in Montana, has family roots in Scandinavia. Active in jazz and classical circles, he currently lives in Bergen, Norway and is co-principal bassoonist in that city's Symphony Orchestra, alongside principal Per Hannevold. Lassen's work shows the influence of special techniques he learned while playing the Japanese shakuhatchi and bamboo flutes. Oivind Westby, a trombonist and arranger, has composed a delightful work that shows influences from British light music. Per Hannevold has been with the Bergen Symphony from 1979 and is a member of the Bergen Wind Quintet. His performances have taken him all over the world and he is recognized as a preeminent authority on bassoon technique. This is a wonderful disc for wind specialists and those looking for something out of the ordinary.

The composer of such Broadway hits as The Student Prince, New Moon and The Desert Song was born in Hungary, educated in Vienna and studied engineering. But his musical gifts were recognized, and he came to New York at age 22. In between menial odd-jobs, he made his presence known to the point where the Schubert brothers engaged him in 1914 to become their house composer, eventually producing 17 shows and hundreds of songs (many for Al Jolson) by 1917. That was the year that Maytime, based on a play by Walter Kollo, had its premiere. Romberg changed the locale from Europe to old New York, and the work was a great success and ran for nearly 500 performances. Though Maytime achieved great popularity as a 1937 Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy film, it only used two original Romberg numbers. Here is a chance to experience this tuneful, charming operetta of lost and found love in a sparkling performance, the kind we expect from the wonderfully talented Ohio Light Opera Company members.

Robert de Cormier, a graduate of Juilliard, acted as music director of the New York Choral Society for seventeen years. His other conducting engagements have taken him from Broadway and opera to the Berkshire Choral Institute, the Zimriya World Assembly of Choirs in Israel and numerous tours throughout the United States and Europe with the famed Robert de Cormier Singers. He has also been musical arranger and director for Harry Belafonte and Peter, Paul and Mary. In 2000 he established Counterpoint, an eleven-voice vocal ensemble based in Vermont. Here they sing a beautiful collection of carols covering many periods and cultures, celebrating the holiday season in truly memorable fashion. Counterpoint is also featured on two other Albany releases: When the Rabbi Danced (TROY676) and Missa Criolla (TROY746).

Donald Martino may be one of the last modern American composers who writes tough, uncompromising music for adventurous listeners, and this disc spans many years and the different facets of his personality. Notturno is one of his best-known works, and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1974. He described this highly dramatic, colorful work as "a sort of 'night music' descriptive of the moments before I go to sleep, when I'm reviewing the day, when all the miseries and the beauties come together in a kind of chaotic swirl without pattern. It's about the diversity of feeling that I undergo daily when I contemplate my life at that moment before sleep." From the Other Side represents Martino in his "most sour mood, so disillusioned, so debilitated by the state of 'art'...that tears must turn to laughter." In between is the virtuoso, prize-winning flute work Quodlibets II. This is a disc that will reward the listener who really likes modern music.

In a very short period, Buenos Aires-born Jorge Liderman has achieved much success both on and off record. He studied in Israel under Mark Kopitman and under Ralph Shapey and Shulamit Ran in Chicago. His works have been commissioned and performed by the London Sinfonietta, the American Composers Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and many other organizations here and abroad. As he writes about these fascinating works, "I have particularly been concerned with the idea of repetition since the early 1990's, especially after the impact minimalism has had not only on my musical thinking, but also on the musical world as a whole...I have used various types of repetition to create a cohesive structure on which to base some of my works...the three works in this album were written between 1990 and 2003; in different ways they all show the use of repetition as a central element..." Here is music that combines the color of Ginastera with the rhythmic sense of Steve Reich.

Praised by the New York Times as a "young composer of great gifts," Larry Alan Smith has developed an international reputation as a composer, performer, educator and arts executive. He pursued his musical studies with Nadia Boulanger in France and at the Juilliard School with Vincent Persichetti. From 1980 to 1986 he also taught at Juilliard; previously he was on the composition faculty of the Boston Conservatory. It's always a pleasure to welcome a new name to the catalog, especially when this release features significant orchestral works: the Three Movements, full of drama and virtuoso writing; the introspective Crucifixus, the Symphony No.2 with its program describing the relationship of man and the world (with a depiction of the Civil War battle at Antietam, West Virginia) and the charming Serenade, a wedding present to his wife Marguerita. This is an exceptional way to make your acquaintance with an important American composer.

And now something for those who like string chamber music. Eric Sawyer, who has held fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and Harvard, was founding director of the critically-acclaimed contemporary ensemble Longitude. His undergraduate training was at Harvard and he completed his graduate studies at Columbia University and the University of California. His teachers included Leon Kirchner, Ross Bauer, Andrew Imbrie and George Edwards. He currently teaches at Amherst College. Composed from 1999 to 2002, this music reflects Sawyer's belief in the expressive power of harmony; as he writes "While new sonorities, textures and physical rhythms that have infused much recent music are all marvelous additions to the musical lexicon, it is the domain of harmony that can most provide a context of emotional resonance." This is a major discovery for listeners who especially enjoy the modern string quartet form.

