Sergey Kuryokhin was as fine a composer as he was an improvisor. The Divertissement Orchestra, led by violinist Ilya Ioff, reinterprets one of Kuryokhin’s finest compositions from his album The Sparrow Oratorium. Well-played, indeed. Alisa Ten: vocals [1, 2, 4] Vera Chekanova: vocals [2, 3, 4] Lidia Kovalenko: violin [1], Continue Reading
Classical
LENsemble Vilnius, Vykintas Baltakas – Horizons
The LENsemble Vilnius, conducted by Vykintas Baltakas, won my attention because of their astounding interpretation of their interpretation of Osvaldas Balakauskas‘ composition Rain for Cracow (1991) for violin and piano. A worthy release.
Ian Vine – Five Strings
Ian Vine, a composer out of the United Kingdom, provides us with a conceptual piece of classical music. From his Bandcamp site: “Recently I have written a series of pieces that are concerned in one way or another with the presentation of unique, and yet similar, events or objects. In Continue Reading
Svitlana Nianio – Transilvania Smile, 1994
Though the recording quality is not audiophile quality, this collection of theater music by Ukrainian singer and artist Svitlana Nianio documents the soundtrack to a theater project she was involved in at the time called Transilvania Smile. From her label Muscut Records’ Bandcamp site: “Svitlana Okhrimenko (artist name: Svitlana Nianio) Continue Reading
Girma Yifrashewa – My Strong Will
Girma Yifrashewa is a graduate of the Yared School of Music in Addis Ababa, and continued his studies at the Sofia State Conservatory of Music in Bulgaria. This new work of his combines Ethiopian instrumentation with classical music, and it blends together quite well.
Evgeny Masloboev – Clay. Thirteen Contemplations on Matter
Clay is the topic of the latest Fancy Records release by composer Evgeny Masloboev. The topic, as described by the artist, is a fascinating one, tied in with some incredible contemporary classical music. From the Fancy Records Bandcamp site: “Clay is a living mystic. This is the ever-dancing childhood of Continue Reading
Arturo Stalteri – Flowers 2
Italian progressive rock legend Arturo Stalteri presents a brand new album filled with interpretations of works by Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Sigur Rós and, surprisingly, King Crimson’s In The Court of the Crimson King done in sublime fashion.
Micah Frank & Chet Doxas – The Music of Hildegard von Bingen Part One
The combination of Micah Frank and Chet Doxas put a very different spin on the work of Saint Hildegard von Bingen. Instead of the deeply mystical Catholic music she is famous for, the duo, along with some impressive cohorts produce a rather filmic work which has the feel creating sound Continue Reading
William Ryan Fritch – Heavy EP
One of the great composers I have had the pleasure of reviewing is William Ryan Fritch. This EP is his latest, and these notes come from his latest EP via his Bandcamp site: “‘Heavy’, from composer William Ryan Fritch is a bombastic and ever-moving work that draws equally from the Continue Reading
Yury Markin – On a Large Scale
I have to give full credit to legendary multi-instrumentalist Arkady Shilkloper for making mention of Yury Markin’s album on his Facebook feed on which he appears. I’m familiar with how solid the Russian jazz/experimental record label Fancy Music is, and this latest release does not disappoint. From the label’s Bandcamp Continue Reading