Jensen Artists: Selected 2024 Albums for Year-End Roundup Consideration
Selected 2024 Albums for Year-End Roundup Consideration
Neave Trio: A Room of Her Own (Chandos)
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James Blachly, Experiential Orchestra, Curtis Stewart:
American Counterpoints (Bright Shiny Things)
GRAMMY Nominated for Best Classical Compendium
GRAMMY Nominated for Best Classical Instrumental Solo
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Maya Beiser x Terry Riley: In C (Islandia Music Records)
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David Crowell: Point / Cloud (Better Company Records)
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Sophia Jani: Six Pieces for Solo Violin (Squama Recordings)
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Elizabeth Chang: Sonatas & Myths (Bridge Records)
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Neave Trio: Rooted (Chandos)
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David Kaplan: New Dances of the League of David (New Focus Recordings)
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Charlotte Hu: Liszt: Metamorphosis (Pentatone)
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Tina Davidson: Barefoot (New Focus Recordings)
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Alex Sopp: The Hem & The Haw (Sono Luminus, CD)
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Simone Dinnerstein: The Eye is the First Circle (Supertrain Records)
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Kristin Lee: American Sketches (First Hand Records)
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Ethan Iverson: Playfair Sonatas (Urlicht AudioVisual)
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Neave Trio – A Room of Her Own | February 2, 2024 (Chandos Records)
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“[T]he four works by Chaminade, Tailleferre, Smyth, and Lili Boulanger, are well chosen, both for themselves and for the way they work with and against each other.” “Throughout, the string tone is the most beautiful I’ve heard in a long time.” – Roger Nichols, BBC Music Magazine
“Naturally the case for all four composers is strengthened by these illustrious performances: the Neave Trio delivers perceptively characterised interpretations that are by turns individual and blended, supported by a pleasingly warm recording.” – Joanne Talbot, The Strad
“The Neave Trio has obviously invested time and emotional commitment into these pieces, and the album was splendidly recorded at Potton Hall in Suffolk. A superior chamber music release.” – James Manheim, AllMusic
On the Neave Trio’s fifth from Chandos Records, A Room of Her Own, two generations of composers are represented: Cécile Chaminade and Ethel Smyth were born in 1857 and 1858 respectively, while Germaine Tailleferre and Lili Boulanger were born in 1892 and 1893. All four were in their early twenties when they composed the works on this album. Smyth had just begun composing in her late teens, and the Piano Trio is one of her earliest known works, while Chaminade and Boulanger had been writing prolifically from an early age; Boulanger died prematurely, at the age of twenty-four, and her piano trios were among her final compositions, while the longest-lived of these composers, Tailleferre, returned to revise her forgotten early trio in her mid-eighties. The early lives of these composers were shaped by varying levels of familial support and educational opportunity, and each had to contend – in different ways – with the gendered barriers that faced women in music throughout their lifetimes.
The Neave Trio says of the album, “By recording and performing these trios, we aim to celebrate the richness of their musical contributions and emphasize the importance of recognizing and promoting the works of wonderful composers who happened to be women.”
James Blachly, Experiential Orchestra, Curtis Stewart – American Counterpoints | March 1, 2024 (Bright Shiny Things)
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GRAMMY® Nominated for Best Classical Compendium
GRAMMY® Nominated for Best Classical Instrumental Solo
“American Counterpoints shines a much-deserved light on [Julia Perry and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor,] two important, and thankfully rediscovered, figures in American classical music.” – Thomas Huizenga, NPR Music
“[Julia Perry’s Violin Concerto] is a fine example of the sober yet seething angularity of its era, leavened with warm strings and hints of Coplandesque expansiveness.” – Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times
“It’s not often you can claim a CD offers true revelations, but that’s the case with this fascinating release featuring US violinist and composer Curtis Stewart.” “a disc of musical discoveries, conveyed in compelling performances and warm, close sound.” – David Kettle, The Strad
American Counterpoints is the first album released by Experiential Orchestra since their Grammy® Award in 2021, and is the co-creation of GRAMMY®-winning conductor James Blachly, and 4-time GRAMMY® nominated violinist and composer, Curtis Stewart. Featuring the first commercial recording of Julia Perry's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, the album asserts the central importance of composers Julia Perry and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson in American classical music, juxtaposing early and late works of both composers and interweaving their compositions with original music by Curtis Stewart.
