June 2021 – Christian B. Carey

Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion (CD Review)

Caroline Shaw Sō Percussion, Dawn Upshaw, and Gilbert Kalish The Narrow Sea Nonesuch CD/DL Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion Let the Soil Play its Simple Part Nonesuch CD/DL The last live performance I saw before the pandemic hit New York was Caroline Shaw with Sō Percussion at Miller Theatre, which I wrote about for MusicalContinue reading “Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion (CD Review)”

Blue Gene Tyranny Boxed Set (CD Review)

“Blue” Gene Tyranny Degrees of Freedom Found Unseen Worlds 6XCD boxed set/digital Composer and pianist “Blue” Gene Tyranny passed away in December 2020 of complications due to diabetes. The boxed set Degrees of Freedom Found, a generous six-CD compilation of tracks from 1963-2019, was already in the works and contains liner notes by Tyranny. Thus,Continue reading “Blue Gene Tyranny Boxed Set (CD Review)”

Sergio Merce, “En lugar de pensar” (CD Review”

Sergio Merce En lugar de pensar (Instead of thinking) Wandelweiser CD “The name of the album is about this feeling that I have. I believe that playing music is a non-cerebral thought form; thought in the sense of being a channel to see, to reveal, a channel that opens through intuition, observation and attention butContinue reading “Sergio Merce, “En lugar de pensar” (CD Review””

Ian Pace Plays Ferneyhough and Yeats (CD Review)

Brian Ferneyhough Complete Piano Music Ian Pace, piano (Ben Smith, piano on Sonata for Two Pianos) Metier CD Marc Yeats The Anatomy of Melancholy Ian Pace, piano Prima Facie CD Ian Pace is one of the finest interpreters of complex contemporary music currently active. Two recent recordings of music by British composers ofContinue reading “Ian Pace Plays Ferneyhough and Yeats (CD Review)”

Tania León Awarded Pulitzer Prize

Congratulations to Tania León for being awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her work Stride. The piece was commissioned and premiered by the New York Philharmonic as part of its Project 19 initiative, which marked the centenary of the 19th amendment with nineteen commissions from female composers. The Oregon Symphony shared in the commissioningContinue reading “Tania León Awarded Pulitzer Prize”

Chaya Czernowin’s Heart Chamber (DVD Review)

Chaya Czernowin Heart Chamber Naxos DVD Patrizia Ciofi, soprano; Dietrich Henschel, baritone; Noa Frenkel, contralto; Terry Wey, countertenor; Frauke Aulbert, vocal artist Deutsche Oper Berlin, Johannes Kalitzke, conductor Chaya Czernowin’s opera Heart Chamber deals with the emotional journey involved in navigating a relationship. It does so with large-scale forces; in addition to vocal soloists,Continue reading “Chaya Czernowin’s Heart Chamber (DVD Review)”