Lauri Porra, the Fender bass-playing great-grandson of Sibelius, takes the spotlight with his unique crossover style. Tristan Murail also contemplates his musical elders with a reflection on the birth of Messiaen’s famous Quartet for the End of Time. And the doyenne of French acousmatic music, Beatriz Ferreyra, gets some attention via a new portrait album from Room40.
John Aylward revisits memory and mythology in a remarkable new chamber opera, while our 50 years ago feature revisits the final breaths of 20th century modernism in works by Shostakovich and Milhaud premiered in November 1973. We take a look at the remarkable and newly-excavated recorded legacy of the Horvitz/Morris/Previte trio, contrasting it with newer improvisational forays by Ned Rothenberg’s Crossings quartet and the Gerry Hemingway/Izumi Kimura duo. A fanfare by Anna Meredith, a minimalist piano piece by Anthony Gatto, and synthesized miniatures by Matt Mitchell and the late Norm Chambers round out the playlist.
