For the Record, Op. 4: Gil Shaham, Elena Urioste, Scott Slapin, Roman Mints

October 13, 2016, 8:52 AM · Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening!

Ginastera One Hundred
Gil Shaham, violin
Orli Shaham, piano
Yolanda Kondonassis, harp
Jason Vieaux, guitar
Oberlin Orchestra
This centennial tribute to the 20th-century Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera includes the composer's lively and virtuosic "Pampeana No. 1, Op. 16" for violin and piano, featuring Gil and Orli Shaham. Other works include the Harp Concerto, Op. 25; Sonata for Guitar, Op. 47; and Danzas Argentinas, Op. 2. The recording was produced by harpist Yolanda Kondoassis on Oberlin Music via Naxos. Here's a short overview about Ginastera; find Gil Shaham at 1:20:

Echoes
Elena Urioste, violin
Michael Brown, piano
Featuring early works by Richard Strauss, Maurice Ravel, Amy Beach, and Michael Brown, this recital disc celebrates the musical friendship between Elena Urioste and Michael Brown as well as the world-premiere recording of Brown's own composition, "Echoes of Byzantium." American violinist Elena Urioste performs "Romance" by Amy Beach, with pianist Michael Brown:

A Fifth of Slapin: All You Need Is Viola (or Two)
Scott Slapin, viola
Tanya Solomon, viola
Do you long to relish in the deep tones of the viola? Here is the fifth and most recent release of "Violacentric" recital music composed by violist Scott Slapin, who is well-known in viola circles for his compositions that have been featured in the Primrose, Tertis, and ARD competitions and in performances by musicians around the world. The program includes short pieces, mostly viola duos performed by Slapin with his wife, violist Tanya Solomon. Here are the other albums in Slapin's "Violacentric" series: Reflections; All Viola, All the Time; Violacentrism: The Opera; and Violacentric Sonatas by Scott Slapin. Scott and Tanya perform sampling of all that luscious viola music:

Alfred Schnittke Works for Violin and Piano
Roman Mints, violin
Katya Apekisheva, piano
"For anyone who didn't live in the Soviet Union, this might be hard to understand," said Russian violinist Roman Mints of this collection of works by Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998), "but for me, this music is precisely about us, about that life, those pains, those joys, about the things you couldn't say out loud but which you could whisper in the ear." Roman Mints performs "Pantomime" from "Suite in Old Style" by Alfred Schnittke with harpsichordist Olga Martynova and percussionists Andrey Doynikov and Dmitri Vlassik:

If you have a new recording you would like us to consider for inclusion in our Thursday "For the Record" feature, please e-mail Editor Laurie Niles. Be sure to include the name of your album, a link to it and a short description of what it includes.