Nomi Epstein

Boston-based composer Nomi Epstein makes her debut on Another Timbre with this portrait album featuring three chamber works composed between 2011 and 2023. Influenced by the New York School, Fluxus, Pauline Oliveros's Sonic Meditations, and the Wandelweiser collective, Epstein has developed a distinctive compositional voice centered on sonic fragility and textural subtlety.

The album opens with the title piece shades, a 20-minute string quartet written specifically for Apartment House in 2023. The centerpiece is sounds for Berlin, a 2019 concert recording from the Vibrant Matters festival featuring an unconventional ensemble with voice, whistles, clarinet, violin, and prepared piano. The album concludes with Sextet, a 26-minute work from 2011 for clarinet, flute, violin, viola, cello, and piano, performed by Apartment House.

Dusted Magazine writes: "Epstein frequently employs synchronized or staggered glissandos to create a fluid, microtonal pitch space... The blurring of sliding duets, for the most part played slowly and relatively softly, creates an intriguing surface with considerable harmonic variation... There is a Cagean cast to the proceedings, not dissimilar to the elegiac, late number pieces."

Brian Olewnick observes: "Wonderful work... Conjuring up a sense of the world that feels quite real."

Epstein's music explores the intersection of John Cage's late aesthetic with Morton Feldman's contemplative approach, while maintaining its own distinct microtonal and harmonic language. Her scores reveal an unfailing attention to sonic fragility and structural elegance.