Feature Articles

This disc is the reissue of a 1990 CD that originally came out on the Gasparo label (I found only one link that dated Gasparo as...

This release from 1989 was the first full disc dedicated to the music of American composer Arnold Rosner (b. 1945). Since that time, numerous additional CDs...

Mark Lieb and the Phoenix Ensemble have two releases now, the earlier on Innova and now an all-winds program on Albany. In each case the group...

Two of the most important 20th-century works for wind quintet, Zeitmasze (1957) and the Wind Quintet, op. 26 (1924), are seldom, if ever, paired, in part...

If you were to have asked almost any serious young composer in the West in the mid 20th century what lay ahead in music, they would...

There are few if any composers from Hong Kong who are well known in the United States, so it was my privilege and pleasure to meet...

Man-Ching Donald Yu is an intriguing composer who writes in several different styles. The first work on this disc is his First Symphony which has three...

Jonathan Leshnoff is a gifted American composer whose works are currently being played by major orchestras around the world. The Philadelphia Orchestra and its principal flutist,...

Naxos is simply an amazing company. In its catalog that comprises some 6,000 titles, it evidences an outstanding track record of issuing worthwhile new American music,...

Fred Sturm’s life is consumed by music. This is not a surprising statement and might serve as the motto for almost any musician profiled on these...

Federico Ibarra (b. 1946) is a Mexican composer whose work I didn’t know before this assignment. I’m glad it came my way. Himself a concert pianist,...

One of the chief delights of reviewing CDs and interviewing the musicians recording them is being brought into contact with music of composers that one might...

Adolf Mišek (1875-1955) was a Bohemian double bass player and composer of the late-Romantic era. Since his father directed an orchestra, young Adolf was born into...

Review assignments taken at almost the last moment before one’s deadline, at least for me, are predicated on one thing first and foremost: Do I really...

Maria Bachman’s and Adam Neiman’s recital of French violin sonatas begins where many would end: with the encore. But since Beau soir preceded these works, at...

In Debussy’s Beau Soir, the smooth lyrical playing of Maria Bachmann and Adam Neiman is enchanting. We picture the sun setting and the cool evening breeze...

Dr. Christopher Creviston and his pianist partner Hannah Creviston (née Gruber) have been concertizing together as a duo since 2007 when they made an appearance at...

If the saxophone appeals to you, as it does to me, then here is a patisserie of saxophone confections for you to savor. I use the...

On this disc, Christopher Creviston offers a very enjoyable collection of arrangements, in which he plays alto and soprano saxophones with his regular accompanist, Hannah Gruber....

Saxophonist Christopher Creviston and his wife, pianist Hannah Gruber, are fine artists who teach at Arizona State University. Creviston has complete control of his instrument from...

Pamela Decker leads a busy dual life as concert organist and composer. Educated primarily at Stanford University (and in Germany on a Fulbright), Decker is now...

Pamela Decker, the professor of organ and music theory at the University of Arizona, is also the organist at Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Tucson....

My brush with the music of Joel Hoffman was a review of his CD on Albany 1372, which included Three Paths, Nine Pieces for Piano,

Since you’ve been at Cornell, you have had a very active commissioning policy. How do you set about commissioning, what are you looking for? To what...

Something of a mixed bag here. The pieces were all commissioned by the Society for New Music which describes itself thus: “Founded in 1971, the Society’s...

Discovering the music of an important new composer is always a great joy for me, but equally enjoyable is the possibility of meeting the man behind...

Q: Iris, I’d like to open our conversation in media res to learn what brought you and Tom together. IL: We met through Broadjam.com—a website where...

British pianist Iris Litchfield and American guitarist Tom Salvatori have put together several interesting recordings over the last few years. Their 2007 entry, entitled When Evening...

Founded in 1957, the Musical Arts Woodwind Quintet was one of the earlier ensembles of its kind to achieve prominence in the U.S., making its New...

The only composer on this disc I haven’t encountered before is Jenni Brandon, so let me begin with the unfamiliar. Brandon (b. 1977) is an award-winning,...

This disc of largely recent works for woodwind quintet opens with Steven Stucky’s Serenade for wind quintet. The work impresses by the way it balances (relative)...

Almost two years have passed since I reviewed a Summit SACD of wind works by Mozart and Richard Strauss performed by the Gateway Chamber Orchestra directed...

I think the Gateway Chamber Orchestra made a smart move for this, their second release, when it decided to focus on lesser-known works. That’s not because...

The music of George Enescu continues to be a source of discovery for me. As the Fates would have it, though, his Chamber Symphony for 12...

A most intriguing selection of repertoire! Three chamber symphonies with the numerical sequence of 12, 15, and 23 players. (Homework: Discover the sequence rule.) Arnold Schoenberg’s...

The Gateway Chamber Orchestra is composed principally of performance faculty at Austin Peay State University in Nashville, supplemented by other area musicians. The playing on this...

This interview comes about in response to a disc of music by the Australian composer Grant Foster (see review below). Mira Yevtich appears as soloist in...

There are plenty of tonal composers in the world today. There is an acute shortage, however, of composers writing lush, romantic melodies. It’s almost as if...

In 2008, Australian composer Grant Foster told a reporter from Gramophone, “Melody and harmony are paramount for me. I’ve always stuck to that as my core...

Rotem Luz was born in Israel in 1959. She is a graduate of Tel Aviv University where she received her master’s of music degree summa cum...

This double-CD set, named after one of its pieces ( The Phoenix ), showcases the music of Israeli composer Yehezkel Braun (b. 1922) and his daughter,...

As is clear from the above interview, Rotem Luz (b. 1959) is the daughter of Yehezkel Braun (b. 1922). This two-disc Roméo Records set interleaves compositions...

Elizabeth Farnum leads an extremely busy and active life in her dual role as a leading soprano performing modern music and a New York State-licensed wildlife...