47 Results for : timbres
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Klavierwerke Auf Dvoraks Bösendorfer Von 1879
"The same preoccupation with authenticity persuaded Kvapil to record on the Bösendorfer...the outspoken freshness of the sweet timbres of the instrument testify to the precise sound the composer had available to compose with. - La Montagne, Paris- Shop: odax
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Won't Put No Flag Out
You'd have to search high and low for a band like Velvet Revolution, and it's quite likely nothing comparable can be found. Even on paper, this combination of saxophone, violin, and vibraphone seems bold. It holds a promise of chamber- Music sensitivity and multifaceted timbres, and suggests tone colour, intimacy as well as dynamism, and expressive improvisations. Particularly when such experts as Daniel Erdmann, Théo Ceccaldi, and Jim Hart are at work, musicians who have all already made a mark- Shop: odax
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Klavierstücke I-VIII & XI (Ersteinspielung)
Stockhausen calls his piano pieces his "drawings", the pieces in which he sketches out ideas without the added colour complexity of instrumental timbres. More significantly, in these early pieces, you can hear a composer grappling with the challenge of electronic sound, looking for "envelope curves" that will allow the old medium to compete with the new. As played by Tudor in this historic recording, the piano gives its answer to the synthesizer.- Shop: odax
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Werke für Viola & Piano
Nachdem er sechs Jahre lang Geige gelernt hatte, entschied sich Amihai Grosz mit 11 Jahren für die Bratsche, so fasziniert war er vom Klang dieses Instrumentes, der dem der menschlichen Stimme so nahe kommt. Auch die Ambivalenz des Timbres, das sich zwischen Geige und Cello befindet, begeisterte Amihai Grosz.- Shop: odax
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Colors for Solo Flute
All of the wonderful compositions on this disc have certain features tying them together: they were all written by American composers and they are all scored for flute alone. Beyond those basic similarities, however, these works are each unique in tonal language, character, the innovation of new performance techniques, and use of COLORS. Katherine Hoover (b. 1937) is a celebrated composer for the flute. After the immediate success of her solo flute work Kokopeli, in 1990, she composed several more pieces for unaccompanied flute, including To Greet the Sun from 2004. This new work incorporates the unique sound of a flutter-tongued timbral trill. Of the work, Hoover writes, "To greet the sun is to give thanks for the great richness of the Earth and the gift of life. Various cultures have done this in differing ways, from dawn prayers to dances and ceremonies to researching the sun's awe-inspiring power." Published by Papagena Press. John La Montaine (b. 1920), Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, studied composition with Howard Hanson, Nadia Boulanger, and Bernard Rogers. The movements of his Sonata for Flute Alone have such descriptive and quirky titles, which add to the color of the work for the performer as well as the audience: Questioning, Jaunty, Introspective, and Rakish. Published by Fremont Press. Paul Richards (b. 1969) is an award-winning composer on the faculty at the University of Florida. His colorful compositions and titles are frequently performed by chamber and large ensembles across the world. About this work, Richards writes "The ghostly sound of a solo flute played with airy tones sparked the image of a post-apocalyptic, dusty, windswept and barren field, and a lone musician initiating a ritual of mourning and a fiery expression of loss, tempered by fleeting hints of hope. A flute further fit this conception as it has a lineage that goes back to the earliest musical instruments, and will likely survive in some form as long as we do. Depressing thoughts, I know, but then I got this fortune cookie: Don't worry about the world coming to an end, it's already tomorrow in Australia." This work was composed for Kristen Stoner and includes many extended techniques (glissandos, pitch bends, altered tone color, dictated vibrato, timbral trills, tongue thrusts, and spit tongue) to express feelings of despair, anger, and hope in a post-apocalyptic world. Ingolf Dahl (1912-1970) was a composer of Swedish and German descent, immigrating to America in 1939 and becoming a naturalized American citizen in 1943. He was an active composer and performer in the new music scene in Los Angeles, but also supported himself by working in the entertainment industry. He was a professor at USC from 1945 until the end of his life. In