You might find it hard to believe that after 29 recordings, violinist Anne Akiko Meyers is just now getting around to recording Vivaldi's Four Seasons. As it turns out, there's something very unique about her Four Seasons. "That's right," Anne explains, "this is the debut of this legendary violin that belonged to Vieuxtemps. And Vieuxtemps was an incredible composer and violinist himself. And I saw this photo of Vieuxtemps on his death day, his funeral, where Eugene Ysaye carried the violin on a pillow behind his hearse, and what looked like all of Belgium was there to pay their respects to Vieuxtemps. And to know that this violin was there is just goose-bumpy to the max, and preserved so well for the last 50 years in London by a collector.
   SEE THE New Classical Tracks PAGE AND LISTEN TO Julie Amacher's INTERVIEW

 

Each week KDFC San Francisco eNotes members will get a free mp3 download from some of the biggest releases in the world of Classical music through their newsletter. This week's download is from Mirian Conti performing Anibal Troilo's Milonguero triste from here new Steinway Records CD:  Panorama Argentino. Mirian Conti is a specialist in the music of Spain and Latin America and her highly regarded recordings are often referred to as benchmarks in this repertoire. As with the earlier release, the album includes many first-recordings of works inspired by the folk music and sophisticated dance forms of Argentina.

 

People in a position to know have long recognized the gifts of vocalist and composer Lauren Kinhan. For the past 20 years she's been a member of the vocal quartet New York Voices. She also sings with current and former Manhattan Transferites, Janis Siegel and Laurel Masse' in the group JaLaLa, and with Kate McGarry and Theo Bleckmann in the group Moss. Ornette Coleman liked Kinhan enough to include her on his 1996 album Sound Museum, Three Women. And yet, her latest album, the self-released Circle in a Square, almost feels like a coming out party, perhaps because she hasn't recorded frequently as a solo artist. Kinhan showcases not just her lithe, expressive vocals, but also her facility for writing engaging melodies and intelligent lyrics. In addition to her quartet – pianist Andy Ezrin, alternating bassists David Finck and Will Lee and drummer Ben Wittman – Kinhan is also joined by a stellar guest list including Randy Brecker, Romero Lubambo, Donny McCaslin and Joel Frahm. On the title track, our selection, Lauren celebrates jazz LPs and their impact on her life. "I'm gonna play a record on the hi fi/Analog, outtadate, antiquate, the echo of a generation gone by/In the mind of one so young/ You replay, relive it, a circle in a square." Brecker's smoky brass helps her conjure those echoes of an era that's obviously captivated her imagination. Circle in a Square also opens the Jazziz, Spring 2014 Sampler disc.

 

PROJECT Trio -  flutist Greg Pattillo, cellist Eric Stephenson and bassist Peter Seymour will perform at the University of Nebraska-Omaha this Saturday April 19 at 7:30pm at the Straus Performing Arts Center. On their new recording - Instrumental, PROJECT Trio continues their journey of exploration of contrasting musical genres, Instrumental featuring 11 tracks of rhythmically charged originals and covers ranging from classical to gypsy jazz, Brazilian and slow jams.  READ THE FULL KIOS Radio CALENDAR POST

 

Could violinist Joshua Bell be the one who got the Minnesota Orchestra playing again? That's only conjecture, but when the orchestra's locked-out musicians announced they were hanging out their own shingle with a subscription concert series that featured Bell among the soloists, contract negotiations really heated up. Within a few weeks, a settlement was reached. Coincidence? Perhaps. READ THE FULL Pioneer Press REVIEW.

 

Composer David Chesky's haunting new video, "Psalm No.1 for String Orchestra," is juxtaposed with photos of children and families held in concentration camps during World War II. The music is stunning and combined with this imagery edited by the composer's wife Patricia Dinely Chesky, provides an honest sadness. The work searingly captures the horrific reality of the Holocaust. The orchestral work is performed by the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, featuring violinist Christian Richter and is conducted by acclaimed interpreter of American repertoire, Stephen Somary. "Psalm No. 1 for String Orchestra" is a beautifully moving piece, and as Chesky interprets, "This is a composition in remembrance, and in the hope that the human kind will learn from its past." We cannot forget that the tragedy of the Holocaust brought about the deaths of one and a half million innocent children. While writing this work, the composer constantly asked himself, "What kind of human could do such a thing?" We are reminded of Hannah Arendt's book Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil; it is not the crazed monster that is always the perpetrator, but rather it could be the most normal people that can completely invert human ethics and implicitly accept, and even participate in, the calculated destruction of an entire race. This composer could not let these unknown faces, that were extinguished before they could flourish, be forgotten. The "Psalm No. 1 for String Orchestra" honors the Days of Remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust, an annual 8-day period designated by the Unites States of Congress for civic commemorations and special educational programs that help citizens remember and draw lessons from the Holocaust. This year Holocaust Remembrance week is from April 27–May 4, 2014.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1853228#ixzz2z3Zh2ZUF

David Chesky - Psalm I for String Orchestra

 

Congratulations to the winners of the 18th annual Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards for Music and Recording and congratulations to Crossover Media Artist - Jane Ira Bloom winning for ‘Soprano Saxophonist of the Year'