New Releases
Now Playing: March
Topic: NEW CDs
Paul Lansky: Etudes and Parodies (2004) for horn, violin and piano; William Purvis, French horn, Curtis Macomber, violin, Mihae Lee, piano; Semi-Suite (2001) for guitar, David Starobin, guitar; Ricercare Plus (2000, 2004) for string quartet, Brentano String Quartet
BRIDGE 9222 DDD Total Time: 64:51
This recording gives a completely fresh view of the work of a leading American composer. Long regarded as one of the world's finest exponents of 'computer music', this disc presents first recordings of three major Paul Lansky compositions for acoustic instruments. Lansky's fine ear for harmony and his restless and energetic rhythmic sense carry over from much of his computer music, but in these works, there is a newly found subtlety that seems inspiring to the interpreters heard in these performances.. Etudes and Parodies for horn trio was the winner of the International Horn Society's 2005 composition competition. Composed for horn virtuoso, William Purvis, the set of seven movements is actually a series of etudes based on all the things the horn does well: long round tones, staccato/legato alternate tonguing, large ascending leaps, rapid and round staccato, natural harmonics, fast and close jazz-like licks, and finally, soulful singing. The 'parodies' include gypsy-like music, funk, film-noir, and various references to horn player's practice rooms. Semi-Suite was composed for the guitarist David Starobin. Its six movements are loosely based around its baroque namesakes, though Lansky's idiomatic guitar writing shows the influence of such finger-style guitarists as Merle Travis and others. Lansky's Ricercare Plus includes references to early baroque and late renaissance part writing with non-vibrato sustained, overlapping lines, and rapid contrapuntal configurations. The work was written for the Brentano Quartet.
These Paul Lansky discs are available from Bridge: Music Box - BRIDGE 9210 Alphabet Book - BRIDGE 9126 My Cinema for the Ears - BRIDGE 9117 (DVD) Ride - BRIDGE 9103

Justin Dello Joio (b. 1955): Two Concert Etudes (2001), Garrick Ohlsson, piano; Music for Piano Trio "The March of Folly" (2006), Ani Kavafian, violin; Carter Brey, violoncello; Jeremy Denk, piano; Sonata for Piano (1987, rev. 2005), Garrick Ohlsson, piano BRIDGE 9220 DDD Total Time: 59:03
This recording presents first recordings of three recent compositions by the American composer Justin Dello Joio. John Corigliano writes that "Justin Dello Joio is a born composer- a real musician with a sparkling craft who has something urgent to say in his works, and the ability to say it. In an age when so much contemporary music seems dictated by its technologically sophisticated means, it is wonderful to hear music that is composed completely by ear, mind and heart." Performed by four superb virtuosi, the performances heard on these recordings provide vibrant realizations of the music of an exciting new voice in contemporary music. Writing about Dello Joio's Trio, John Corigliano says that the work "demonstrates Dello Joio's ability to forge a large shape that is clear, and meaningful while providing subtle and remarkable details along the way. Not a note is wasted in Dello Joio's music. It is concise yet expansive, detailed yet unified, intellectual yet dramatic." Justin Dello Joio is the 7th generation of composer in the Dello Joio family, the son of the well-known Norman Dello Joio. A student of Persichetti, Sessions and Diamond at Juilliard, he has received numerous awards and has composed a large catalog of works ranging from solo through orchestral, and recently, opera.

Topic: NEW CDs

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Claudio Arrau plays Beethoven's
Now Playing: 3rd Movement (op.57)
Topic: CLASSICAL VIDEOs

Book Review: Beethoven - The Universal Composer
Now Playing: Blogcritics.org - Aurora,OH,USA
Topic: NEW BOOKS
(Eminent Lives)

CONSUMER INFORMATION

This addition to the Eminent Lives Series by Pulitzer-winning biographer Morris (Theodore Rex; Dutch) does not disappoint. The author provides a close analysis of only one cantata, the early (written at 19) and relatively obscure Joseph II, but leaves no doubt he could easily do the same for the more radical and magisterial works, which are "bothersome to orthodox opinion" about Beethoven's time, were the ground not so well trodden.