that same year, he composed Variations on a Swedish Folk Tune, seven diverse variations based on the theme "Skänklåt från Leksand." Published by Theodore Presser. Marilyn Bliss (b. 1954) is an active composer for the flute and the Native American flute, as well as for orchestra and chamber ensembles. She studied composition with George Crumb, George Rochberg, Harvey Sollberger, Jacob Druckman, and Jerry Owen. Murali is the name of Krishna's flute, the Indian god. Krishna, according to legend, played his flute under the first full moon and people were drawn from all over to dance to his alluring music. Published by the American Composers Alliance. Robert Muczynski (1929-2005) was trained at the University of Chicago and spent the majority of his career in Arizona. He wrote wildly successful sonatas each for flute, saxophone, and clarinet relatively early in his career, and unfortunately none of his subsequent compositions achieved the same renown. His Three Preludes are contrasting in style. The first movement, Allegro, is bright and joyful. Andante molto, is more contemplative, exploring beautiful arching melodies. The final Allegro molto is manic and rambunctious. Published by G. Schirmer. Lowell Liebermann (b. 1961) earned all three degrees at the Juilliard School, where he studied with Diamond and Persichetti. His colorful compositions for the flute have been remarkably successful, starting with his Sonata, composed when he was only 26 years old. Soliloquy, op. 44, commissioned by Katherine Kemler, is technically challenging, with constantly shifting tonal centers and contrasting tempi. Liebermann teaches at Mannes College in New York City. Published by Theodore Presser. Elizabeth Brown (b. 1953) is a composer and a celebrated performer of flute, shakuhachi, and theremin. Trillium was composed in 1999 for the National Flute Association High School Young Artist Competition. Brown writes, "Trillium is a beautiful early spring woodland wildflower with leaves and white petals in threes. The flute language of Trillium is heavily influenced by Japanese shakuhachi music and birdsong. There are a number of unusual timbres and trills, many involving microtones." Published by Quetzal Music. Kristen Stoner (b. 1973) has composed solely for the flute, several works for solo flute and duets, and she is currently working on a Sonata for Flute and Piano. Variations on an Irish Ballad is based on the traditional song "The Wind that Shakes the Barley." The variations are very different in inspiration, including one influenced by Piazzolla's etudes and one by a Luigi Hugues etude. Cynthia Folio (b. 1954) is an active composer and flutist, serving as professor of theory and composition at Temple University. Born in Virginia, she studied at West Chester University and then earned both graduate degrees at Eastman. The name Arca Sacra is a palindrome, and the composition itself is loosely based on a palindrome as well. Published by Hildegard Press. Daniel Dorff (b. 1956) studied composition at Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania, studying with George Crumb, George Rochberg, and Karel Husa. He has composed many works for orchestra and particularly for woodwind instruments. He is composer-in-residence for the Symphony in C and also is VP of Publishing at Theodore Presser. August Idyll is a lovely, tonal piece with which to close the CD. Published by Theodore Presser. Kristen Stoner is an active performer and pedagogue. She has taught full-time at the University of Florida since 2002, and she taught at Denison University from 1999-2002. In addition to frequent solo performances in North and South America, she performs as principal flutist in both the Ocala Symphony Orchestra and the Florida Lakes Symphony Orchestra. She has performed at 11 NFA conventions. A graduate of the University of Texas and the University of Cincinnati College- Conservatory of Music, Stoner studied primarily with Karl Kraber, Bradley Garner, and William Montgomery. Dr. Stoner enjoys studying and performing works by women composers and has special interests in Latin American music for flute. She has performed and taught in Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. Her first CD, Images for solo flute, was released on the Meyer Media label. In addition to performing flute, Dr. Stoner enjoys raising two beautiful girls, spending time with her family, and making jewelry. Kristen Stoner is thrilled to perform on a 14K Burkart flute.- Shop: odax
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Collision