Maya Beiser x Terry Riley – In C | April 5, 2024 (Islandia Records)
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“This album is a musical journey for mind and body — both a stimulant and a sedative. It offers many engaging stopovers, from an oasis of calm where the pulse evaporates, to Led Zeppelin-like headbanging reminiscent of ‘Kashmir,’" to moments where the cello loops interleave with the sweet delicacy of Vivaldi. If you have a spare hour to let this singular, hypnotic music wash over you, the world might just seem a little brighter.” – Tom Huizenga, NPR’s All Things Considered
“Listen as cellist, producer, and adventurous artist Maya Beiser, turns Terry Riley’s minimalist classic, “In C”, into a captivating soundscape with her cello. In her version, the open-scored page is transformed into a series of drones and live cello loops, along with contributions from two of her long-time collaborators, the drummers Shane Shanahan and Matt Kilmer.” – John Schaefer, New Sounds
“an ecstatic, hypnotic piece of minimalism with sacred overtones” – John Lewis, The Guardian
Maya Bieser recreates Terry Riley’s In C as a series of ever-evolving cello loops. Enveloped by live drumming by Shane Shanahan and Matt Kilmer, Maya constructs a hypnotic, rapturous soundscape that re-envisions this classic 1964 Minimalist masterpiece, marking its 60th anniversary. “To me,” Maya says, “Terry Riley’s In C is an amalgamation of an ‘open source’ and ‘sacred text.’ In creating this album I was interested in finding the serendipitous rhythmic and melodic connections that emerge when reconstructing In C’s 53 melodic cells as a series of cello loops, floating above continuous C string cello drones. The cello’s lowest, most lush string, with its overtones and harmonics, forms the depth and resonance of the album.”
Terry Riley describes Maya's performance on the recording as, “stunningly beautiful.” He says, “The overall shape flows so naturally and her cello sound is so warm and powerful.”
David Crowell – Point / Cloud | May 3, 2024 (Better Company Records)
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”The New York multi-instrumentalist, who has played with Philip Glass and Steve Reich, shows great flair for making minimalism rich and harmonically complex.” – John Lewis, The Guardian – Contemporary Album of the Month
Featured on New Releases, April 2024 – John Schaefer, WNYC’s New Sounds
“[O]n Point / Cloud, composer, saxophonist, guitarist, and producer David Crowell proves his expertise at creating nuanced landscapes of feeling,” – Jeremy Shatan, anEarful
Point / Cloud is The Guardian’s Contemporary Album of the Month, described as “music that glistens, sparkles and dances with joy.” The album features David Crowell’s music performed by the GRAMMY®-nominated Sandbox Percussion, the versatile and gifted guitarists Dan Lippel and GRAMMY®-nominated Mak Grgić, and the musically meditative duo eco|tonal – David Crowell and cellist/singer/improviser Iva Casián-Lakoš. The album’s four sonically intricate and imagery-laden works prompt the idea of embracing respite while on journeys of travel and change – from the familiarity of highway drives, to enigmatic excursions, to pipe organs played by the ocean’s tides, to reprieve from musical progressions.
Sophia Jani – Six Pieces for Solo Violin | May 17, 2024 (Squama Recordings)
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“[Y]ou’ll want to explore more of [Sophia Jani’s] compositions just as much as I do once you listen to [Teresa] Allgaier’s performance of these seemingly simple, but deceptively complicated, works.” – Craig Byrd, Cultural Attaché
“The music here draws on the entire history of solo violin music to create something out-of-time yet contemporary…it’s rare to encounter a new piece that feels timeless from the outset.” – Peter Magarsak, Bandcamp
Six Pieces for Solo Violin was composed by Sophia Jani and recorded by violinist Teresa Allgaier Jani composed Six Pieces for Solo Violin between 2020 and 2023, and with it challenges the notion of simplicity as a parameter, weaving a tapestry of gentle consonance that invites contemplation and honors the violin as an instrument.
Of Six Pieces, Jani says, “What I find interesting about the violin is that it has remained the same for a few hundred years and has not really evolved. The great important violin cycles (Bieber, Bach, Paganini, Isaye, Lang) were not so much a reaction to the development of the instrument itself – unlike the piano for example – but about what kind of music could be written on it and what the players should be able to do. So the repertoire developed more based on the tastes of a certain period and who wrote for whom than motivated by technical advancement. Teresa and I asked ourselves what our contribution as two women of the 21st century could be in this context.”