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Wilhelm Kempff plays Beethoven
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Topic: CLASSICAL VIDEOs

NEW From BRIDGE Recordings
Now Playing: Artur Balsam: Mozart Recordings
Topic: NEW CDs
"Artur Balsam: Mozart Recordings" Disc A: Concerto No. 15 in B-flat Maj., K. 450; Concerto No. 17 in G Maj., K. 453; Artur Balsam, piano; The Haydn Orchestra, Harry Newstone, conductor; Rondo in A min., K. 511, Artur Balsam, piano; Disc B: Sonata in C Maj., K. 330; Artur Balsam, piano; Concerto No. 14 in E-flat Maj., K. 449; Concerto No. 18 in B-flat Maj., K. 456; Artur Balsam, piano; The Haydn Orchestra, Harry Newstone, conductor.

BRIDGE 9217A/B (Two Discs for the Price of One) ADD Total Time: 2:13:30

These recordings represent Bridge's latest investigations into the concert and studio legacy of the great Polish piano virtuoso, Artur Balsam. This set of recordings features never-before-issued BBC broadcasts of four concertos, performed with the superb Haydn Orchestra of London, conducted by the late Harry Newstone. The concerto recordings were taken from a series of broadcasts that Balsam, Newstone and the Haydn Orchestra made in June of 1956. These broadcasts, long thought to be lost, were restored by Adam Abeshouse, and reveal Balsam as a great Mozartean, performing with luminous touch, an unerring sense of proportion, and great warmth of spirit. A biographical essay about the late Canadian conductor, Harry Newstone, gives a wealth of information about this undeservedly forgotten maestro. In addition to his work with his own Haydn Orchestra, Harry Newstone was the conductor of the BBC Welsh Orchestra, and the Sacramento Symphony. Newstone's work pre-figured many of the techniques that the early-instrument movement were to adopt a generation later. In addition to the concerto recordings, these specially-priced discs offer two solo performances- Mozart's beloved C major Sonata, K. 330, from Balsam's Concert Hall Society LP, made in the 1950s; and the beautiful, late, Rondo in A minor, K. 511, taken from a recital Balsam gave in New York City, in 1980.

Southwest Chamber Music, recording the chamber music of Chavez
Now Playing: CARLOS CHAVEZ?S COMPLETE CHAMBER MUSIC: Volume 4
Topic: NEW CDs
For Jeff von der Schmidt, Artistic Director of Southwest Chamber Music, recording the chamber music of Chavez is a labor of love. “Receiving four GRAMMY nominations, including two wins for the music of Carlos Chavez, brings international recognition to this important composer and stamps the passport of Southwest Chamber Music with a tremendous visa of excellence.”

Project History and Grammy Awards
Volume 3, recipient of two GRAMMY nominations including “Best Classical Album” of 2005, features an international collaboration between Southwest Chamber Music and GRAMMY-nominated Tambuco Percussion Ensemble from Mexico City for works for ensemble and percussion, which are paired with the complete works for voice and instruments, featuring Suzanna Guzman and Alba Quezada. Volume 1 and 2 of this series received 2003 and 2004 GRAMMY Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Volume 4 Repertory
The Complete Chamber Music of Carlos Chavez, Volume 4 includes the most complete span of Chavez’s work of the entire series, starting with the Sextet of 1919 and ending with the Feuille D’Album of 1974, Chavez’s last solo instrumental or chamber work. In addition to his cycle of three string quartets, we present his three sonatinas written for the Copland-Sessions Concerts in New York City in the 1920s, and the complete works for violin and piano, including works for Joseph Szigeti and the inaugural season of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Also included are the complete works for guitar, and two important incidental works, the Fuga H-A-G-C, dedicated to Goddard Lieberson, and the Trio for Flute, Viola and Harp, a charming arrangement of works by Debussy and de Falla.

Ana Chavez, the composer’s daughter, has graciously given Southwest Chamber Music permission to illustrate these performances and recordings of her father’s music with portraits of Chavez never seen outside of her family. There are two by Diego Rivera (from 1932 and 1946), and one each by David Alfaro Siqueiros (1947) and Rufino Tamayo (undated, but probably from the late 1960s to early 70s). The cover of Volume 4 is a drawing by Siqueiros. Mrs. Chavez has also provided Southwest Chamber Music with photographs of her father by legendary photographer Manuel Alvarez Bravo.