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!

Tim Adams and Bill Banfield write, "This project was for us, two musician friends, a chance to make music together in the most organic way. Our first work was a collaboration with Bill composing a percussion concerto for Tim to play with the Indianapolis Symphony in 1996. But music with no boundaries, playing ideas based on initial reactions to what we heard, that seemed like music headed in the right direction. The other thing was the relationship of the various percussion instruments with the guitar. Here, percussion has a role equal to a solo voice, used thematically as well as harmonically. The guitar acts equally as harmonic, thematic and rhythmic accompaniment for the drums. This is interactive music. The conception of this recording was that we would base the music on the impulse of the percussion ideas, just like a master drummer informs an ensemble... By listening to this CD we hope you are able to stretch and listen to this music in some non-traditional ways and be able to enjoy the music, the creative process, the friendship and joy of making music as we do." You'll no doubt recognize William Banfield not only from his solo albums but from his symphonic works performed and recorded by many labels over the years. Tim Adams is heralded as one of the most dynamic and versatile percussionists today. He is professor of percussion at Carnegie-Mellon University and a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

By his mid-twenties Gluck was already writing operas, set to the libretti of revered Italian dramatist Pietro Metastasio. By 1750 he had settled in Vienna. The young composer was soon engaged at the Burgtheater in Vienna to tailor French operas and opera-comiques to Austrian taste (frequently inserting selections of his own music). The Hapsburg royal family, Empress Maria Theresa in particular, was very fond of the composer. Gluck had composed music for regal birthdays and namedays and participated in the celebrations for the second marriage of the eldest son Archduke Joseph in January 1765. For the wedding festivities Gluck had been commissioned to supply a short opera with Metastasio's libretto. Four of Maria Theresa's daughters were accomplished musicians and sang in that new work, Il Parnaso confuso (available on TROY655). This was such a success that another work was commissioned: La Corona. But due to the Emperor's sudden death, the work was not presented; Gluck never heard it, and it was not performed until our own time. The work, based on a Greek myth dealing with a dispute over who shot the fatal blow during a hunt for a wild boar terrorizing a kingdom, has a clarity and a directness which is both refreshing and new. Gluck's stated credo, "I believe that my greatest labor should be devoted to seeking a beautiful simplicity, to avoid making displays of difficulty at the expense of clearness" applies very well to this lovely score. Opera lovers will rejoice at this presentation, another in this wonderful series featuring Julianne Baird and her stellar companions. And, as a delightful bonus, two examples of Gluck's relatively small chamber output are included as the perfect encores.

You'll remember Joel Brown from all those wonderful discs with the late Bill Crofut from Albany's "early years." Now he's back with a delightful Christmas disc with his celebrated friends and family. This album was inspired by a concert and TV show featuring Brown's arrangements of Christmas tunes for a student guitar ensemble. It was such a success that he was encouraged to create this recording. All right, it took more than a decade but it was worth the wait! As with those great Crofut albums, the arrangements are jazzy, folksy and often times plain-old traditional. Of course you've heard these tunes a lot of times in the past, but they've never sounded so fresh as they do here. As Joel writes, "Christmas music has always been my favorite part of the holiday season. I still feel a flood of excitement and joy when I think of standing in our little hometown church singing in unison with family and friends. I hope the music on this recording will bring some of that same feeling to you. Merry Christmas!"

Composer and pianist Ken Benshoof was born on a Nebraska farm. He went through high school in Fairbanks, Alaska. Studies at Pacific Lutheran University and the Spokane Conservatory were followed by a two-year stint in the Army. He later attended the University of Washington, San Francisco State University and the Guildhall School in London. His most influential teachers included John Verrall, Roger Nixon, George Frederick McKay and Alfred Neiman. Primarily a composer of chamber pieces, Benshoof has received commissions from a wide variety of sources, most notably the Kronos Quartet. Benshoof's music often includes elements of folk and jazz mixed with influences from Scarlatti, Ravel, Ives, Gershwin and Rachmaninov. The composer writes, "The 24 Preludes were composed almost without interruption over several months. I chose that name partly because of the joy I still derive from sets with the same title, most notably those by Bach, Chopin and Rachmaninov. I have not intentionally borrowed material from those composers but I did steal the key relations from Chopin- his way of going through the 24 major and minor keys." Patti's Parlour Pieces were written in 2000 for the composer's friend, bookstore owner Patti McCall. This collection of pieces spans a large range of emotions, textures and tempi. There are jazzy blues sounds in pieces 1 and 5, and propulsive works like number 9. There are also pieces that would be right at home in the concert hall such as the jazzy piece No. 22 and the especially Rachmaninov-influenced No. 23.