Staff & Community Picks: July 9

Posted on July 9, 2015 by maestrobeats

A weekly rundown of the music our staff and listeners are loving lately! Are you interested in contributing some thoughts on your favorite new music albums? Drop us a line!

Beautiful poetry set to song and accompanied by sensitive piano playing. A sparkling collection of delicate and dazzling art songs – it’s worth buying for “The Vineyard Songs” alone. – by Rachele Hales

Despite living principally in the familiar chamber ensemble world of piano, strings, and winds, “The South Shore” feels like a different place and time. Through extensive use of simple, pure modal scales and harmonies, composer Michael Vincent Waller is able to effortlessly conjure impressions of otherness, without pointing directly to any particular era or locale. While these miniatures are beautiful in their simplicity, they are by no means unsophisticated – Waller is clearly familiar with the chamber music language, and each instrument speaks strongly in its individuality, while remaining blissfully uncomplicated as a whole. Evocative, unfettered, and at times even bucolic, Waller’s music transports, and all this music asks of us is to come along for the ride. – by Sarah Anthony

DJing was Henrik’s his first love, having built a reputation at major events in the early nineties and working as a remixer for artists like Mary J. Blige and Coldplay. With genuine curiosity, Henrik simply wanted to see what his music would sound like for a body of classical instruments. It goes a bit deeper, literally, with the use of low woodwinds (bass flute, bass clarinet, and bassoon) to help replace the low electronic bass sounds and kick drums. Pulsing strings and percussion provide a rhythmic aura not unreminiscent of night club culture, like trance music for classical instruments. This music is coming to a dance club near you, I hope! – by Maggie Stapleton

ALBUM REVIEW: “Reorchestrations” by Hidden Orchestra

Posted on July 6, 2015 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

In this day and age, artists are constantly repurposing existing materials in new and creative ways. Reuse, rework, recycle, rethink, reconstruct, rebuild, or—if you’re a musician—remix. But multi-instrumentalist and composer Joe Acheson is interested in a lot more than just remixing—he’s interested in reorchestrating.

Acheson is the mastermind behind Hidden Orchestra, a solo studio project which synthesizes classical, electronic, and experimental music into multifaceted electroacoustic soundscapes. Hidden Orchestra utilizes all aspects of Acheson’s eclectic musical background: composing and performing classical music, DJing, producing, improvising, and playing in stylistically diverse bands and ensembles.

Though Acheson writes and produces all the music for Hidden Orchestra (in addition to playing bass), the live band also features Poppy Ackroyd on keyboard and violin, Tim Lane and Jamie Graham on drums, and numerous other live guests and recording artists.

Hidden Orchestra’s latest album, titled “Reorchestrations,” combines the delicate textures of classical with the beat-driven bass of electronica and the fearless musical exploration of avant-garde. Released on Denovali Records, the album uses works by classical, experimental, and folk musicians as source material which Acheson then intricately reworks with his signature composition and production techniques.

But unlike many remixes, Acheson’s “Reorchestrations” leaves each original track almost entirely intact. Instead of chopping up the originals and turning them into synth-heavy, bass-driven dance numbers, Acheson takes a more compositionally meticulous approach. He adds layers of rhythms and pitches which expand the musical textures and alter the harmonies of the original pieces, thus reinterpreting each work as a unique arrangement for his Hidden Orchestra.

The album begins with his reinterpretation of fellow labelmates Piano Interrupted’s delicate and dreamlike “Cross Hands.” He takes the duo’s electro-minimalist creation and infuses it with dynamic drum grooves, bouncy basslines, and bigger, broader sonic textures.

Next on the album is an imaginative reinvention of the Clarinet Factory’s snazzy, jazzy “5 Steps.” Acheson takes the circling minimalism of the original piece and propels it forward with double drumlines and denser musical textures, often disguising the original melodic motives in unexpected musical voices.

The third track on the album is a double-remix of another Denovali artist and fellow bandmate: Poppy Ackroyd. “Lyre Ground” features two of Ackroyd’s melodic, multi-tracked pieces transformed into a single soundscape, with added metallic drums and ambient field recordings giving her delicate, lyrical melodies an industrial tinge.

Folk harp and percussion duo Macmaster/Hay’s “Thograinn Thograinn” is next to be reorchestrated. Acheson gives a modern twist to the traditional Gaelic folk song, gradually transforming the warm vocals and rich rhythmic layers into an increasingly hypnotic and percussive sound world.