Daniel Heagney's debut album 'Collision' provides the listener with a wide variety of solo percussion music. It includes the world premiere recordings of Peter Klatzow's 'Etudes for Solo Marimba' and Brett William Dietz's epic multiple percussion solo 'Nocturne'. The Album is rounded out with Rodney Sharman's beautiful vibraphone solo 'Apollo's Touch' and Steven Mackey's famous marimba work 'See Ya Thursday'. Review of Collision from the Percussive Arts Society September issue of Percussive Notes: It is always exciting to hear a young performer who is able to maneuver easily between a variety of styles and instruments with a unique maturity that is appreciated. Containing three works for keyboard percussion and one for multiple percussion, Daniel Heagney has produced a CD that should be recommended listening for those interested in both new repertoire and sensitive interpretation across a variety of percussion instruments. Composed for two, three, and four mallets, Peter Klatzow's "Etudes for Marimba" is a six-movement work that explores contrasting musical ideas and technical concepts on the instrument. These concepts range from the application of broken octaves to advanced polyrhythms. Commissioned by Heagney, each short movement is beautifully composed and performed. I hope this becomes a standard work on graduate student and professional marimba recitals. Rodney Sharman's "Apollo's Touch" is a quiet and intimate work for solo vibraphone. Seventeen minutes in length, it is the longest selection on the CD. Meandering freely between tonality and atonality, it produces a trancelike listening experience. While some of the pedaling of longer melodic lines gets a little blurry, Heagney's attention to detail renders a sensitive and affective performance. Steven Mackey's "See Ya Thursday" serves as a showcase for both the performer's technical and musical skill. Heagney displays this as the somewhat quirky musical lines are presented with clarity and intrigue. Scored for a variety of percussion instruments (bongos, tambourine, bass drum, cowbells, wind chimes, and tubular bells) and voice (percussion-like bursts of yelling), Brett Dietz's "Nocturne" is the most compelling work on the CD. The dialogue between various timbres almost gives the impression of a percussion ensemble piece. The introduction, disappearance, and subsequent reappearance of sonic material throughout clearly delineate the form and keeps the listener engaged. Heagney's strength as an interpreter is his sensitivity and patience in shaping each line, melodic or rhythmic, in a way that keeps the listener from being either bored or overwhelmed. -Jason Baker.- Shop: odax
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Clarinete Solo. Mexico Vol. 1
SOLO CLARINET Mexico Vol. 1 Javier Vinasco Fifty years of music for solo clarinet. Mexico (1957-2007) Composers born in the 20th century To record a CD for solo clarinet with pieces by Mexican composers has been an arduous, difficult, and at the same time rewarding undertaking. On this journey we have investigated a variety of routes and paths that composers had taken and have come to recognize that there is an ample compendium of creators dedicated to writing for the clarinet. These composers have explored languages that range from the acknowledgment of tradition to less conventional experimentations, demonstrating both significant evolution and compositional maturity. Our efforts have resulted in an anthology that shows a glimpse of the variety, quality, and expressivity of the ample spectrum of compositions that, in this case, were selected with an inquisitive spirit from archives, catalogs and private collections. At the same time, this CD presents two new compositions written especially for this project by Alejandro Colavita and Fernando Cataño. Mario Lavista (1943- ) wrote Madrigal (1985), in collaboration with the clarinetist Luis Humberto Ramos, to whom the piece was dedicated. It is a work articulated in two contrasting sections: the first calls to mind the medieval form of the madrigal with the use of a single pedal and two voices, one superior and the other inferior, thus creating an illusion of polyphony within the instrument's monophonic possibilities. The second section, on the other hand, makes use of non-conventional fingerings to achieve different colours of the same note as well as to produce two or more sounds simultaneously. Lavista then re-elaborates this resource, for the piece's conclusion, in an organum, and so, achieves coherence and unity. Elegía (1962) by composer, Manuel de Elías (1939- ), is a piece in a single movement of lyrical nature in which there is a perceived motor impulse from beginning to end. In Imago (1977), the composer liberates the metric and delves deep into the use of technology external to the instrument, in this case the echo chamber, affecting the clarinet's sound. This device provokes in the listener an alternate perception of sounds from the direct source with other moments