Second Inversion’s Top 10 Albums of 2019

Posted on December 30, 2019 by maestrobeats

Cheers to another year of new and adventurous music on Second Inversion! As we enter a new decade of musical innovation, we’re taking a look back at some of our favorite albums from 2019. From desert soundscapes to homemade synthesizers, microtonal instruments to music of Haiti, our list celebrates new sounds within and far beyond the classical genre.

Qasim Naqvi: Teenages (Erased Tapes)

After spending two years building his own modular synthesizer, watching its growth, and getting to know its quirks, Qasim Naqvi came forward with Teenages, an album that can’t help but sound like nothing else that came out this year. Played entirely on Naqvi’s synthesizer, the album feels both retro and incredibly forward-thinking—digital and analog. Throughout the album, Naqvi’s compositions build on each other and progressively chart the growth of his machine, making for a one-of-a-kind experience that deserves repeated listens. – Peter Tracy

Learn more in Peter’s album review.

John Luther Adams: Become Desert (Cantaloupe Music)
Seattle Symphony; Ludovic Morlot, conductor

“Sparkle” and “shimmer” are two words that come to mind when I think of this piece. While the GRAMMY- and Pultizer-winning Become Ocean is Adams’ musical expression of a deep, creepy world with which he’s largely unfamiliar, Become Desert is a love song to a landscape that he’s lived in for ages. Like Ocean, Desert progresses imperceptibly. It’s similarly immersive—you are the environment for the duration of the music. But instead of being ominous and heavy, you’re ancient and light and vast.
– Dacia Clay

Learn more in Dacia’s interview with the composer.

Meara O’Reilly: Hockets for Two Voices (Cantaloupe Music)

In a world where the composer toolkit is constantly expanding, Meara O’Reilly’s new 10-minute album for two voices is refreshingly simple—at least in theory. Drawing on the rich history of hocketing across musical cultures, O’Reilly crafts a focused and entrancing addition to the canon, exploring not only the spatial relationships of sound but the very perception of music itself. Two voices (both sung by the composer) volley back and forth with incredible precision to craft melodies that circle and spin you straight into a sonic hypnosis. – Maggie Molloy

Nathalie Joachim: Fanm d’Ayiti (New Amsterdam)
Nathalie Joachim, flute and electronics; Spektral Quartet

The music of singer, flutist, and composer Nathalie Joachim’s newest album draws on a long history, and not just from the classical tradition: Joachim was inspired by the music of her Haitian heritage on Fanm d’Ayiti, creating a beautiful blend of tuneful melodies sung in Haitian Creole with forward-thinking, colorful accompaniment. With help from the Chicago-based Spektral Quartet, Joachim weaves together flute, string quartet, voice, electronics, spoken passages from her grandmother, and advice from some legendary women of Haitian music to make for an album that celebrates the women of Haiti. – Peter Tracy

Learn more in Peter’s album review.

Julia Wolfe: Fire in My Mouth (Decca Gold)
New York Philharmonic; The Crossing; Young People’s Chorus of New York City

146 people—most of them young immigrant women—perished in the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. The same number of vocalists are called for in Julia Wolfe’s harrowing oratorio on the tragedy. Weaving together texts from protest chants, courtroom testimonials, Yiddish and Italian folk songs, and the oral histories of garment workers on the Lower East Side, Wolfe tells a larger story of immigration, labor, and activism in New York City. A heaving, machinelike orchestra rumbles and churns under the voices of young girls and women, painting a scorching image of the workers whose sacrifice changed U.S. history. – Maggie Molloy

William Brittelle: Spiritual America (New Amsterdam and Nonesuch)
Wye Oak; Metropolis Ensemble; Brooklyn Youth Chorus

There’s a visceral nostalgia seeping through William Brittelle’s Spiritual America, a collection of art songs that reconcile the composer’s conservative Christian upbringing with his adult life as an agnostic Buddhist. But the album is as much about questioning musical traditions as it is about questioning religion. Brittelle’s inimitable blend of chamber pop forms a shape-shifting sonic collage: ripped edges, buzzing synthesizers, melodies that echo, morph, and transform in an instant—like a rush of memories overwhelming the senses. Indie rock duo Wye Oak performs alongside Metropolis Ensemble and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus in this kaleidoscopic exploration of spirituality and sound. – Maggie Molloy

Harry Partch: Sonata Dementia (Bridge Records)
PARTCH Ensemble

This was my introduction to the world of composer/inventor Harry Partch, and I’m so glad that it was. Sonata Dementia is the ensemble PARTCH’s third volume of Partch’s music (the first volumes won Grammy nominations and awards respectively), and it’s got everything: music Partch wrote for Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan to play, music from the road and from isolation, movie music, plus one demented, kind of hilarious sonata. I was completely fascinated the minute I hit “play” and feel like I now know a secret handshake. – Dacia Clay

Learn more in Dacia’s interview with the PARTCH Ensemble’s John Schneider.