Hidden Orchestra collaborator and occasional live guest clarinetist Tomáš Dvořák (more commonly known by his stage name Floex) also appears on the album. Acheson reimagines his atmospheric “Saturnin Fire and the Restless Ocean” as an electro-orchestral dreamland.

Speaking of electroacoustic, Acheson’s reorchestration of Russian producer Long Arm’s vintage jazz-infused mashup “Sleep Key” is utterly dazzling. The mesmerizing musical texture samples everything from smooth vocals to sax solos and jazzy piano riffs over a sparkling drumline.

The album concludes with a Hidden Orchestra remix of the Liverpool band Kinetic Fallacy. The energetic, drum-driven electroacoustic track is aptly titled “The Revival,” possibly because Kinetic Fallacy disbanded before the remix was released.

But the title also serves another important purpose: it reminds us that as we continue pushing the boundaries of the classical music tradition, there is always room to revive, recreate, and reorchestrate the music that most inspires us.

ALBUM REVIEW: “The Bach/Gould Project”

Posted on June 29, 2015 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

Johann Sebastian Bach was a master of musical variations—so much so that even now, nearly 300 years later, his works continue to inspire new interpretations, adaptations, and arrangements by musicians from around the globe.

Among Bach’s most famous and most frequently reimagined works is his “Goldberg Variations.” Originally composed in 1741 for harpsichord, the piece consists of an aria and 30 variations. Over the years, the “Goldberg Variations” have inspired countless diverse arrangements, ranging from saxophones and double bass to marimba, prepared piano, jazz trio, synthesizer, and even double-necked electric guitar.

But despite all of these imaginative reinterpretations of the classic Baroque work, no one has ever created a fully realized four-voice arrangement of the “Goldberg Variations”—until now.

The Catalyst Quartet recently released their debut album, “The Bach/Gould Project,” which features the group’s own unique arrangement of the “Goldberg Variations” for string quartet. And in addition to this 45-minute masterpiece, the album also explores Bach’s lasting influence by featuring a one-movement work written by a world-renowned interpreter of Bach’s keyboard music: Canadian pianist and composer Glenn Gould.

The Catalyst Quartet’s arrangement of the “Goldberg Variations” combines Bach’s carefully-crafted counterpoint with the warmth, resonance, and timeless elegance of a string quartet. Comprised of violinists Karla Donehew-Perez and Jessie Montgomery, violist Paul Laraia, and cellist Karlos Rodriguez, the quartet’s polyphonic clarity, rhythmic verve, and graceful phrasing breathe new life into Bach’s classic work.

The string quartet arrangement allows each voice to shine through more sweetly and more whimsically than in the harpsichord arrangement, while still maintaining the original work’s complex counterpoint and multifaceted formal structure. Furthermore, the melodic ornamentation, musical imitation, and motivic interplay between voices sparkle in the quartet arrangement, creating a gorgeous and multidimensional musical texture.

Bach’s music is famous for its dense textures, complex counterpoint, and intricate harmonic and motivic organization. In fact, his music is so intellectually rigorous that some musicians have made an entire career out of specializing in Bach musical interpretation—and Gould is among them.

Gould’s 1955 piano recording of the “Goldberg Variations” is among the most famous renditions of the influential work—in fact, the recording turned him into an overnight piano sensation. But what many people don’t know is that during the years in which Gould was preparing to record the “Variations,” he was also composing a new string quartet. Thus, the second half of “The Bach/Gould Project” features a Catalyst Quartet performance of Gould’s 1956 composition String Quartet Op. 1.

The 35-minute work is written as a single long movement divided into five sections—and while some of its contrapuntal richness may have been inspired by Bach, for the most part the composition is far from Baroque. The Expressionist melodrama and dense musical textures are at times reminiscent of early Schoenberg, though the piece’s rich harmonies and lush lyricism also have clear ties to late German Romantics such as Strauss and Wagner.

The piece is darkly sumptuous; a bold contrast to the polished charm of the “Goldberg Variations.” But the Catalyst Quartet pulls off the dramatic mood change seamlessly, capturing the stormy and tempestuous character through their carefully-balanced contrapuntal dialogue.