in which one can detect their reflection. Divertimento (1985) by composer, Gabriela Ortiz (1964- ) and dedicated to Luis Humberto Ramos, is a piece written in a single movement that retains a rhythmic preeminence and that has it's roots in popular music. Although this is one of her earliest compositions, it is possible to recognize -by the construction of phrases and her ample dynamic palette- an efficient combination of technique and intuition. The náhuatl legend of the 'five suns' is the background for the piece titled Macuiltonatiuh (2007), by the composer, Alejandro Colavita (1973- ). This composition was worked closely with the clarinetist, Javier Vinasco, to whom it was dedicated. Macuiltonatiuh is comprised of five continuous movements in a contemporary language that makes use of the extensive gamut of expressive resources in today's clarinet technique. It is possible to discern a search for timbres which, in turn, determine each movement's structure, as well as the overall form of the piece. It is a pursuit that initiates in the depths of the lowest register of the clarinet (shalomuo register) and slides, in continuous ascent, to the instrument's highest limits. Clamoreo (1991) for clarinet and magnetic tape, by the composer Víctor Rasgado (1959- ) is a fragment from his opera Anacleto Morones. Here, the composer carries out a timbrical exploration by combining an acoustic instrument with electronic sounds. It is written in a single movement in which the clarinet presents two motives that persist throughout the entire piece, thus reacting to the changes generated by the tape. Tres Epigramas (1999), for their part, are movements elaborated as independent and self-contained units in which one can appreciate the influences of serialism. The first and third were dedicated to Guido Arbonelli while the second was dedicated to José Luis Nieto Bustamante. Fernando Cataño (1928- ) wrote Llanuras and Ternura in 1957 and 2006, respectively. Both pieces are composed in a single movement in which the inspiration originates from a mystical search undertaken by the composer. Through contemplation, Cataño explores themes related to Mexico's religious syncretism. In these searches, the composer exalts mestizo spirituality within a nationalist frame, and so, demonstrates congruency throughout his pieces with the use of common elements present from his earliest compositions. Up to this point, Llanuras had remained unedited, while Ternura was composed especially for this project. In this recording both pieces make their first public appearance. Cuatro estudios (1975) by composer Jorge Córdoba (1953- ) have a didactic purpose insofar as they develop the musician's technical abilities while exploring different musical elements in each one of them. In the first, articulation works in function of the phrasing, in the second, rhythm is explore by combining measures in simple and compound time, the third fosters perfection of the legato technique, while the fourth contrasts with the previous one, by emphasizing the use of staccato notes. Javier Vinasco is currently one of the most distinguished clarinet players in Latin America. He devotes a significant amount of his work to the interpretation and diffusion of his continent's music, as can be appreciated in his recordings with Música de Cámara Latinoamericana and Cero Records. His warmth and depth of sound, his pure technique and his refined musicality have led diverse composers - among them, Diego Vega, Jesús Lara, Nathan Bounviri and Alejandro Colavita- to write pieces specifically for him. His presentations -including chamber concerts, soloist appearances with orchestral accompaniment, master classes and courses- have been received enthusiastically by critics and public alike in Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Panama, Italy, the United States, Canada and Japan. Javier holds a Bachelor's degree from Colombia's Universidad del Valle, perfectionism of clarinet studies from the Conservatorio Otorino Respighi in Italy, and his Master's from the UNAM in Mexico City. Throughout his musical career, Javier has studied with Emilio Montoya, Francesco Belli, Roberto Mantilla, and Luis Humberto Ramos.- Shop: odax
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La Valse
