Maya Bennardo

'rustlings' is an album of two pieces written by Stockholm-based violinist and composer Maya Bennardo. One of the pieces, 'dormant gardens i' (2022), was written for and performed by andPlay, a duo of Bennardo on violin and Hannah Levinson on viola. The other, 'summer rustlings' (2024), is a solo violin piece performed by Bennardo.

Both pieces were inspired by Bennardo's move to Sweden from New York City, where she developed a new relationship with nature through walking. Her solo and compositional practices are deeply tied to the violin, with which she explores the acoustic nature and blossoming of three-note chords on string instruments. With a sense of serenity underlying the vibrant string sounds, the violin and viola convey a sharp, piercing clarity reminiscent of Nordic light. The music is permeated by the starkness and raw vitality of nature, devoid of sentimentality. Its refreshing purity borders on austerity, as does its powerful transparency, which culminates in a breathtaking moment when the sequence of sounds sculpts the silence with intense beauty near the end of 'summer rustlings'.