Elizabeth Chang – Sonatas & Myths | May 17, 2024 (Bridge Records)
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“[Elizabeth] Chang is fiercely invested in this recording and her playing reflects a true understanding of these works. For 66 minutes, she and [Stephen] Beck give you music that obviously inspired countless composers who followed these three gentlemen.” – Craig Byrd, Cultural Attaché
“[Elizabeth Chang] is blessed with a beautiful tone, has fascinating musical ideas and a technique to burn.” “[Y]ou’ll be inspired and thrilled by great musicians performing wonderful repertoire at the highest level. Very highly recommended. – Anthony Kershaw, Audiophilia
Recorded with Elizabeth Chang’s longtime collaborator pianist Steven Beck, Sonatas and Myths features a collection of three seminal works from the early 20th century – Karol Szymanowski’s Mythes: Trois Poèmes, Op. 30 from 1915; Ernst von Dohnányi’s Violin Sonata in C# Minor, Op. 21 from 1912; and Béla Bartók’s Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano from 1921.
Sonatas and Myths portrays the profound teacher/student relationships from Chang’s artistic heritage, reflecting the influences and deep cross-generational connections between these composers. She explains, “I trace my connection to these composers through Carl Flesch, the great violin pedagogue who taught two of my teachers (Max Rostal and Roman Totenberg) and who was saved from deportation to a concentration camp by Dohnányi.”
Neave Trio – Rooted | July 5, 2024 (Chandos Records)
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“The Neave Trio have a way of making me fall in love with every oft-overlooked chamber work they record. Their latest release is chock full of Czech romanticism with trios by Smetana and Suk, as well as lovely folk-inspired works from Coleridge-Taylor and Martin.” – Emma Bauchner, Have You Heard - August 2024, WQXR
“[T]he virtues predominate, and the album's high points remain longest in your heart.” “A collection well worth experiencing.” – Peter J. Rabinowitz, Gramophone
“Such an inspired programme not only has immense musical appeal but also works superbly to the trio's advantage in enabling the group to demonstrate its versatility.” – Ron Schepper, Textura
Rooted features a range of works centered around folk music Piano Trio, Op. 15 in G minor by Bedřich Smetana; Five Negro Melodies from Twenty-four Negro Melodies, Op. 59 No. 1, for Solo Piano by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor; Petit Trio, Op. 2 in C minor by Josef Suk; and Trio sur des mélodies populaires irlandaises (on Popular Irish Melodies) by Frank Martin.
Smetana’s distinctive nationalistic style was largely based on the inclusion of bohemian rhythmic and melodic elements, and he was acclaimed in his native Bohemia as the father of Czech music. His Trio in G minor was composed in 1855 as a response to the death of his four-year-old daughter and shows the influence of Liszt. Josef Suk was a favorite pupil of Antonin Dvořák’s, and his early Piano Trio, while shorter in length and less intense than Smetana’s, is embedded in that Czech tradition. Also deeply influenced by Dvořák, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was inspired by his African heritage, and his Twenty-Four Negro Melodies for Piano was a prime example of his research. He subsequently arranged five of these pieces into the suite for piano trio that we hear on this album. The album concludes with Frank Martin’s Trio from 1925, which is based on several well-known traditional Irish melodies.
Of the new album, the Neave Trio writes, “ Each composer drew deeply from their personal lives and cultural roots, creating musical stories that are both universal and intimate. Working on these pieces has inspired us to reflect on our own stories and how our roots shape us artistically and beyond.”