Daniel Wohl: État (New Amsterdam and Nonesuch)

The line between human and computer begins to blur in Daniel Wohl’s État, a collection of cinematic works blending the nuance of classical composition with immersive electronic production. Texture is paramount: coarse strings, layered synths, delicate creaks and clicks balanced against colors that melt into one another, engulfing the listener in warm washes of sound. Melodies soften and evaporate, harmonies evolve and change shape, and the music ebbs and flows through moments of restless momentum and profound near-silence. – Maggie Molloy

Iceland Symphony Orchestra: Concurrence (Sono Luminus)
Iceland Symphony Orchestra; Daníel Bjarnason, conductor

Though small in size, Iceland is home to some of the most celebrated and innovative new music coming out today. In their newest album, conductor Daníel Bjarnason and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra showcase some of what makes contemporary Icelandic classical music so interesting, with pieces by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Haukur Tómasson, María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, and Páll Ragnar Pálsson. Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson and cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir get their moment in the spotlight with Tómasson’s intricate Second Piano Concerto and Pálsson’s award-winning, hauntingly atmospheric Quake, which ends the album by reflecting on the natural processes of these composers’ native country. – Peter Tracy

Caleb Burhans: Past Lives (Cantaloupe Music)

All of these pieces paying tribute to dead friends and colleagues and dealing with grief and addiction could add up to something depressive. But instead, composer Caleb Burhans is deeply and beautifully (and thankfully for us) alive on this album with pieces dedicated to artists like Jóhann Jóhannsson, Matt Marks, and Jason Molina. Burhans has said that composing has been incredibly hard since he’s become sober, but here he’s taken a broken heart and turned it into art. – Dacia Clay

Learn more in Dacia’s interview with the composer.

ALBUM REVIEW: A O R T A from Vicky Chow

Posted on December 12, 2016 by maestrobeats

by Seth Tompkins

Pianist Vicky Chow’s recent release A O R T A is above all else a triumph of curation. Chow’s performance, the editing, and the mixing are all laudable as well, but the real story of this album is the strength of the playlist and its presentation. A O R T A is a rare instance of an album in which the delivery of the audio itself contributes to the artistic goals of the project in a meaningful way.

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Even before the music begins, curatorial strength shapes the album. A O R T A is packaged with only minimal notes and there is no explanation of the project’s genesis nor discussion of the artists involved or their biographies. While this may initially appear to be a simple stylistic choice in favor of minimalist packaging, after listening it is apparent that this lack of detail is, in actual fact, a bold statement about how well the music on this release hangs together. The lack of notes seen on A O R T A would diminish other albums, but in this instance, the dearth of information makes this release stronger. It is a symbol of how well-designed the album is as a whole, letting the music and its curation stand on their own.

However, if you are curious, a more detailed explanation of the release is available here.

Musically, the supreme design of A O R T A takes the shape of remarkable continuity between the first three tracks. These tracks, which encompass Christopher Cerrone’s Hoyt-Schermerhorn, Jacob Cooper’s Clifton Gates, and the first movement of Jakub Ciupinski’s Morning Tale, all for piano and electronics, flow seamlessly from each into the next. That is not to say that these pieces are continuous or homogenous; upon closer listening these tracks each yield interesting features deserving of investigation and fascination.

These first three pieces make up the programmatic section of the release. All three, while they do have their own individual characters, are touching meditations on real-world human experiences ranging from the concrete to the notional.

The smoothness with which the initial three tracks flow from one to the next is a perfect aperitif for the rest of A O R T A. Only when the second movement of Morning Tale arrives does this CD begin to deliver sequential sounds juxtaposed in a manner that obviously marks the beginning of a new track. This slight shift marks a turning point in this release; this is the point after which more surprising and disparate sounds can be expected.

