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!
Trios From the City of Big Shoulders
Lincoln Trio
Desirée Ruhstrat, violin
David Cunliffe, cello
Marta Aznavoorian, piano
The twice-Grammy-nominated Lincoln Trio — violinist Desirée Ruhstrat, cellist David Cunliffe, and pianist Marta Aznavoorian — offers engaging, rarely heard piano trios by 20th-century Chicago composers Leo Sowerby, winner of the Rome Prize and Pulitzer Prize for music, and Ernst Bacon, recipient of three Guggenheim Fellowships and a Pulitzer Fellowship. Bacon’s Trio No. 2 for Violin, Cello and Piano (1987) receives its world-premiere recording. Bacon infuses the six-movement trio with American influences including marches, folksong-like melodies, and jazz rhythms. The album also includes Sowerby’s Trio for violin, violincello and pianoforte (1953). BELOW: Members of the Lincoln Trio talk about this album, with musical excerpts:
Primavera I
Matt Haimovitz, cello
This new digital album features the first 14 of 81 new pieces written for cellist Matt Haimovitz, commissioned by The Primavera Project. This new initiative asks composers to write in response to Sandro Botticelli’s painting, Primavera, and the prophetic large-scale triptych, Primavera 2020, by contemporary artist Charline von Heyl. Haimovitz recorded the album in January 2021 at von Heyl’s artist studio near downtown Marfa, Texas. BELOW: Matt Haimovitz plays Lisa Bielawa’s Missa Primavera:
Lowak Shoppala' (Fire and Light)
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, composer
Nashville String Machine
Chickasaw Nation Children’s Chorus
Classical music meets Native American music and story-telling in this exuberant work by Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate. The work unfolds in eight scenes that each depict a part of Chickasaw culture and history, inspired by Chickasaw author and Pulitzer Prize finalist, Linda Hogan. BELOW: A scene from Lowak Shoppala', "Spider Brings Fire." The video contains illustrations by Chickasaw artist Dustin Mater and narration by Cherokee actor Wes Studi. (Read the full libretto here):
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.
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