David Kaplan – New Dances of the League of David | July, 12, 2024 (New Focus Recordings)
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“It’s obvious that Kaplan has devoted much time, care and consideration to honoring each composer’s wishes, including Schumann himself.” – Jed Distler, Gramophone
“the whole point is [the commissions’] diversity; Kaplan champions them all with spirit.” – Richard Fairman, Financial Times
“On this splendid release, the LA-based [David Kaplan] presents the composer's Davidsbündlertänze but with a twist . .the result is a riveting portrait in twenty-eight parts, thirteen short pieces from the original alongside fifteen reimaginings.” – Ron Schepper, Textura
New Dances of the League of David features 15 new piano miniatures commissioned by David Kaplan between 2013 and 2015 from some of today’s leading American composers, interwoven with Robert Schumann’s Davidsbündlertanze, Op. 6. The commissioned composers are Augusta Read Thomas, Martin Bresnick, Michael Stephen Brown, Marcos Balter, Gabriel Kahane, Timo Andres, Andrew Norman, Han Lash, Michael Gandolfi, Ted Hearne, Samuel Carl Adams, Mark Carlson, Ryan Francis, Caroline Shaw, and Caleb Burhans. Schumann’s Davidsbündlertanze is a collection of 18 short works from the 1830s, which the composer described as dances of the “League of David,” a musical society he created consisting of both real and imagined members – including the fictional characters Florestan and Eusebius, representing the two extremes of his own personality. The collection was dedicated to Robert Schumann’s wife, the composer and pianist Clara Wieck Schumann, and a mazurka she composed serves as its point of departure.
Kaplan writes, “Literary meanings, multiple personalities, and the border between reality and imagination aside, the Davidsbündlertänze is in purely musical terms a masterwork of startling originality; its genre simply has no precedent. . . The Davidsbündlertänze innovate in the contradiction between their apparent disjointedness and their stealthy, mysterious unity: pieces in different keys, with different affects, characters, tempi, lengths, and forms play on the same essential motives, and coexist with unlikely apposition. In a way, the young Schumann had invented the mixtape.”
Charlotte Hu – Liszt: Metamorphosis | July 19, 2024 (Pentatone)
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“A splendid introduction to a talented pianist” – Peter J. Rabinowitz, Gramophone
“[The programme] showcases some truly beautiful piano playing.” – Patrick Rucker, International Piano
“The album is a real gem.” – Giorgio Koukl, EarRelevant
Charlotte Hu explores Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt’s chameleonic and evolving approach to composing – the metamorphosis of his music spanning from his early works inspired by Beethoven to the abstract tonality of his later works, as well as his incredible ability to transcribe and transform the music of other composers he admired.
Liszt: Metamorphosis includes Liszt’s Les jeux d'eau à la Villa d'Este (The Fountains of the Villa d’Este) from 1877; his Lieder Transcriptions of art songs by Schumann and Schubert from 1838 and 1848; Three Concert Études from 1845-49; and Rhapsodie espagnole (Spanish Rhapsody) from 1858.
With this album’s release, Charlotte Hu announces a metamorphosis of her own – a new name. She says, “When I came to America from Taiwan at the age of 14, my Chinese name was translated to Ching-Yun. Though musical sounding, the translation from Chinese did not reflect its origin. I've long felt the need to embrace my evolving identity. To better reflect this new direction, I have chosen Charlotte Hu as my new stage name. Having lived as Ching-Yun in the media for decades and through so many important life milestones, it was not an easy decision. However, with time, experience, and self-realization comes strength to embrace change. Charlotte, with French origins, means freedom. As a Taiwanese-American, Charlotte embodies the core of my personality and lifelong aspiration to have the courage to act, think, and speak without hindrance or restraint.”
Tina Davidson – Barefoot | July 26, 2024 (New Focus Recordings)
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“Each of the five works inhabits a single, intense emotion, which Davidson pursues with her own energy, like a life force, barely concealed beneath the surface.” – Laurence Vittes, Gramophon
“the depth of representation and feeling [on Barefoot] is remarkable – James Manheim, All Music
“[Tina Davidson’s] use of lyrical lines gives her compositions a singing quality.” – Giorgio Koukl, EarRelevant
The new album highlights five of Davidson’s chamber music pieces for varying combinations of strings and piano, composed over the past decade, including Tremble (2013) for violin, cello and piano; the title track Barefoot (2011) for violin, cello, viola, and piano; Wēpan (2014) for string quartet and piano; Hush (2017) for violin and piano; and Leap (2021) for violin, cello, viola, and piano. Barefoot features performances by the Jasper String Quartet (violinists J Freivogel and Karen Kim, violist Andrew Gonzalez, and cellist Rachel Henderson Freivogel) and pianist Natalie Zhu.
All of the works are deeply personal for Davidson. She explains in her note for the album: “I am a composer who writes about where I am at that moment. For years I composed about a sense of connectedness to something larger than myself. But in this decade of life, I find myself returning to quieter issues. I have softened and come home to myself.”