The String Quartet ends with an extended fugue-like coda, bringing the album full circle back to its Baroque beginnings. And while the two works may be musical worlds apart, the Catalyst Quartet’s performance of both the “Goldberg Variations” and Gould’s String Quartet are pure gold.

ALBUM REVIEW: ZOFO Plays Terry Riley

Posted on June 22, 2015 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

With piano, the musical possibilities are so vast that sometimes your biggest limitation is the fact you only have two hands—which is why internationally acclaimed solo pianists Eva-Maria Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi teamed up to create ZOFO, a four-hand piano duo committed to performing contemporary classical music.

ZOFO, which is shorthand for 20-finger orchestra (ZO=20 and FO=finger orchestra), is one of only a handful of duos worldwide devoted exclusively to piano duets, and they are paving the way for other four-hand duos by focusing on 20^th and 21^st century repertoire and commissioning new works from celebrated contemporary composers.

Their latest musical project was in collaboration with one of the biggest names in contemporary classical: Terry Riley. Riley, who turns 80 years old this Wednesday, was one of the pioneers of minimalist music, alongside other influential American composers like La Monte Young, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass.

Minimalism began in the 1960s as a new musical approach which focused on observing the internal processes of the music rather than striving to reach a thematic or harmonic goal. Some of the prominent features of minimalism were consonant harmony, steady pulse, repetition, phasing, and gradual transformation.

But as all musicians know, minimalism is far from simple—as is evidenced by Riley’s beautifully complex piano music. For ZOFO’s latest project, they devoted an entire album to exploring Riley’s music for four-hand piano.

The album, titled “ZOFO Plays Terry Riley,” features the five pieces from Riley’s four-hand piano suite “The Heaven Ladder, Book 5,” a handful of four-hand piano arrangements of other Riley works, and one newly commissioned work written specifically for ZOFO.

The album is framed by the five pieces in “The Heaven Ladder, Book 5,” and ZOFO dances through the complex choreography of each with effortless grace and precision. First is “Etude from the Old Country,” a vibrant and adventurous four-handed braid of circling melodic motives.

Next is “Jaztine,” which was written for Riley’s foster child. The piece is full of childlike joy and curiosity—and it also illustrates a heightened sense of imagination; in his composer’s note, Riley described the piece as being “interrupted suddenly at one point by a heavily trodding march of elephants ceremoniously dressed in Thai raiments.” The piece is followed by “Tango Doble Ladiado,” a short, sweet, and spirited Latin American tango.

ZOFO completes the four-hand suite with “Waltz for Charismas” and “Cinco de Mayo” at the end of the album. Inspired by Schoenberg’s piano music, “Waltz for Charismas” explores a number of time signatures outside the typical waltz pattern of three beats per measure, creating a lively and multihued musical texture. ZOFO finishes the suite with “Cinco de Mayo,” dancing through the swirling Latin melodies with freedom and flair, exploring the keyboard’s full range of pitches, colors, and characters.

The album also features three four-hand arrangements of Riley’s other instrumental works, which Zimmermann and Nakagoshi arranged in collaboration with Riley. Nakagoshi created four-hand piano versions of two Riley string quartets. His arrangement of “Half-Wolf Dances Mad in Moonlight” is pure passion and poetry, while his arrangement of “G Song” captures all the warmth and lyricism of a string quartet with just a single piano keyboard. The four hands weave in and out of each other so seamlessly that it’s difficult to tell where one player’s hands end and the other’s begin.

“The challenge of playing piano-four-hands is that the space you have for yourself is limited,” Zimmermann said. “But if you work around each other in a graceful way, it actually does not need to be something negative. When we rehearse really well and intensively, I still feel free—completely free with my movements.”

Zimmermann’s arrangement of “Simone’s Lullaby” from Terry’s “The Heaven Ladder, Book 7” (originally written for solo piano) is a soft and delicate beauty, exploring the piano’s full range through twinkling melodies above a rich, warm bass accompaniment.

The final piece featured on the album is “Praying Mantis Rag,” a dazzling, jazz-infused four-hand piece commissioned by ZOFO. The piece highlights the duo’s playful charm and vibrant virtuosity through its lively ragtime rhythms and its glitzy, glamorous, and unapologetically jazzy character.

