Eric Sawyer – String Works

Hekun Wu (cello), Elise Yun (piano), Francine Trester (violin), Michael Bonner (cello), Lighthouse Chamber Players, Arden String Quartet

Catalog #: TROY0781
Release Date: October 1, 2005
Format: Digital
Chamber

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.

Stream/Buy

Choose your platform

Track Listing

Title Composer Performer
String Quartet No. 3 Eric Sawyer Lighthouse Chamber Players
Five Bagatelles Eric Sawyer Hekun Wu, cello, Elise Yun, piano
String Quartet No. 2 Eric Sawyer Arden String Quartet
Pas de Deux Eric Sawyer Francine Trester, violin, Michael Bonner, cello

Reviews

  • "Anyone devoted to well-made 20th Century chamber music will admire and enjoy all four pieces... Sawyer is a composer of considerable skill and stature, and I hope to see more of his music issued soon."

    – American Record Guide

*Album cover provided for Editorial use only. ©Albany Records. The Albany Imprint is a registered trademark of PARMA Recordings LLC. The views and opinions expressed in this media are those of the artist and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views and opinions held by PARMA Recordings LLC and its label imprints, subsidiaries, and affiliates.