Alex Sopp – The Hem & The Haw | September 27, 2024 (New Amsterdam Records [Digital], Sono Luminus [CD])
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“a colorful and vibrant blend of 80’s electronic pop with a dreamy and ethereal presence. There’s a bit of a Kate Bush element to [title track, “The Hem & The Haw”], with a very colorful and cinematic soundscape that Sopp perfectly combines with her seductive vocals. – Will Oliver, We All Want Someone To Shout For
"[an] utterly seductive album of ten smart and sophisticated pop songs." – The Wire
Flutist, composer, vocalist, and visual artist Alex Sopp’s new album The Hem & The Haw is a collection of 10 songs written by Sopp in 2020 during the pandemic. She explains, “This album came to me in a fit of stillness. I had been moving so much and for so long that I forgot that my favorite thing to do is to just sit. Sitting in stillness involves watching, waiting, listening, and observing. . . I have been writing many secret songs for a long time now, always teasing at my inner world without fully letting it see the light of day. Over the years the desire to make my own music has grown alongside the desire to make my own artwork. Like most of the world, the events of 2020 left me with a fresh batch of time and that is when I wrote this particular group of songs.”
Sopp’s songs on The Hem & The Haw find depth in their playfulness. The vocal work and lyrical expression are beautifully decorated by a wide palette of acoustic and electronic timbres. Ah Said Rosita greets the listener with an evolving vocal wall of sound that grows in intensity with each repetition. The strong sense of grounding in North Pole in Summer melts into an open sonic landscape, where instruments bloom from the central chord progression like a Glassian labyrinth playing out in double time. Like a Vine grows out of a central pulse while myriad synthesizers follow the lyrics down winding and unpredictable paths.
This is Sopp’s first non-classical album featuring her own songs. Of the musical path that led her to this point, she says: “I’ve been so fortunate to have such a rich musical life. I started singing as a child in the Virgin Islands, and then for a while I transferred my singing voice solely to the flute – the kind of fierce focus one has to have while studying in a conservatory environment at Juilliard. My flute playing took me to play for several years as a guest with the New York Philharmonic, and much to my great luck I grew into my beautiful chamber music family The Knights. Living in New York in the mid-2000s, the music scene was full of curiosity and dialogue between classical musicians and rock bands and singer songwriters. It was during this time that yMusic formed. I started using my voice again with yMusic, when I found myself collaborating with artists such as Sufjan Stevens, Ben Folds, and Paul Simon. I provided backup vocals on several albums and found myself singing more and more in live contexts, performing major roles in theatrical productions requiring musical chameleonhood by composers like Gabriel Kahane and Chris Thile. My confidence grew!”
Simone Dinnerstein – The Eye is the First Circle | October 18, 2024 (Supertrain Records)
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GRAMMY®-nominated pianist Simone Dinnerstein released her new album, The Eye is the First Circle featuring iconic American composer Charles Ives’ Concord Sonata, on October 18, 2024 via Supertrain Records – timed to coincide with Ives’ 150th birthday on October 20. The new album is a live recording of the premiere of Dinnerstein’s multimedia production of the same title, at the Alexander Kasser Theater, Montclair State University, New Jersey on October 17, 2021. This recording is Dinnerstein's last to be released with her longtime recording partner, the late GRAMMY-winning producer Adam Abeshouse, who also produced her previous thirteen albums.
With her production The Eye is the First Circle, Simone Dinnerstein ventured into bold interdisciplinary artistic territory in collaboration with projection designer Laurie Olinder and lighting designer Davison Scandrett. Conceived and directed by Dinnerstein, the dynamic production deconstructs and collages elements from two iconic works of art – Simone’s father Simon Dinnerstein’s painting The Fulbright Triptych and Charles Ives’ Concord Sonata – and also incorporates ambient sounds of children playing, night sounds from the pond, and birdsong.
Dinnerstein explains the work further. She writes in the liner notes: “We tend to think of identity as taking us back to our roots, the part of us which remains essentially the same across time. In fact, identity is always a never-completed process of becoming – a process of shifting identifications, rather than a singular, complete, finished state of being. Ives’ music teems with invention, with the music that was all around him – art music and popular music – from which he, in turn, created his own distinctive and changing voice. . . This artistic project was a way in which I could ponder the process we’ve all been through – the accretion of experiences and influences that brought me to the place I was. It was an attempt to do what Emerson argued that we all want to do: to draw a new circle.”
