... LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful set of work that shows the more intimate side of composer Arvo Part – not his larger projects or vocal material – but instead a series of contemplative sonatas that feature piano, violin, or cello – or some combination of both! The performances here are handled by Alexi Lubimov, Vadim Gluzman, Jurgen Krus, Angela Yoffe, and Sebastian Klinger – and the recording quality is great – with a nice sense of room that makes some of the notes echo out in space and really increase the melancholy element in the music, especially on some of the piano passages. Titles include "Speigel Im Spiegel", "Fur Alina", "Fratres", and "Variationen Zur Gesundung Von Arinushka". (Out Sound, Classical) LP, Vinyl record album

Two wonderfully fresh works for orchestra – both conducted with plenty of inventive touches by Howard Hanson during his tenure with the Eastman Rochester Orchestra! "The Black Maskers" is a piece originally penned for a production of the dramatic work by Leonid Andreyev – but it works beautifully here on its own, in theses very vivid passages on woodwinds and percussion – recorded superbly, so that all of Hanson's energy from the stand flows through the playback of the performance. The flipside features "Tabuh Tabuhan" – a toccata for orchestra by Colin McPhee, done in a very modern sort of mode – one that mixes work on percussion that's almost gamelan-like at times, with brightly vivid orchestrations. The piece is beautiful – and almost seems like a precursor to later work by Lou Harrison, but mixed with some of the energy of the early century Russian composers. This CD version also includes Virgil Thomson's "Symphony On A Hymn Tune" and "The Feast Of Love". CD