SKU: HL.49019599

ISBN 9790001191043. UPC: 841886019546. 9.0x12.0x0.187 inches. Eds. Wolfgang Birtel and Ida Bieler.

Karol Szymanowski (1882-1932) is regarded as one of the most important Polish composers since Chopin. He received his formative musical training in Warsaw where he lived for many years and was also director of the Conservatoire and Music Academy. His compositional oeuvre comprises a large variety of styles: Szymanowski first leaned towards Chopin and Scriabin, then studied Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky, finally finding a style in which he combined impressionism and expressionism. His 'Mythes' for violin and piano from 1915 fell in a transitional period, turning away from late German Romanticism. They are expressive miniatures full of tonal refinement and impressionist charm and, thanks to their accessible virtuosity, perfect performance pieces. Contents: I. La Fontaine d'Arethuse • II. Narcisse • III. Dryades et Pan.

SKU: LM.26850

ISBN 9790230968508.

In the Emilie's Eyes - For a blue note - You miss her - Ballad for Jodie - I prefer the Blue - To sing for heaven - He would like that - Michel lives in USA - Romantic tune - The End for Eddy - I'll be in the show - Ongobongo's star - Ernie is coming back - Modernesk - Just for Babe.

SKU: CF.MXE71

ISBN 9781491144749. UPC: 680160902248. 9 x 12 inches.

The day that Australian and New Zealand forces joined the Allies for an invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula of Turkey in World War I, with disastrous consequences, is celebrated in Australia as Anzac Day (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps). To honor this special day, Bresnick takes inspiration from two selected poems by Bertolt Brecht (And I Always Thought and Legend of the Unknown Soldier Beneath the Triumphal Arch). Commissioned to commemorate Australia’s Anzac Day, similar to Memorial Day, and inspired by two Brecht poems…The somber opening violin and clarinet lines unfolded to haunting effect before eventually reaching a fervent climax. --Vivien Schweitzer, The New York Times.

SKU: PR.164002390

UPC: 680160038091.

I became interested in the work of Plato through my friend and collaborator, the writer and philosopher Paul Woodruff. Paul's new translation, with Alexander Nehamas, of the Symposium gave me insights into ancient Greek ways of thinking about Love, Beauty, and Wisdom -- and managed to keep the earthy, and often bawdy side of it all in full view. But their new translation of Plato's later dialogue Phaedrus went even further: the beauty of the speeches is breathtaking, and the discourse itself is enough to keep one awake at night. Basically the Great Speech of Socrates in the Phaedrus dialogue has to do with the place of Eros in the world, and with the conflict in the soul between fleshly pleasure and philosophic discovery. I will not attempt to encapsulate this brilliant discourse in a program note: suffice it to say that reading it gave rise to my two-sided work for clarinet, violin, and piano, Phaedrus. The first movement represents the Philosophic life, and is thus subtitled Apollo's Lyre (Invocation and Hymn). It begins with an unaccompanied melody for the clarinet, which (after a pair of harp-like flourishes for the piano, expands into an accompanied canon. The voices in the dialogue (clarinet and violin) follow each other by a prescribed number of beats, but the music is totally devoid of any meter at all. The piano, representing the lyre, accompanies this lyric love-feast with repeated strummed chords. The canon has three large sections, and ends with violin echoing the unaccompanied clarinet invocation as the sound of the lyre fades. The second movement, called Dionysus' Dream-Orgy (Ritual Dance) presents, after a brief introduction, another kind of unmetered music. Rather than long lyric flights of philosophic song, however, this time we hear a unison dance of unbridled energy and sensual transport. The piece soon forms itself into a loose arch form, with contrasting metered dance sections divided by the unison unmetered orgy tune. Midway through the movement, Apollo's melody returns from the first movement, but it is a temporary reminiscence. The orgiastic dance returns, reaches a climax, and ends with a stomping of feet. While Plato asserts that a proper balance between lust and reason is necessary in all men, he (naturally) gives the nod to Philosophy as the better choice in which to live. Not so in my music: the two sides are meant to coexist and to complement each other. No sides are taken. Phaedrus was commissioned of the Verdehr Trio by Michigan State University. It is dedicated to the Vedehr Trio with great affection and admiration.

SKU: CF.B3475

ISBN 9781491162026. UPC: 680160920709.

This work for violin and piano by Martin Bresnick is a play on the words suite and bittersweet. Each of the four movements is based on a Yiddish folk song, which in English translate to On the Road, My Resting Place, Black Cat, and Dona, Dona. Each of the four pieces is primarily based on a Jewish folk song, but re-envisions them in a modern context, akin to Bartok and Kodaly. The composer noted, I found it a very challenging, yet touching way to remain in contact with some part of my own past that I don't usually reveal. The title references the difficult (bitter) and pleasant (sweet) aspects of experiencing the tumultuous history of a people through their folk music.
This work for violin and piano by Martin Bresnick is a play on the words suite and bittersweet. Each of the four movements is based on a Yiddish folk song, which in English translate to On the Road, My Resting Place, Black Cat, and Dona, Dona. Each of the four pieces is primarily based on a Jewish folk song, but re-envisions them in a modern context, akin to Bartok and Kodaly. The composer noted, “I found it a very challenging, yet touching way to remain in contact with some part of my own past that I don’t usually reveal.” The title references the difficult (bitter) and pleasant (sweet) aspects of experiencing the tumultuous history of a people through their folk music.

SKU: BO.B.0411

SKU: HL.14042943

ISBN 9788759829080.

Composed 1968.