Kristin Lee – American Sketches | November 15, 2024 (First Hand Records)
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“With a relaxed, in the groove, almost laissez-faire approach, violinist Kristin Lee and pianist Jeremy Ajani Jordan deliver renditions of these pieces that feel so natural and off-the-cuff as to almost sound improvised, which suits this type of music extremely well.” – Jean-Yves Duperron, Classical Music Sentinel
American Sketches is Kristin Lee’s debut full-length recording, due for release on November 15, 2024 via First Hand Records. A milestone for the internationally acclaimed soloist, educator, chamber musician, and artistic director, Lee is joined by pianists Jeremy Ajani Jordan and Jun Cho on the album, with Jordan also contributing arrangements of selected works. American Sketches reflects the distinct and recognizable sound of American music and its rich history, encompassing both Lee’s journey as an American, as well as the journeys of the composers she has selected.
A native of Seoul, Korea, she emigrated to the U.S. at the age of seven. During her childhood, playing the violin was a refuge from bullying and racism for Kristin – she moved to the U.S. not speaking any English, and felt the violin became her voice. As a foreign-born citizen of the U.S., Lee was compelled to select this repertoire to express her pride in the country she now calls her own, and has recorded works by American composers that have a distinct and recognizable sound of American music and its rich history.
American Sketches includes: Four Rags by John Novacek, Girl Crazy: But Not For Me (Arr. Jeremy Ajani Jordan, B. 1989) by George Gershwin, Lament (Arr. J.A. Jordan) by James Louis ‘J.J.’ Johnson, The Entertainer (Arr. J.A. Jordan) by Scott Joplin; Romance, Op. 23 by Amy Beach; Southland Sketches by Henry 'Harry' Thacker Burleigh non-poem 4 (Arr. for Violin and Piano, 2018) by Jonathan Ragonese Four Airs: IV. Air (Previously Called Aria) by Kevin Puts; Monk's Mood by Thelonious Monk.
Of what American Sketches means to her, Kristin Lee says:
“My inspiration for American Sketches lies in the celebration of differences. It is the differences of people, environment, and encounters that ignite our curiosity, fuel our motivation, and inspire our creativity. By accepting and appreciating these differences, we pave the way for changes to our society. Whilst adopting change is difficult for many people, it is a critical component in our ever-evolving world, particularly within the musical communities. The history of American music is a great example of this notion. From the Indigenous sounds of the Native Americans to the influences of Western Europe and Africa, the American sound merged and evolved into what we know as Ragtime, Appalachian Folk, Jazz, and so much more. The variety of musical styles represents the diverse culture of America, showcasing the beauty of individual expression and the celebration of American history.”
Ethan Iverson – Playfair Sonatas | November 15, 2024 (Urlicht AudioVisual)
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“[Playfair Sonatas] is a wonderful CD”; “an imaginative recording.” – Ken Talbot, Musicweb International
Playfair Sonatas, the new album from pianist, composer, and writer Ethan Iverson, features six sonatas composed by Iverson for six different instruments and piano, and recorded by Iverson with some of today’s most vibrant classical performers – violinist Miranda Cuckson; marimba player Makoto Nakura; clarinetist Carol McGonnell; trombonist Mike Lormand; saxophonist Taimur Sullivan; and trumpeter Tim Leopold.
Playfair Sonatas was born in 2020 during the pandemic, when Iverson met curator, producer, and frequent commissioner of new work Piers Playfair for a summertime outdoor dinner. Like most musicians that year, Iverson had downsized and was concerned about making a baseline income. He had recently moved and rented a smaller, cheaper studio, and when Playfair asked if there was anything he could help with, Iverson replied, “Yeah, I’d love to cover the studio rent for a few months.” The two agreed that in exchange for six months of rent, Iverson would write six sonatas, and that Playfair would be allowed to choose the instrumentation.
Iverson’s Playfair Sonatas showcases a signature approach: The sonatas intertwine 21st-century jazz gestures with the formal structures of Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn. While the outer movements are titled with traditional tempo indications (Allegro, Rondo, Scherzo, and similar), the middle movements of each work are dedicated to an artist whose work blended jazz and classical.