Shiv’a by Ayelet Rose Gottlieb

Inspired by Jewish and Buddhist traditions, Shiv’a reflects on the process of mourning. This instrumental composition by Ayelet Rose Gottlieb, is performed by a stellar group of musicians: the renowned string quartet known as ETHEL and percussionist Satoshi Takeishi.

Amy Williams: gripping music of broad gestures and arresting presence

Amy Williams is a composer of music that is “simultaneously demanding, rewarding and fascinating” (Buffalo News), “fresh, daring and incisive” (Fanfare). Her works have been presented at renowned international contemporary music venues, including the Thailand International Composition Festival, Ars Musica (Belgium), Gaudeamus Music Week (Netherlands), Luzerne Festival (Switzerland), Dresden New Music Days, Festival Aspekte (Austria), … Continue reading Amy Williams: gripping music of broad gestures and arresting presence

Sarah Nemtsov: modulations that tell something and lead through different rooms

Sarah Nemtsov (née Reuter) was born in Oldenburg, Germany in 1980. Her mother was the painter Elisabeth Naomi Reuter. In 1987, Nemtsov got her first music lessons, around the same time she began writing her first compositions. Between 1989 and 1993 she participated in numerous concerts and recordings of the REIL TRIO as a recorder … Continue reading Sarah Nemtsov: modulations that tell something and lead through different rooms

John Luther Adams : The Become Trilogy

Released in September 2020 on Cantaloupe Records, The Become Trilogy by John Luther Adams collects for the first time newly remastered versions of Become River, Become Ocean and Become Desert.  The Become Trilogy pays tribute to a magical partnership between Adams, conductor Ludovic Morlot and the renowned Seattle Symphony. As a whole, the music speaks both to the meditative solace of solitude, and the universally … Continue reading John Luther Adams : The Become Trilogy

Marti Epstein: more interested in the use of sounds as organizing musical materials than in melody or harmonic relationships

Marti Epstein (November 25, 1959) started studying composition in 1977 with Professor Robert Beadell at the University of Nebraska.  She has degrees from the University of Colorado and Boston University, and her principal teachers were Cecil Effinger, Charles Eakin, Joyce Mekeel, Bunita Marcus, and Bernard Rands.  Marti was a fellow in composition at the Tanglewood … Continue reading Marti Epstein: more interested in the use of sounds as organizing musical materials than in melody or harmonic relationships

Jeanne Artemis Strieder: Singing when it is not allowed to sing

Jeanne Artemis Strieder is a composer and artist. The purpose of her work is to create solace and compassion for the invisible suffering of the many and the few. The results are individual aural bodies that seek connection with those who experience darkness. The origins for her musical mind were found by her at an … Continue reading Jeanne Artemis Strieder: Singing when it is not allowed to sing

Hannah Lash: re-imagining traditional material in highly personal and also non-specific ways

Hannah Lash was born in Alfred, New York, USA on November 22, 1981. She began her studies in music during early childhood, and continued to pursue music throughout her education. She obtained a bachelor's degree in composition from the Eastman School of Music in 2004, a performance degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music in … Continue reading Hannah Lash: re-imagining traditional material in highly personal and also non-specific ways

Charley Patton

Charley Patton is generally considered the oldest Delta blues musician with his work surviving in over 50 recordings. Born some time between 1885 and 1891 he probably was playing around his country from the first decade of the 20th century until his death in 1934.  Son House knew him and played with him but was … Continue reading Charley Patton

Duke Ellington’s Black, Brown and Beige finally arrives

Black, Brown and Beige was at the time of its debut Ellington's most misunderstood and under appreciated work.  The 1943 Carnegie Hall Concert live recording presents the work in its only Ellington-led complete form.  But after the initial critical trashing of the work he performed it once more, and then removed it from his band's … Continue reading Duke Ellington’s Black, Brown and Beige finally arrives

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra is the world’s only year-round, professional ensemble re-creating “America’s Original Music” – the syncopated sounds of early musical theater, silent cinema, and vintage dance. The PRO came into being as the result of Rick Benjamin’s 1985 discovery of thousands of turn-of-the-century orchestra scores once belonging to Victrola recording star Arthur Pryor. … Continue reading The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra