At some point it seemed appropriate that Other Minds honor the deceased progenitors of American experimental music by presenting their music side by side with their spiritual offspring. And thus was born “A New Music Séance.” Other Minds composers are mostly individualists who have forged their own paths that are very personal and that announce their creators as boundary pushers. These individualists flourished because others, equally daring, led the way. The series was subtitled, somewhat tongue in cheek, “Summoning the specters of musical forbears, channeling the spirits of their successors.”
The duo of Kate Stenberg and Eva-Maria Zimmermann bring these “ghost” works to life and allow us to hear these exceedingly rare gems from the violin and piano repertory.
A truly heterogeneous collection–the whole thing including, not excluding. To listen to this CD from one end to the other is an inspiring journey. “Double” has had some fine performances before, but none like this. I am grateful–and moved. The coloring of the sounds, the precision of the rhythms and the forming of the phrases–very convincing. Composer Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Copenhagen
Other Minds…has recently taken to presenting a series puckishly titled “New Music Séances,” since many of the composers involved are dead (this is what other organizations call “concerts”). On this beautifully produced CD, the excellent duo of violinist Kate Stenberg and pianist Eva-Maria Zimmermann offers a sampling from recent events, combining older works with a sprinkling of handsome premieres. Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, January 2013
Finest of all is Ruth Crawford’s Sonata (1926), a superb four-movement work in the American pioneer tradition. Guy Rickards, Gramophone Magazine, January 2013
This disc’s title, “Scenes from a New Music Séance”, refers to a short series of daylong concerts presented in San Francisco by Other Minds that juxtaposed works by deceased pioneering new-music icons and their artistic offspring. Not only does this splendid mixed program by the violin/piano duo of Kate Stenberg and Eva-Maria Zimmermann reflect the series’ inclusive spirit, but it also stands as an imaginatively-curated 75-minute recital in its own right. What is more, the duo’s dynamic, intensely expressive, and well-synchronized performances largely make compelling cases for the music they present. Jed Distler, Classics Today
This is a great find, an album of modern music with much to offer … The duo is not only first-rate technically but get under the skin of the music … [and] grabs the listener’s attention from start to finish. Fanfare Magazine
1 · Ronald Bruce Smith: Tombeau (2006)* (5:56)
2 · Josef Matthias Hauer: Jazz (from Fünf Stücke, 1925) (1:23)
3 · Henry Cowell: Ballade (from Violin Sonata, 1945) (2:59)
4 · Charles Amirkhanian: Rippling the Lamp (2006-7)*’ (7:40)
Ruth Crawford: Sonata for Violin and Piano (1925-6) (14:48)
5 · (1) Vibrante, agitato (4:57)
6 · (2) Buoyant (3:20)
7 · (3) Mistico, intense (2:49)
8 · (4) Allegro (3:33)
9 · George Antheil: Sonata No. 2 for Violin, Piano and Drums (1923) (8:13)
with Charles Amirkhanian, bass and tenor drums
Alan Hovhaness: Khirgiz Suite (1951) (5:45)
10 · (1) Variations (3:09)
11 · (2) A Khirgiz Tala (1:38)
12 · (3) Allegro molto (1:19)
Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen: Double (1994) (13:19)
13 · I (5:14)
14 · II (8:01)
15 · Amy X Neuburg: Nonette (2010)*’ (4:00)
16 · Henning Christiansen: Den Arkadiske, Op. 32 (1966) (10:35)
* World premiere recording, *’ for violin solo with pre-recorded media