This CD is absolutely unique. It is the second CD by Oleg Pokhanovski performing on both violin and piano of the extremely challenging transcriptions of his own (please check here his first CD 'The Mirror Image'). By making this CD, Pokhanovski hopes to revive the lost traditions of the performing art of the past represented by such geniuses as Heifetz, Rachmaninoff, Horowitz, Milstein and others who had a great integrity and honesty in interpreting wonderful masterpieces of great composers, making people deeply appreciate music of various styles and genres. If you genuinely love music, the sound of violin, the genre of waltz, as well as pyrotechnical virtuosity on both instruments, you will enjoy this CD to a great extent. Many of these pieces are almost unplayable due to an extreme difficulty of violin and piano parts. At the same time all of them have an enormous musical value, an indescribable beauty. Making transcriptions for violin and piano, practicing and recording both parts, making music in such a unique way - this process of making a CD was breathtakingly amazing for the recording artist who found the best way for his self-expression. This CD is also a tribute to the greatest violinist Jascha Heifetz who was an amazing violin arranger. The artist of this CD believes that it is his duty to continue the very creative art of making new violin transcriptions following his great predecessors, Heifetz, Kreisler, Horowitz, Rachmaninoff and other masters of making transcriptions for their instrument. He strongly believes that these new violin works transcribed gained a new meaning with various enhanced colors and timbres, giving them great power and expression. As a Canadian music critic put it, 'Pokhanovski's high-energy performances are characterized by an unmistakeably genuine passion for the music. Urgent, serious and heartfelt - all words that aptly describe Oleg Pokhanovski's playing'- Shop: odax
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Kosmogonia
PIANO DIARIES OF A MUSICAL ALCHEMIST Every single composition on this CD represents a time capsule from my life. Each piece I played and recorded on a different piano, in a different city, and in a different period of my life. In all of the pieces I applied the method I call 'preparation in real time'-the personal performance practice I often use in my live performances. It implies using devices, easily movable objects, and different fingerings to temporarily shift the instrument's timbre from that of the piano to that of a harpsichord or clavichord. For instance, in Genesis (2009) and Kosmogonia (Cosmogony) (2005), following the proverb 'necessity is mother of invention,' I came up with a vibrating glove. When placed on the piano strings, the electromagnets stuffed into the glove's fingertips helped create the sostenuto-sounding strings, mockup flute sounds, and bass clarinet I needed. Mappa della Memoria, for acoustic baby grand piano, was recorded live during my recital at the Bogliasco Foundation in Genoa, Italy, where I held a composer's residency in 2004. Based on the eponymous work by the ingenious Italian visual artist Mario Fallini, the Memory Map is a fitting piece to start this album with. Like a traveler who retraces his own footsteps, Fallini draws his version of the iconic medieval allegory of memory, traditionally depicted as a portly matron in elaborate dress, by 'stitching' the titles of his own works in each fold of her sumptuous attire. Sonatina No.1 was composed in 1996 and recorded in 1997 on an upright piano after I rescued it from the local bar and somehow fit it into the kitchen of my studio apartment in Manhattan. I dedicated this piece to Morpho, a large, mysterious South American butterfly with iridescent wings who lives for only a day before being sealed for eternity into a pendant by a jewelry maker. Sonatina No.2 and Sonatina No.3 were composed in 2004 and recorded on an amplified Chinese-made baby grand piano I purchased at a liquidation sale at the San Francisco Opera. In the already-mentioned Genesis, I wondered what it sounded like when God went about making the world. During my college years, while sitting in the symphony orchestra and counting numerous empty bars in my harp parts, I entertained the idea of getting a job in a planetarium. I recalled that fantasy many years later in Kosmogonia, where I explore the ways to depict in sound the mindboggling theory of the ever-expanding universe. This album is dedicated to my dad, Dr. Vladimir Jordano MD. Victoria Jordanova Los Angeles, May 2012 Notes by Dean Suzuki Victoria Jordanova, an American composer born in Kragujevac, Serbia, is probably best known for her magnificent Requiem for Bosnia for broken piano, harp and child's voice. The current CD is her first for piano since the release of the Requiem in 1994. Unlike the Requiem, which exists only as a recording and cannot be performed live (the namesake broken piano no longer exists), Kosmogonia is comprised of works that can be performed in concert. Born in Serbia, a longtime San Francisco resident, and now living in Los Angeles, Jordanova's aesthetic forebears include West Coast American experimentalists and mavericks, Henry Cowell and John Cage. She is inspired by their innovative piano