non sequitur
The sextet (flute, clarinet, violin,
cello, piano, percussion) formed as the Aspen Contemporary
Ensemble in 1996. During their years together they have
presented hundreds of premieres and are recognized for their
ability and insight in preparing new works. Hailed as
“utterly sensational” (New Music Connoisseur), Non
Sequitur has toured in the United States and the Netherlands and been in
residence as guest artists at Dartmouth College, Harvard,
Princeton, and Brandeis Universities.
machine language
Machine Language is a collection of six
recent chamber works by the American composer/violinist, Dan
Trueman. Trueman’s music is a sensuous and hypnotic blend of
instrumental sound, subtly transformed through the use of
computer applications. Quirky, sweet natured, and always
texturally transparent, these six compositions herald a
distinctly post-modern American voice, at once harmonically and
rhythmically sophisticated, yet possessing an almost folk-like
directness of expression. In Counterfeit Curio the
“old noisy recording” which ends the piece is in fact
a fake, and the tune it holds is in fact original, and grows
out of the music that precedes it.
music of louise talma
In her piano music, Louise Talma captured
the spirit of her times over several decades. But despite
stylistic changes, her distinctive voice remains constant:
rapid staccato chords jumping across the keyboard,
light-hearted, virtuosic figurations, and bold lyricism recur
through all the pieces on this album. Pianist Theresa Bogard
expertly negotiates the acrobatic leaps of the Six Etudes from
1954 and conjures up a rich range of colors in the sonatas.
Bogard pairs with clarinetist Gregory Oakes for Three Duologues
from 1967.
tchaikovsky symphony no. 4
December 29, 2002
When Naxos released the Colorado Symphony’s live recording of two popular works by composer Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky in July, there was little reason to expect big things. After all, dozens of versions of the compositions, the Symphony No.4 and “Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture,” were already available, most by better-known orchestras. Yet, five months later, Naxos already has distributed 4,500 copies of the compact disc to retail outlets, an impressive number, considering that total sales of 5,000 copies is deemed a success in the classical realm. “I think everyone was surprised by that,” said Marin Alsop, the symphony’s music director who spearheaded the project. At the same time, the release has gained considerable airplay on classical radio stations and earned complimentary reviews from national and international critics. “For its Tchaikovsky,” writes David Nice in BBC Music Magazine, “the company (Naxos) has now turned, and not I hope for just this once, to Colorado, where music director Marin Alsop more than justifies yet another Fourth Symphony.”
honegger: king david
