Strauss / Geordiadis - Centenary Celebration - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Wagner / Georgiadis - Contemporaries of the Strauss Family [COMPACT DISCS] date 10/13/2017

Puerto Rico-born composer Roberto Sierra is internationally renowned for his integration of Caribbean music with the Western idioms he acquired during studies in Europe. The character of Kandinsky ranges from the intimate to the bold and virtuosic, responding with fresh and surprising impressions to a selection of Wassily Kandinsky's unique paintings. The 'Clarinet Sonata' explores the intricate swing of Caribbean mixed meters and instrumental colors in a work of stunning expressiveness and virtuosity. Sierra's longest chamber work to date, 'Treinta y tres formas de mirar un mismo objeto,' was composed for Cheryl Seltzer and Joel Sachs, and is also one of the most substantial works in the repertoire for two performers at a single piano. This recording was made possible in part by grants from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and Cornell University.

Signum's first album with Mexican composer Rodrigo Ruiz combines the composer's musical and literary passions in performances by world-class soloists Kerenza Peacock, Huw Watkins and Laura van der Heijden. Born in Tijuana, Mexico, Ruiz has attracted commissions from a number of artists, with both the opening Violin Sonata and 'A riveder le stelle' commissioned by Kerenza Peacock for this recording. The second work is a duo for violin and piano that is accompanied by poetic quotations from Canto XXXIV of Dante's Inferno. The booklet notes include an interview with the composer by Jessica Duchen, who describes how the programme Inchclearly shows Rodrigo´s roots in the traditions of Beethoven and Brahms, but with individual twists that clearly indicate we are in fact on new territoryInch.