Contemporary Trio: (Susan Palma, flute; David Holzman, piano; Maxine Neuman, cello); Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble: (Janet Packer, violin; Anne Black, viola; Ted Mook, cello); Harvey Sollberger, alto flute; Linda Quan and Curtis Macomber, violins


Matthew Greenbaum writes:

"Tracing the preconscious associations that generate a musical work always yields curiosities. Consequently I was only slightly stunned when I discovered Francois Couperin, Webern, Thelonious Monk, the conductus, and a Beethoven cello sonata among other "repressed" presences in the "unconscious" of Chamber Music.

"I found in addition that the basic structural device of the work — the use of brief quasi- diatonic sequences, each obliterating the tonality of the previous one — was a pattern that lent itself to embracing this rather hectic variety of associations. These sequences create surface tension in the composition as well contributing to its form (the work's three sections may be read as a sonata, chaconne, and canon)...

Lee Hyla writes:

"The String Trio was written for Dinosaur Annex in 1980-81. The basic idea of the piece is the relationship of the relatively simple tune, heard in the violin as the piece begins, to its angular and dramatically contrasting accompaniment. The music develops through two minuet-like sections and one quiet variation of the tune, and is brought into focus by two literal returns to the opening, one occurring about a third of the way through the piece (after the frst of the "minuets"), and the other arriving at the very end.

Elaine Barkin writes:

"Fuzzy particles diffdently imprint their traces, unhurriedly stake our their territory, abundantly fourish in their articulate, recolored, suffused fluting and—once fully affirmed —recede in the flickering aftersound of their history.

"Plein (= full, not plain) Chant (= three 5-toned tune-shapes) was written in 1977 for Anahid Nazarian, who requested a 'special effects' piece for her senior recital at UCLA."

Stephen Jaffe writes:

"The compressed lyricism particular to Centering probably refects my response to New York's fne group of new music specialists — particularly the violin playing of Linda Quan a n d Curtis Macomber, which I heard for the frst time at the 1977 Composers' Conference in Johnson, Vermont. This style of playing, with its powerful upbows, its variety of bowstrokes, plucked notes, and lyric intensity impressed me as something so physical, so visceral and intense yet completely lyrical and colorful; I must certainly have had it in mind when composing Centering. Linda and Curtis gave the work its frst performance at the 1978 Composers Conference, and have performed it together and with other partners on many occasions since then."

This title from the CRI LP back catalog has been carefully transferred from the original master tape, and is now available from New World Records as an on-demand CD (CD-R). It can also be downloaded in MP3/320, FLAC and/or WAV format(s).

We have preserved the original CRI LP catalog number for this title, preceded by the prefix NWCRL, to distinguish previously unavailable back catalog titles from those later reissued by CRI on compact disc.