Those disparate sounds take the shape of Molly Joyce’s Rave, and Daniel Wohl’s Limbs and Bones, all three of which explore different facets of the interaction of live piano with electronic sound. While these heady tracks are distinctly different from the first three pieces, they somehow fit together into the larger arc of this album. This continuity of artistic trajectory is further evidence of expert curation. These pieces, in this order, tell a story that is in and of itself a work of art.

Finally, A O R T A ends with Vick(i/y), by Andy Akiho. While the preceding six pieces lean toward the atmospheric, Vick(i/y) has a completely different character that trends toward immediacy. This piece was written for Vicky Chow (as well as for Vicki Ray – hence the title) and is the only piece on this release that is NOT for piano and electronics. Vick(i/y) is for prepared piano. Additionally, while the preceding pieces on A O R T A tend to individually remain within one or two sound areas, Vick(i/y) is a veritable symphony within a prepared piano. The extended range of sounds, combined with Chow’s presumed heightened intimacy with this music (which was written with her in mind), result in a piece that acts an exclamation mark. Vick(i/y) is Chow’s indelible signature at the end of an already markedly individualistic album.

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Even though A O R T A cycles through an expansive of range sounds and expressive modes, this disc never loses sight of the instrument at its center. Every bit of this music is completely focused on the piano, with all sounds either produced by or strongly referring to the instrument. Also always in sight here are the composers who inspired much of this music. Pieces on this album explicitly reference John Adams and John Cage while slightly more covertly recalling the music of Steve Reich, Erik Satie, and Thom Yorke.

A O R T A is packed with smart, fully-conscious music that is quite aware of the giants upon whose shoulders it stands. This awareness of the past, combined with bold steps toward the future and omnipresent consummate curation, results in a well-balanced and highly interesting release that is at once calming, stimulating, and invigorating.

STAFF PICKS: Friday Faves

Posted on August 12, 2016 by maestrobeats

Second Inversion hosts share a favorite selection from this Friday’s playlist. Tune in during the indicated hours below on Friday, August 12 to hear these pieces. In the meantime, you’ll hear other great new and unusual music from all corners of the classical genre 24/7!

Daniel Wohl: 323 (Transit) on New Amsterdam Records

Like so much of what we play on Second Inversion, “323” by Daniel Wohl is difficult to categorize. It’s an exuberant piece full of interesting sounds, found noises, and jangly percussion that I’m fairly sure is pots and pans yet the overall feel of the piece can be summed up with the word “radiant.” It’s music that pulsates and cuts into your tympanic membrane with its soft edges. “323” is like if drone and a junkyard gave birth to… a solar system? It’s confusing, but it is a bold confusion that truly works and inspires. – Rachele Hales

Tune in to Second Inversion in the 1pm hour today to hear this recording.

Darcy James Argue: Phobos (Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society) on New Amsterdam Records

If you’re someone who is immersed in (small ‘c’) classical music most or all of the time, it can be refreshing (and necessary) to bend your ears on something that really challenges you to think about what makes music “classical.” Where are the boundaries of the art form? Darcy James Argue’s track Phobos can help you grapple with (if not answer) these questions. This is first and foremost jazz, but it has so many elements more closely associated with other types of music that it really forces listeners to ask themselves some tough questions (if they are insistent on classifying the music at all!). Among the shades of minimalism and post-rock, those big-band “jazz” chords begin to sound like tone clusters… Listen to the barriers fall! Wonderful! – Seth Tompkins

Tune in to Second Inversion in the 4pm hour today to hear this recording.

Missy Mazzoli: Vespers for a New Dark Age (Victoire, Lorna Dune, and Glenn Kotche) on New Amsterdam Records

The Western classical music tradition as we know it began in the Church. And both the Church and the Western classical music tradition have historically excluded women from positions of power and authority.

Which is a big part of what makes composer Missy Mazzoli’s 30-minute masterwork Vespers for a New Dark Age so striking, so liberating, and—for lack of a better word—so brilliant. Performed with her all-female new age art pop ensemble Victoire, electro keyboardist Lorna Dune, and rock drummer Glenn Kotche, the piece reimagines the traditional vespers prayer service in the modern age, replacing the customary sacred verses with the haunting and elegant poetry of Matthew Zapruder.

