FEATURE REVIEW by Barnaby Rayfieldmchinn/Rayfield_FanfareMagazine_Review_HWA… · Issue 37:1...

Related ArticlesIssue 37:1 Sept/Oct

2013

Feature Articles

Barnaby Rayfield

SCHWENDINGER

CENTAUR

Chicago C Musicians

Duo46

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Hillary Tann: Here, The Cliffs

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Luisa Guembes-Buchanan:

FEATURE REVIEW by Barnaby Rayfield

SCHWENDINGER High Wire Act.1

Nonet.2 Rumor.3 Sonata for Solo Violin.4

Two Little Whos5 • 1BrightMusic; 2ChicagoChamber Musicians; 3Christina Jennings(fl); 3Greg Sauer (vc); 4Katie Wolfe (vn);5Duo46 • CENTAUR 3098 (59:04)

I recently interviewed Laura EliseSchwendinger back in 36:4, where Iencountered her intricate but ultimatelyaccessible style for the first time. Thenpromoting her disc of concertos, this welcomesecond album of her work gathers up a selectionof her chamber pieces, all written in the last 10years, except her Violin Sonata from 1992. Justas I admired her love of orchestral color backthen, it is her unusual pairing of instruments thatintrigues; flute and cello, violin and guitar.Poise, structure, lyricism. This new disc echoesthe fine qualities of her Three Works for SoloInstruments and Orchestra.

There’s a nice whiff of Ravel about therhapsodic flute opening to the five-movementHigh Wire Act, before being offset with thescuttling piano and violin writing, with each partbeing a snapshot of a circus act. This musical

Fanfare Magazine Archive of CD Reviews: SCHWENDINGER... http://www.fanfarearchive.com/articles/atop/37_1/3710201.aa_...

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Laura Schwendinger, Composer

NOTABLE WOMEN: C'e la Lu…

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7. 3 WORKS: Chiaroscuro AMatt Haimovitz, vc; Madison

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8. 3 WORKS: Waking DreaChristina Jennings, fl; Unive

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Beethoven in D, E. T. A. HoffmanSonatas / Robert Schumann

Kreisleriana, Late Beethoven

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George Frederick Boyle, The Art ofNance Grant, Arcadia Lost, Elan Ballet

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WAGNER: Das Rheingold, WAGNER:Die Walküre, WAGNER: Siegfried,

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circusreally is

4. 3 WORKS: Chiaroscuro AMatt Haimovitz, vc; Madison

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High Wire ActsAUDIO CDCentaur

High Wire ActsMP3 MUSIC

Centaur Records, Inc.

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MelbaMichael Antonello

beautifully structured, from the unbearably stilland tense “Tightrope-walker,” to the Glassianrhythmic energy of the “Aerialist.” There’s asimilarly French flavor and color to Nonet,although its rhythmic motifs and repeatedarching lines of the first movement have more ofan academic feel than the programmatic HighWire Act. Nonet is a riot of colorful trills, withSchwendinger demonstrating a wonderful earfor clarity of texture and balance. The secondmovement (suitably tagged Tenderly) is anassured and poised work of beauty and colorthat really ought to be better known. SimilarlyRumor is a beautifully written “conversation”


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between flute and cello that develops from thebroken phrases bouncing off each other, intosomething shriller and more dangerous, like amarital argument in music, I kept thinking.

The Sonata for Solo Violin (the only solo workhere) sits rather oddly with the more colorfulinstrumentation elsewhere. A complex, yetaustere work, Schwendinger’s violin writing hasan almost baroque dryness, amidst the probingslides and dissonance on display. This tensepiece has echoes in the wistful and increasinglydark Two Little Whos, which rounds off thealbum satisfyingly, with a touch of ice about theviolin’s troubled writing, set off against theguitar.

As in her previous disc, Schwendinger lovescolor and edge in her music, but never at theexpense of lyricism and momentum. Theplaying throughout these disparate sessions isuniformly superb with Christina Jennings’sbalmy contributions being a special highlight.The notes are good and Centaur’s sound isbright, forward, and well balanced, makingthese lithe, vibrant pieces come to life. BarnabyRayfield

This article originally appeared in Issue 37:1(Sept/Oct 2013) of Fanfare Magazine.

Related ArticlesIssue 37:1 Sept/Oct 2013

Feature Articles

Barnaby Rayfield

SCHWENDINGER

CENTAUR

Chicago C Musicians

Duo46


4 of 5 7/24/13 10:02 AM

FEATURE REVIEW by Barnaby Rayfieldmchinn/Rayfield_FanfareMagazine_Review_HWA… · Issue 37:1...

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