George Crumb (1929-2022)
We are saddened to learn of the loss of George Crumb, who passed away on February 6, 2022 at the age of 92. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the…
Celebrating Mendelssohn’s Birthday with Piano Works
Celebrating Mendelssohn’s Birthday with Piano Recordings February 3rd is Felix Mendelssohn’s birthday. To celebrate, here are two reviews of recent recordings of piano music by the composer. Felix Mendelssohn Complete…
Michael Gielen Edition Vol. 10 (CD Review)
Michael Gielen Edition Volume 10: Music After 1945 SWR Sinfonieorchester, Michael Gielen conductor SWR 6xCD boxed set The tenth and final boxed set in SWR’s Michael Gielen Edition spotlights his…
Best of 2021: Rock/Adjacent
G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END! Godspeed You! Black Emperor Constellation Records As with their previous album Luciferan Towers, a published manifesto accompanied the release of Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s seventh…
Best of 2021: New/Experimental Recordings
Best New/Experimental Recordings Trio IX and Exercises Christian Wolff Trio Accanto Nicholas Hodges, piano; Marcus Weiss, saxophone; Christian Dierstein, percussion Wergo CD Three String Quartets Christian Wolff Quatuor Bozzini New…
Best of 2021: ECM Recordings
Parker Quartet; Kim Kashkashian, viola György Kurtág: Six moments musicaux; Officium breve Antonin Dvořák: String Quintet op. 97 ECM Records The Czech composer Antonin Dvořák (1844-1901) and Hungarian composer György…
Best of 2021: Recording of the Year
Number Pieces John Cage Apartment House Another Timbre 4XCD boxed set John Cage’s Number Pieces, late compositions (from 1987-1992) are given two designations, a number indicating the size of the…
Happy 80th Birthday Wadada Leo Smith!
Best of 2021 – Happy 80th Birthday Wadada Leo Smith! Wadada Leo Smith turns eighty today, and Sequenza 21 wishes him many more years of health, creative improvisation, and composing.…
Best of 2021 – Piano Music
William Byrd and John Bull The Visionaries of Piano Music Kit Armstrong, piano Deutsche Grammophon CD In The Visionaries of Piano Music, Kit Armstrong plays two of the greatest English…