A selection of intriguing new releases includes Myra Melford’s Cy Twombly-inspired Splash Trio, an expanded edition of Michael Gregory Jackson’s Frequency Equilibrium Koan and the premiere recording of Julia Perry’s astringent Piano Concerto in Two Uninterrupted Speeds. We compare the latter with Galina Ustvolskaya’s even more extreme Dona Nobis Pacem for its 50th anniversary. Her brutal ecstasy is in turn related to Alfred Schnittke via a new orchestration of his First Cello Sonata performed by Camerata Bern. Nastasia Khrushcheva continues Schnittke's nostalgic sensibilities with a dark take on Christmas songs. Rune Glerup returns from IRCAM with a new slant on the classical clarinet quintet, while Brooks Williams uses sound modelling and AI for good, not evil. An ambitious project by Fire! Orchestra advances the George Russell/Jazz Composer’s Orchestra line of exploratory big band music, while Lux Quartet’s more pocket-sized approach to improvisation rounds out the playlist.