“ZOFO Plays Terry Riley” proves that the musical magic of piano extends far beyond a pianist’s 10 fingers. Through their exploration of Riley’s works, Zimmermann and Nakagoshi paint a vivid and colorful picture of the immense textural, timbral, and stylistic possibilities of piano duets. After all, it’s amazing what a pianist can do with an extra hand or two.

ALBUM REVIEW: Young American Inventions by Steven Ricks

Posted on June 15, 2015 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

America has always been a cultural melting pot, and throughout the 20^th century composers grappled with the idea of what it means to make specifically American music.

American composers like Charles Ives were inspired by Protestant hymns, patriotic songs, and parlor music, while others like George Gershwin were influenced by jazz and popular music. Henry Cowell and John Cage were inspired by all sounds, opening themselves up to “the whole world of music” (as Cowell famously stated). Still others like Steve Reich and Philip Glass preferred to strip down the vast musical possibilities and instead focus on observing the internal processes of the music through repetition, phasing, and gradual transformation.

So in a melting pot filled with such rich and diverse musical influences, how can any composer make truly American music? Composer Steven Ricks explores precisely this question in his new album, “Young American Inventions.”

The album combines several colorful strains of the American compositional tradition into a mashup of music as innovative, ambitious, and diverse as America itself. His musical influences range from modernism and minimalism to found sounds and strip mall culture. Each of the eight pieces on the 14-track album explores our conflicted relationship with technological affect and mainstream media, inviting the listener to consider fragments of our musical culture divorced from their original context.

Fittingly, the album begins with a mixed-up, mashed-up electroacoustic piece titled “Ten Short Musical Thoughts.” The musical thoughts are intentionally scatterbrained—Ricks presents a series of texturally diverse episodes garishly narrated by an automated voice with an untraceable accent. The result is a witty, mottled musical collage that transports the listener through a number of distinctive (and often unidentifiable) timbres and textures.

The piece is followed by the title track, a piano and electronics piece named after English composer Steve Martland’s “American Invention” and David Bowie’s “Young Americans.” From its pointillistic piano plinks and its echoing electronic waves to its straightforward drum samples and long stretches of near-silence, the piece is a conscious reflection on mashup culture. And in true 21^st century fashion, Ricks also includes a “Young American Inventions REMIX” later on in the album, recycling fragments of his original composition to create an entirely new work.

Next on the album is “Extended Play,” named after the “EP” records made popular by punk and indie bands in the 1970s. (EPs are longer than singles, but shorter than full studio albums.) The piece’s four distinct movements mimic the common four-track EP format while making musical nods to the funky jazz of Steely Dan, the circling piano motives of Steve Reich, and even the ethereal surrealism of Jefferson Airplane. The work is scored for the unusual instrumentation of saxophone, guitar, piano, percussion, and boom box. Yes, boom box.

The electroacoustic “Ossifying (Keeping us from…)” takes quite a different approach to music: inspired by John Cage’s philosophy, the piece aims to irritate, causing productive aural discomfort in order to “keep us from ossifying.” The piece is an eclectic amalgamation of sonic disturbances, ranging from bowed cardboard to stereophonic static to echoes in an indoor water park.

The only vocal work on the album, titled “Geometria Situs,” is a jumbled, jittery piece inspired by two photographs by Edward Burtynsky of highway and strip mall culture. Scored for mezzo-soprano, flute, recorders, trumpet, and piano, the piece is a poetic rumination on our banal existence in this crowded, crazy world.

The piece is followed by “Sounded along dove dōve,” an electroacoustic composition in which Ricks digitally manipulates the recorded speech of a poem written by Martin Corless-Smith. Fragments of speech flatten out into hums or are transformed into stutters and flurries, evoking some of the poem’s haunting maritime imagery.

Ricks again switches gears for “Waves/Particles,” a three-movement exploration of energy and matter through music. The piece transports the listener through a musical illustration of atomic structure, fully charged and ever-changing.

The album comes to a close with “Stilling,” a programmatic tone poem of sorts for solo piano. Based on the poem of the same name by Donald Revell, the piece is a surprisingly intimate ending to an intentionally chaotic album.

Within just over an hour, the album skitters and jitters through the history of recorded sound, exploring the furthest reaches of American sonic culture. And in the end, Ricks abandons the electronics, the remixes, the recordings, and even the boom boxes, and instead writes for a single instrument—translucent, ethereal, and unplugged.