About Southwest Chamber Music
Founded in 1987, Southwest Chamber Music (SCM) is the most active chamber music ensemble in the Western United States, maintaining a full season of over 100 concerts, community and educational events throughout the year. Since its inception, the mission of SCM has been to provide the Southern California and international music community with concert, recording, and educational programming that reflects the vast diversity of art music from around the world. SCM’s events include concert series at Pasadena’s Norton Simon Museum, Armory Center and Boston Court, and Los Angeles’ Colburn School of Performing Arts, plus a celebrated summer chamber music festival at The Huntington Library in San Marino. SCM’s website is http://www.swmusic.org.

Yo-Yo Ma?s latest recording for Sony Classical
Now Playing: Appassionato
Topic: NEW CDs
A journey through some of the world’s most romantic music—from Mendelssohn to Gershwin to John Williams. Appassionato is something of an event in the recording industry, as it marks Yo-Yo Ma’s first release since The Essential Yo-Yo Ma appeared in August 2005. With a release date set for January 9, 2007, Appassionato seems an ideal Valentine’s Day choice for music lovers.

Get CONSUMER INFORMATION on this CD

An exclusive Sony Classical artist, Yo-Yo Ma has amassed an army of admirers via his vast recording legacy. With a CD catalogue of astonishing breadth and depth, he has consistently been one of the top-selling classical artists in the world. His recordings have earned him a total of fifteen Grammy Awards. His lively appearances on a wide range of television programs, from The West Wing to The Tonight Show to Sesame Street, have earned him a reputation as the most exciting ambassador for classical music since Leonard Bernstein. He can be heard on the soundtrack recordings of several major feature films, including Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of a Geisha. In 1998, he established The Silk Road Project, designed to shed light on the synthesis of cultural ideas along the famous Silk Road.

Many of the works featured on Appassionato have come to be closely identified with Yo-Yo Ma. His impassioned, intensely lyrical performing style—many critics have noted that his playing “sings,” and more than a few opera stars have named him as an influence in their own careers—illuminates treasured classics such as the Largo from Vivaldi’s “Winter,” “The Swan” from Saint-Saens’s Carnival of the Animals, and the Allegretto poco mosso from Franck’s Sonata in A minor (with pianist Kathryn Stott). Appassionato’s musical bounty also includes the Andante con moto from Gershwin’s Prelude No. 2, Bandolim’s Doce de Coco, the Largo from Kabalevsky’s Concerto No. 1 in G minor, “First Impressions” from Appalachia Waltz (the acclaimed collaboration with fiddler Mark O’Connor and bassist and Sony Classical artist Edgar Meyer), the Andante from Brahms’ Double Concerto in A minor (with violinist Isaac Stern), and two works by Ennio Morricone, “Nostalgia” and an excerpt from “Gabriel’s Oboe.”

Appassionato also features three selections that Ma has recorded for the first time: Michio Mamiya’s Finnish Folk Song No. 4, “Mikin Pekko,” Piazzolla’s “Soledad,” and Mendelssohn’s immortal “Songs Without Words” with Emanuel Ax. In addition, Zhao’s “Swallow Song” has been specially re-recorded for this album. It first appeared on Silk Road Journeys: Beyond The Horizon. Another high point is John Williams’s “Going to School” from the popular 2005 film Memoirs of a Geisha. In addition to Ma, this selection features the multiple Academy Award-winning composer in a rare appearance on piano. “Going to School” was initially available as an ITunes exclusive during the movie’s release, and this marks its first time on a commercially available CD.

While Ma has chosen the works in Appassionato to represent various aspects of love, they also symbolize another type of love, namely Yo-Yo Ma’s passion for performing music with friends. Appassionato unfolds as a kind of musical memoir, pairing the cellist with many of the great influences and collaborators of his career. In a never-before published interview included in the CD booklet, Ma recalls many of his famous artistic partnerships. One of his most celebrated collaborations is with pianist Emanuel Ax, who joins him on Appassionato for “Song Without Words.” The two men have been friends and colleagues for thirty-five years. “I thought this album would not be complete if Manny wasn’t part of it,” says Ma. “We know each other’s timing. We kind of feel it. It’s a brother kind of thing.”