Alex Mincek, "For Petr Kotik"

by Ted Gordon on Sept. 16, 2013, 11:40 a.m.

Earlier in the summer we reported on "the summer of Alex Mincek"; and in the beginning of the concert season, we're pleased to report that we have another new work availably by Mincek, "For Petr Kotik." Composed in dedication for Kotik, composer and leader of the S.E.M. Ensemble, this four-minute work for violin and piano finds striking commonalities between Mincek's and Kotik's aesthetics. Check out a sample here: 

New Works from Robert Beaser and Lee Hoiby

by Ted Gordon on Sept. 12, 2013, 11:40 a.m.

We're pleased to announce that we've just made two fantastic works available through PSNY: Robert Beaser's Souvenirs in a version for clarinet and piano, and Lee Hoiby's The Also Trio, for violin, clarinet and piano. Beaser's Souvenirs, completed in 2002, is a collection of six movements, each of which had been in the composer's mind throughout the 1990s and which were finally composed together in the fall of 2001. Commissioned by the National Flute Association, it was premiered in a version for piccolo and piano in 2002. The six movements range from Beaser's classic tropes of Americana and folk music to a reflection on the tragedies of September 11th, 2001. His Souvenirs offer a touching glimpse into Beaser's musical mind. Beaser arranged this work in a version for Clarinet and Piano, which has been recorded by the PRISM Quartet. Listen to their recording here: 

Lee Hoiby's The Also Trio for violin, clarinet, and piano was composed in 2006 for the Verdehr Trio, who have also recorded the work. Hoiby, who passed away in 2011, composed well into his later years, producing music with his trademark lyricism and melodic invention. The Also Trio is no exception to this trend within Hoiby's work. Listen to an excerpt here: 

Keeril Makan on Mode Records

by Ted Gordon on Sept. 9, 2013, 1:54 p.m.

Mode Records has released a much-awaited album of the music of Keeril Makan, performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble. The works recorded on this album are all available through PSNY-- as well as over a dozen other compositions by Makan, who was featured by this blog some short months ago. Check out a teaser that Mode has released for the new album: 

The album, titled Afterglow, contains recordings of Mercury Songbirds, Husk, Afterglow, Becoming Unknown, Mu, and After Forgetting. These works, ranging from solo piano to small ensemble, are linked together by their exploration of resonance-- acoustic, harmonic, spiritual-- of specific instruments and objects. Makan writes, "I pick up an instrument and poke it a bit, hoping it might tell me something useful — a squawk, a cry, anything." Jay Batzner's review in Sequenza 21 says it well: ICE is a "perfect fit" for Makan's music, resulting in an album of haunting beauty.