They utterly transform great Impressionist
masterpieces—and prove with passion that the torch lit by Debussy and Ravel burns brightly among living guitar composers. Gramophone says of Carlo, “...a
refreshing change.” Master guitarist Christopher Parkening praises Aaron: “He misses
nothing.”
“Alan Gampel plays these two contrasting but quite brilliantly conceived Sonatas in B minor with passion and intelligence... His poise, the control, dignity and fluency is captivating, as are these rich and voluminous notes cast by the Italian spruce soundboards that dominate a spacious and dry acoustic where the vibrant piano image has terrific solidity, presence and intensity,” says HiFi+.
The emotion, profundity and harmonic richness of these two stunning symphonies reach far beyond familiar American contemporaries like Copeland, Barber, Thomson, Piston, and Ives.
These Allanbrook pieces—one
honoring his fallen comrades in WWII, the other a luminous portrait of the four seasons—draw the listener in as powerfully as Stravinsky, Shostakovich, or Ravel.
This modern, melody-rich, harmonically mesmerizing sonata for French horn passionately explores the horn's enormous range of expression. Douglas's son John, a rising young horn virtuoso, turns in an extraordinarily sensitive reading- it's obvoius their musical bonds go far deeper than the score.
Marcus Raskin is a conservatory-trained pianist turned virtuoso improviser. His CD weaves drama, passion, and breathtaking lyricism into a suite of gripping tableaus of the Cold War. Raskin's performance echoes of Lizst's theatricality, Chopin's poetry and Rachmaninov's thunderous immediacy.
Playing classical sitar with pristine technique, Alif Laila sweeps the listener away with the new emotion, drama, and dynamics she brings to these centuries-old ragas. Tari, a world-renowned tabla master, frames her
sitar with beguiling percussion melodies, played with boggling dexterity
and heart-stopping expressiveness.
With only piano and drums, Larry and Paul break through to a breathtaking new place in music, a space where classical and improv and jazz become indistinguishable. Both volumes offer staggeringly lifelike recordings, so much so Fred Kaplan picked "The Powers of Two" as one of his "Ten Best of the Year".
“Russian mezzo-soprano Svetlana Furdui is obviously a passionate advocate for these songs, and she pours herself into them with complete conviction. She shapes them lovingly...” reports All Music Guide.
Svetlana is a powerful and dramatic mezzo soprano who has recorded with the Dallas Symphony and performed with more than 15 opera companies worldwide. She brought along Natalya Medvedovskaya, a young genius pianist-composer who’s one of the very few accompanists able to match Svetlana’s power and drama.
Drawing on Edith Wharton's most powerful novel, the opera is rich in melody, a vividly American transformation of the great Italian bel canto tradition. Two mikes captured the whole 45 piece orchestra and 5 singers. Beautifully sung and conducted, it offers the most natural space and presence of any opera CD.
Our memorable first classical release is a jewel-like cycle of lieder by an American composer of genius, Douglas Allanbrook. Imbuing the timeless lyrics with subtle passion ia an amazing young mezzo with a full contralto range. She's accompanied by a rich-sounding winds and strings chamber ensemble. The hall acoustics were perfect and only two mikes were needed to capture all the intricately blended beauty of voice, strings, clarinets, oboes, and gorgeous ambience.