compositions, and especially by Cowell's 'string piano' (when performers bypass the piano's keyboard and play directly on the strings, variously plucking, strumming, rubbing and otherwise manipulating them), as well as his generous use of tone clusters, and Cage's 'prepared piano,' inspired by and extrapolated from Cowell's string piano, in which items such as screws, bolts, bits of rubber and other materials are inserted and wedged between the strings, thus dramatically transforming the instrument's timbre. It should be no surprise that other important influences on Jodanova include Krzysztof Penderecki and György Ligeti, both composers who experimented with and explored sound masses, unorthodox timbres, and unconventional musical textures and techniques. In an undergraduate class taught by composition professor Dr. Jere Hutcheson, Jodanova encountered Penderecki's Kosmogonia (1970) (a work that inspired her own work of the same title found on this CD), Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima (1960) and Ligeti's Atmospheres (1961). The music left her awestruck. Such inspiration is borne out when Jordanova states that she uses a computer and MIDI-instruments to compose, 'But whenever I really want to test an idea, only the piano will do. I open it, knock on it, touch every part of it, play it inside and out, amplify it to hear it's softest whispers, and present it with all kinds of toys and devices to coax every possible sound out of it. And it always gives back more than I expect, surprising me with new sounds and possibilities.' Jordanova's wide-open ears are on a never-ending quest for new sounds, timbres and sonorities. She says, 'Some of the best times of my life were spent with pianos. I have played many pianos in my life and I've never found one I didn't like. From the old upright, which never could be tuned properly, that I rescued from a local bar and worked on in my Manhattan apartment, to the one that fell down two flights of stairs in the French-American International School in San Francisco, which I used to record my Requiem-all gave me something unique. Sometimes I feel that there is more at play than a mere material object, as in the medieval concept of Anima mundi--a pure, ethereal spirit diffused throughout all nature that animates all matter in the same sense in which the soul was thought to animate the human.' She concludes with a rather cunning and insightful proposal: 'Maybe the piano participates in my compositions as much as I do.' In her Sonatina no. 1 for upright antique piano, Jordanova coaxes beautiful sounds from an instrument that would have horrified Chopin and would be considered beneath contempt by contemporary concert pianists (can one imagine Lang Lang performing on an upright piano, much less an antique one?). Instead of regarding the faults of the antique piano as shortcomings, she views them as opportunities for sonic exploration. Indeed, the Sonatina would be a completely different and much less successful work were it played on a pristine concert grand. Those familiar with the string piano and prepared piano, and with works by composers such as Stephen Scott who also use extended techniques on the instrument, including 'bowing' the strings (for example, strands of rosined nylon fishing line are threaded under the strings then drawn back and forth to excite the strings), will recognized the instrument as a piano, but may be bewildered by the manner of sound generation in Genesis and Kosmogonia. These compositions require a vibrating glove, in which small electromagnets are placed in the fingertips. Jordanova does not insert her hand in the glove to stroke or massage the strings. Rather, she uses the glove as a holder for the electromagnets, which are placed directly on the strings. Further manipulation, including use of the keyboard, sustain pedal and touching the string with the fingers, changes the overtone structure for the purpose of discovering new timbres and advancing the music. The amplification employed in several works on this CD is used only to precisely reveal the subtleties and nuances of the piano, rather than to increase power and volume. By running the sound from the microphone directly into the computer input, the normal recording studio problems of trying to accurately capture acoustic sound are circumvented. The amplification and recording techniques allow the listener to hear everything--harmonics, partials and other acoustic phenomena--in a way that would not be possible using traditional recording methods. As a result, one hears the music differently and in a way that enhances Jordanova's compositions and reveals her special gifts. Dean Suzuki Associate Professor of music- Shop: odax
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