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“Traceur – American Music for Clarinet and Piano” = Works of ROBERT BEASER, JOSEPH SCHWANTNER, LUKAS FOSS, MARTI EPSTEIN, DEREK BERMEL & DAVID GOMPPER – Michael Norsworthy, clar. – New Focus

“Traceur – American Music for Clarinet and Piano” = Works of ROBERT BEASER, JOSEPH SCHWANTNER, LUKAS FOSS, MARTI EPSTEIN, DEREK BERMEL & DAVID GOMPPER – Michael Norsworthy, clar. – New Focus

by | Oct 31, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

An outstanding set of modern works played and recorded flawlessly. “Traceur – American Music for Clarinet and Piano” = ROBERT BEASER: Souvenirs; JOSEPH SCHWANTNER: Black Anemones; LUKAS FOSS: Three American Pieces; MARTI EPSTEIN: Nebraska Impromptu; DEREK BERMEL: SchiZm; DAVID GOMPPER: Traceur – Michael Norsworthy, clarinet/David Gompper, p. – New Focus Recordings FCR172, 68:47 [Distr. by Naxos] (8/12/16) *****: Michael Norsworthy is one of the country’s great clarinetists with a real feel for modern music and jazz-inflected works and with a tone quality and style that reminds me a bit of that of one of his main teachers, Richard Stoltzman.  Norsworthy is also a professor of clarinet at Berklee College in Boston and has done a lot of work pioneering new works for clarinet. His accompanist in this very fine set is David Gompper, who is also a composer and pianist who has also done a lot with modern music.  The opening work is also my favorite on this recording. Robert Beaser’s Souvenirs was originally written for piccolo and piano and are here presented in the composer’s transcription for clarinet and piano. They are a charming and very effective set of works that reflect destinations and people the composer has experienced and have a very nice, accessible somewhat […]

LARS GRAUGAARD: Venus – NYU Contemp. Music Ens. and other NYU performers – Dacapo

LARS GRAUGAARD: Venus – NYU Contemp. Music Ens. and other NYU performers – Dacapo

by | Feb 26, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

LARS GRAUGAARD: Venus – NYU Contemp. Music Ensemble; NYU Percussion Ens./ NYU Sym. Orch. / Jens Georg Bachmann & Jonathan Haas, conductors/ Patti Kilroy, violin/ Ian Shafer, oboe/ Patrick Swoboda, double bass – Dacapo multichannel SACD 6.220628, 58:52 (10/9/15) [Distr. by Naxos] ***: Contemporary computer-composed music in hi-res surround. The four works on this SACD by Lars Graugaard (b. 1957) were composed especially for the ensembles of New York University, in what is referred to as a “joint search for a new rich and varied musical discourse.” Endeavoring into the complex relationship between composition, perception and emotion, Graugaard uses a computer as a sophisticated performance vehicle and a compositional tool in scored and interactive music, creating a unique and radical sound experience. The composer’s experiments have led him to use software to create the emotional content of his compossions. Normally, I am skeptical of these experimental attempts to have computers create cogent music, but I think here the efforts are largely musical and successful. The first piece on the disc, Venus is interestingly scored, and to my ear it is an accessible piece of music. Layers of Earth is also highly listenable, starting with percussion and then turning contemplative and […]