Music » Classical Indie Music

Release Date: 2004-10-01, Audio CD, Collegium

By blending the peaceful sounds of the sea with seven delicate arrangements of Pachelbel's renowned Canon, Michael Maxwell has created a listening experience that is both majestic and tranquil. Instrumentation includes keyboards.

Osvaldo Golijov was born on December 5, 1960, in La Plata, Argentina, and now lives in Newton, Massachusetts. The score is dedicated "To the miracle of faith in Latin America, that lives through María Guinand and the Schola Cantorum de Caracas." Osvaldo Golijov grew up in an Eastern European Jewish household in La Plata, a provincial capital of half a million people about fifty kilometers from Buenos Aires in officially Catholic Argentina. While on a fellowship to the Tanglewood Festival, Golijov became acquainted personally with the Kronos Quartet, who performed there in 1990 and 1992. This relationship became a central one to Golijov’s ever-increasing profile as a composer. Golijov wrote K’vakarat, which the quartet later recorded, for Kronos and cantor Misha Alexandrovich, and in 1997 Kronos and clarinetist David Krakauer recorded Golijov’s Klezmer-accented The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind. When approaching the composer with the commission, Rilling encouraged Golijov draw upon his own experience—as a Jew living in an officially Catholic country; as an artist with an interest in a broadly eclectic range of style and media; as a Spanish-speaking composer of Eastern European parents, now living in the United States, and so on—in discovering a personal perspective on the twice-told (or rather four-times-told) story. The text of La Pasión Según San Marcos is composed of portions of The Gospel According to Mark, the Old Testament’s Psalms and Lamentations, and Spanish poetry. Golijov matches the pared-down, vox populi directness of St. Mark’s account in the directness of his musical idiom, particularly in his appropriation of popular Latin American folk and dance music. He uses these forms as models for individual numbers with the larger work, which itself shares much in common with the structures of the Passions of Bach. From the Steve Reichian pulsations of the opening bars, to the sultry rhythms accompanying Jesus’ betrayal to the other-worldly setting of the Kaddish (the Jewish prayer for the dead) with which the work concludes, Golijov’s score is vibrant with energy, exoticism and PASSION! ?This is the ONLY composer authorized recording with the original ensemble!?

Release Date: 1992-09-29, Audio CD, Telarc

Music for Inspiration is beautiful spacious music signed to facilitate a fresh perspective. The concept of inspiration takes many forms - a noble act, an exemplary life, a divine influence. Inspiration is also defined as the drawing in of breath. The re-arranged music of Gluck, Mozart, Beethoven, Borodin, Elgar, Mascagni, Satie, and Gershwin creates space for new ideas and expanded imagination. A sonic breath of fresh air, this recording inspires. enlivens and energizes.

Dave Brubeck's moving liner notes to this 14-number assortment of solo jazz piano works are almost as good as his impressions of the standards and lesser-know Christmas music. Mixing jazz playing with classical flourishes and splashes of blues, Brubeck deftly expands the sound of Christmas. You'll never hear a "Silent Night" like Brubeck's as the glistening introduction leads to a powerful meditation on the melody. And for sheer fun, there are his swinging opening numbers, "'Homecoming' Jingle Bells" and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town." There's magic and majesty in the ivories as he renders "Cantos para Pedir las Posadas," "To Us Is Given," and "Run, Run, Run to Bethlehem." --Martin Keller

Two great artists collaborate to create an experience that combines the sounds of nature with the work of the world's greatest composers, including Pachelbel's Canon, Bach's Air and Debussy's Reverie. Instrumentation includes keyboards.

Release Date: 1996-10-22, Audio CD, Compendia

Dennis Russell Davies is one of the world's most inventive conductors. At the forefront of the orchestral, chamber and operatic worlds, he is an articulate and versatile artist respected in both traditional and contemporary music, as well as an accomplished pianist and much-sought after collaborator. As a champion of composer Philip Glass' music, and of many other great contemporary composer's work, he has had significantly helped to enrich concert and operatic repertory around the globe. Currently, Mr. Davis is Chief Conductor of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, and the Linz Opera. He is also a Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the Salzburg Mozarteum.

The Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra was commissioned by the Tirol Tourist Board (Tirol Werbung, Tirol/Austria) and had its world premiere at the Tyrol Festival "Klangspuren" in Jenbach, Austria on 22nd September 2000. While staying in the Tyrol, Glass studied sound documents and sheet music of Tyrolese folk-music. In the Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra he used original folk-music source material directly for the first time.

In 1990 Philip Glass and Ravi Shankar-whom Mr. Glass recognizes as "one of his teachers" -collaborated on a recording entitled Passages. This project brought full circle a process that began in 1965, when Glass, a promising young American musician met Indian Sitar master Ravi Shankar in Paris while Glass was earning pocket money doing notation for a soundtrack recording session.

Dennis Russell Davies' close friendship with Philip Glass and his intense understanding and support of Mr. Glass' work has led to many successful collaborations and will, no doubt, result in many more. Orange Mountain Music is proud to present these recordings of the Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra and Mr. Davies' arrangements of Selections from Passages.

Release Date: 1996-03-12, Audio CD, Gia Publications