With Strings Attached
The Alexander String Quartet
San Francisco Choral Artists
Magen Solomon: San Francisco Choral Artists director
Lawrence Ferlinghetti: poet, speaker
Foghorn Classics: FCL-2006
Joyous, celebratory performances of exciting new works for chamber chorus and string quartet captured in superb recordings by Judith Sherman (Grammy-Winning 2011 Producer of the Year). This disc includes premieres from Michael Gandolfi, Stephen Leek, Paul Chihara, and Veronika Krausas. Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti chips in with readings from his poems, and three new transcriptions of Brahms favorites combine with Beethoven’s Elegaic Songs to present a memorable collection of stunningly beautiful music from these improbable combined forces. Upcoming performances throughout 2012 include stops in Philadelphia, New York, Clearwater, Memphis, Los Angeles, Fullerton, Asheville, Charlottesville, and Cleveland.
Program:
KRAUSAS: Language of the Birds • LEEK: Hollow Stone • BRAHMS (tr. Grafilo) • Four Songs, Op. 92 • Ballade, Op. 10, No. 2 & Intermezzo, Op. 118, No. 2 • BEETHOVEN: Elegiac Songs, Op. 118 • GANDOLFI: Winter Light • S. CHIHARA: Clair de lune
Purchase the CD via Allegro Classical!
In Friendship
The Alexander String Quartet
Joan Enric Lluna
Foghorn Classics: FCL-2007
Breathtaking performances by celebrated Spanish clarinetist Joan Enric Lluna and the ASQ! A glorious partnership spanning two decades is faithfully captured here by producer Judith Sherman. This superlative interpretation of Brahms (not the first recorded by these same five players) is matched with the stunning newly commissioned work for this quintet by heralded Valencian composer César Cano. This is a stunning tour de force composition matched to a “take no prisoners” virtuosic performance—it sets the heart racing!
CANO: Clarinet Quintet, Op. 74 • Veiled Proportions • Echos and Duels • Oblique Chants • Florid Pulse • BRAHMS: Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115