METAGONG CD released

Metagong, album cover, Albany Records

PRESS RELEASE
ALBANY RECORDS ANNOUNCES NEW RELEASE
CHARLES WUORINEN: METAGONG

June, 2014

Albany Records is pleased to announce the latest release in the Charles Wuorinen Series: Metagong which includes the world premiere recording of two major chamber works from 2008, Metagong for two pianos and two percussion; Trio for Flute, Bass Clarinet, and Piano, plus new recordings of two Wuorinen classics: Sonata for Violin and Piano (1988) and Janissary Music (1966) for solo percussion, performed by several of the finest Wuorinen specialists, the New York New Music Ensemble, violinist Mark Steinberg, pianist Alan Feinberg and newcomer George Nickson.

As Frank J. Oteri writes in his program notes,"At this point in his career, his chamber music output must now be one of the most extensive ever created by an American composer." 

"The present collection is an excellent introduction to this extraordinary repertoire; it combines the world premiere recordings of two relatively recent chamber works (both from 2008) with brand new interpretations of two earlier works that are now 20th century music classics. Curiously the four works presented herein are a quartet, a trio, a duo, and a solo and are presented in descending order of the number of musicians involved—four, three, two, and one. Yet the final solo composition is every bit as multilayered as the earlier works and if you did not know that it was all being performed by one player, you might imagine it to be a performance by many people, hence it might be permissible to describe it as a piece of chamber music as well!

In the liner notes accompanying the earlier live recording of the Sonata for Violin and Piano, critic and writer on music, Tim Page has written "...the Violin Sonata is a bracing, uninhibited romp—as flashy and exciting as anything Paganini ever wrote." And about newcomer George Nickson Wuorinen has written "in addition to his exceptional virtuosity, he brings a remarkable depth of phrasing to Janissary Music that I have not heard before in performances of this work."

Other releases in the Charles Wuorinen Series include Duos (TROY1077), Archaeopteryx (TROY992), Vocal Works (TROY968), and Adapting to the Times (TROY871)

METAGONG (TROY1497) is available online at www.albanyrecords.com, at fine record stores or from
Albany Music Distributors, 915 Broadway, Albany, NY 12207 • 1.518.436.8814
For More Information: Susan Bush • Albany Records


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