Roger Reynolds at 85, Vol 1: String Quartets
First recordings of Roger Reynolds's recent string quartets FLiGHT (2012-16) and not forgotten (2007-10), by the JACK Quartet under the composer's supervision. First of two volumes marking his 85th birthday.
Memory in Motion: Percussion in Surround
Five works for six or four percussionists in surround sound: Xenakis's Persephassa, Mâche's Aera, Zihua Tan's Sorites and two pieces by Alcides Lanza, played by the Music in Motion Ensemble directed by Aiyun Huang.
Tabula Rasa
The 1984 ECM album Tabula Rasa was the vehicle that introduced the revolutionary music of Arvo Pärt to audiences outside Eastern Europe and initiated what was to become one of the most extraordinary musical careers of the late 20th century. Like many…
Whispers Out Of Time
Three first recordings of orchestral works by Roger Reynolds: Symphony[Myths] with the Tokyo Philharmonic and Kotaro Sato, Whispers Out of Time with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony and Edwin London, and Symphony[Vertigo] with the La Jolla Symphony and…
Complete Music with Saxophones
Twenty-four tracks of saxophone music by Henry Cowell and Percy Grainger, many of them first recordings, for saxophone ensembles, piano and orchestra, directed and played by Ulrich Krieger with guest ensembles and the Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra.
Señales
Five first recordings of chamber works by Hilda Paredes, written between 1995 and 2013: Señales with Irvine Arditti and Ensemble Signal, solo pieces for piano and for bass clarinet, and two works played by ensemble recherche.
On the Edges
Three works for large chamber ensemble by Hamburg-based composer Gerald Eckert, who conducts ensemble reflexion K in music that works on the edges of sound, between near silence and explosion.
The Works for Percussion 3
John Cage's works for solo percussionist played by D'Arcy Philip Gray: Child of Tree, Branches, One⁴ and three versions of c/Composed Improvisation, volume 3 of the Mode percussion series (Cage Edition 50).
Panorama of American Piano Music
Four-CD survey of American piano music from 1911 to 1991: 62 works by 48 composers, from Ives and Antheil to Zappa, including seven first recordings, played by Yvar Mikhashoff.
Afterglow
Six chamber works by Keeril Makan performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble and pianist Cory Smythe, including Mercury Songbirds, Afterglow for solo piano and Mu for prepared violin played by Erik Carlson.
Zwei Gefühle and Solo Works
Helmut Lachenmann performs with and supervises Ensemble Signal in Zwei Gefühle, Musik mit Leonardo for speaker and ensemble, and plays three of his own piano works, recorded after a four-concert tour of the programme.
Songs Of Innocence & Experience
The first complete recording of Walter Zimmermann's string quartets by the Sonar Quartett, with Songs of Innocence & Experience after William Blake, Festina Lente and Fränkische Tänze, plus solo works for violin and for viola with voice.
The Works for Percussion 2
John Cage's early percussion chamber works from 1935-1942, including the three Constructions, Trio, Quartet and Living Room Music, played by Third Coast Percussion, with the first movement of Living Room Music recorded in the Ford House.
Songbirdsongs
First CD recording of Songbirdsongs by John Luther Adams, a cycle for piccolos, ocarinas, flutes and percussion based on real bird songs, with Callithumpian Consort, plus Strange Birds Passing.
Undersong
Jason Eckardt's Undersong cycle, built around Laura Mullen's text, with A way [tracing], 16, Aperture and The Distance (This), played by Fred Sherry, Claire Chase, Tony Arnold and the International Contemporary Ensemble under Steven Schick.
Signs, Games and Messages
The first complete recording of György Kurtág's 24 Signs, Games and Messages for solo viola, with first recordings of four further viola pieces, played by Maurizio Barbetti with baritone Gianpiero Ruggeri.
The Works for Percussion I
The complete Imaginary Landscapes 1-5 and Credo in US by John Cage, with radios, phonograph records and percussion, played by Percussion Group Cincinnati in the first volume of the Mode Cage percussion works.
Bolt From The Blue - Music For Piano & Voices
Thirty-seven miniatures by Howard Skempton, interleaving solo piano pieces played by Daniel Becker with choral settings of Mary Webb, Edward Thomas, Emerson and others sung by EXAUDI under James Weeks; several are first recordings.
The Works For Saxophone 3 & 4
Two CDs of John Cage works for saxophones and other instruments, played by Ulrich Krieger and Intersax, including the only available recording of Party Pieces, written with Cowell, Harrison and Thomson.
Maim (Water)
Chaya Czernowin's Maim (Water), a 50-minute orchestral triptych with five soloists (tubax, oboe and musette, piano and harpsichord, guitars, viola) and live electronics, played by the Konzerthausorchester Berlin under Johannes Kalitzke.