The result is a 21^st century version of the vespers service which explores the intersection of our modern technological age with the old-fashioned formality of religious services. Oh, and I guess it could also be heard as a feminist assertion of women’s immense (and too often forgotten) contributions to the classical music tradition. – Maggie Molloy

Tune in to Second Inversion in the 6pm hour today to hear this recording.

Kevin Puts: River’s Rush (Marin Alsop, Peabody Symphony Orchestra) on NAXOS Records

With its churning arpeggios and big, muscular orchestration, this piece reminds me of hurtling down the Salmon River in Idaho on a whitewater rafting trip. The tremendous excitement that the opening music generates is matched by the beauty of a lushly-orchestrated, flowing middle section. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his opera Silent Night, Puts is known for his flute and piano concertos and four symphonies, but this stand-alone work might be my new favorite. – Geoffrey Larson

Tune in to Second Inversion in the 9pm hour today to hear this recording.

ALBUM REVIEW: “Holographic” by Daniel Wohl

Posted on March 7, 2016 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

In the realm of contemporary classical, the line between acoustic and electronic is sometimes blurred. In the realm of L.A.-based composer Daniel Wohl, that line simply does not exist.

Photo by Nathan Lee Bush

Wohl’s newest release, titled “Holographic,” bends the rules of light and sound altogether, creating a new dimension in art and music. Released on New Amsterdam Records, the album blends electronic elements with the musical talents of the Mivos Quartet, Mantra Percussion, the Bang on a Can All Stars, Iktus Percussion, Olga Bell (of Dirty Projectors), and Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw (of Roomful of Teeth). Not a bad roster for an electro-classical experiment.

The album begins with “Replicate,” a dense two-movement tapestry of sound featuring Iktus Percussion and a whole lot of electronics. Pitched percussion figures circle above a two-note drone, creating a warm, tranquil sound world that slowly builds in density as the piece progresses. The first movement is liquid, like echoes rippling across an ocean of sound—but the second movement picks up the pace, transforming into a chaotic wind tunnel of machines clinking, glass breaking, foghorns blasting, and electronics oscillating.

Mivos Quartet and Mantra Percussion team up with Wohl to perform “Formless,” a five-minute musical soundscape which oscillates from ear to ear. The string players slither and slide through cyclical harmonies amidst a web of muted electronics and softly pulsing percussion, blurring the boundaries between acoustic and electric, man and machine.

The album’s title track is more kaleidoscopic in nature. Performed with the Bang on a Can All-Stars, the two part “Holographic” is a something of an aural illusion—it is filled with small clusters of musical material which distort and transform to create ever-changing colors, timbres, and musical textures. It’s no wonder the work was originally conceived as a multimedia piece (which, by the way, featured a synchronized visual component designed by artist Daniel Schwarz). And though the album doesn’t include any visuals, the piece is just as vivid without them.

In keeping with vibrant musical imagery, Wohl’s next piece on the album is perfectly titled “Pixelated.” Performed with Mantra Percussion, the piece sounds sort of like a cross between a winning slot machine and a bag full of brightly-colored bouncy balls flying off the walls. It is light, bright, colorful chaos, like spilling rainbow sprinkles all over the kitchen floor.

“Source” is slightly less frenzied, though every bit as striking. The wordless vocals of Olga Bell and Caroline Shaw flow in and out of focus in this eight-minute rumination on computer music and sampled sounds, as if ghosts in an eerie electronic landscape.

The album climaxes with the hyperactive “Progression,” a maverick mashup of unusual sonorities and even more unusual rhythms. The frantic strings of Mivos Quartet intertwine with the frenetic percussion of Mantra to create this fast-paced and fretful sound world.

The album ends with Wohl’s atmospheric “Shapes,” co-written with the L.A.-based experimental music outfit Lucky Dragons. Mivos Quartet’s transparent strings mingle with humming electronics in this ethereal meditation, immersing the listener in warm waves of sound.

And in these liquid musical moments, it’s difficult to tell exactly where one instrument ends and another begins. The beauty of this album is that with each piece, Wohl artfully erases the line between acoustic and electronic, creating three-dimensional, holographic sound worlds which engulf the listener in their textures, timbres, shapes, sounds, and of course, their shimmering colors.

HOLOGRAPHIC Cover