Abe / Higdon - Contact - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Pianist Roberta Rust brings her own unique dynamism to the works of eight composers with whom she has had direct contact over the years. Dedicated to her late mother and step-daughter, this collection is as personal and touching as it is memorable for the broader audience. The album commences with Blues from George Rochberg's Carnival Music. This piece is true to it's name in style and form with the riffs and improvisations to prove it. Michael Anderson's Thirteen plus 4 and Sonata create a contemplative setting, where every tone cluster and arpeggio is connected to the next. Rust skillfully gives each phrase it's own story. Rust shares three selections from Leo Brouwer's Diez Bocetos. Moving from dark and mysterious to mischievous and experimental, the piece shows that after the darkness, light does emerge, leaving the listener on a hopeful plateau. In Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Lament, Rust pays close attention to structure, truly capturing the traditional yet experimental compositional style for which Zwilich is known. In Almeida Prado's Halley, all the forces of nature appear in this tonally-liberated work, likely influenced by the composer's studies with Messiaen and Boulanger. It is a voyage into the uncharted, but the finish is demure. In Phillip Evans' Suite 1945, the pianist graces us with a InchSarabandeInch and InchAria.Inch The composer's affinity for Bartok is evident in this piano composition that spans a breadth of emotions. His exquisite InchMinuettoInch is nuanced and precious and Rust gives it the delicate delivery it deserves. Thomas L. McKinley's Fantasy Pieces for Piano demonstrates Rust's ability to portray more rustic, raw themes in her performances. Concluding the album are three selections from John Sharpley's Four Preludes. Rust thrills her listener with suspense, the latter party holding on in anticipation of her every note and phrase. The New Y

With the 40th anniversary of the of Brian Eno's electronic ambient masterpiece Discreet Music Contact Ensemble, Toronto's polymorphous cutting edge ensemble, led by Jerry Pergolesi, weighs in with a mesmerizing realization that both pays homage to and extends beautifully the original's enduring experimentalism and influence.

With this program Yorick-Alexander Abel honors the unsurpassed cello legend Pau Casals who as a Catalan is mainly known under his Spanish name Pablo Casals. When at 97 years old Casals died in Puerto Rico he had made the cello as a solo instrument more popular than anyone else - and he had won worldwide respect and affection as UN ambassador for peace. Pau Casals was the son of a Catalan father and a Puerto-Rican mother. After World War II he went into exile in Puerto Rico. YorickAlexander Abel is the son of a German father and a Cuban mother with Catalan ancestors. It is more than the European-Creole ancestry that links Abel with the legendary Casals, it is also the conviction in the power of the spiritual message, and of course - as with all the cellists - the love for the music of Johann Sebastian Bach whose six suites for cello solo were recognized as the peak of cello literature due to Casals's celebrated performances and recordings. InchHommage à Pau CasalsInch is a journey between epochs and styles, a journey with many cross connections.