• Catalog #: RR8087

    Release Date: April 28, 2023

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Cello
    Flute
    Violin

    At times meditative, at times sparklingly abstract, 5X4 is an album of contrasts. Composer Lawrence Axelrod offers a multi-faceted selection of original compositions which push the limits of musical craft – all contained within the quartet setup, but in varying instrumentations. The range begins with the eternal classic, the string quartet, progresses to a less-orthodox quartet of flute, clarinet, violoncello, and piano, escalates to an otherworldly ensemble of percussion, and finally culminates with a hypnotic double bass quartet. Axelrod's 5X4 is carefully conceptualized and altogether well-wrought; often contemplative, and always original.

  • Catalog #: RR8081

    Release Date: December 9, 2022

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    Piano
    Violin
    Voice

    INTERSECTIONS from the dynamic chamber group Khemia Ensemble invites listeners to meditate on the confluence of beginnings, endings, and the hope and grief that can accompany those events. With intersections of acoustic chamber music, electronics, and multi-genre influences, the album features a stinging commentary on microagressions (Sink’s Bite!), a tumultuous mother/daughter relationship (Freund’s Song of Persephone), a tender lullaby dedicated to his newborn son, rooted in a family ritual of planting a cottonwood tree (Benavides’ Little Cloud), an exploration of memory inspired by Yayoi Kusama’s infinity rooms (Biedenbender’s in a field of stars), and an assertion of identity through Bollywood melodies and American pop sensibilities (Shekhar’s Don’t Beat a Word). By showcasing commissioned music by five living composers, Khemia Ensemble demonstrates their commitment to reflecting broader perspectives in contemporary classical chamber music.

  • Catalog #: RR8080

    Release Date: November 11, 2022

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Electronic
    Violin

    Avner Finberg’s album THE FOUR SEASONS OF ISOLATION is a moving meditation on the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns. Finding himself separated from his fellow musicians and beloved concert audiences, Finberg took the opportunity to focus on composition and began writing this large-scale work for solo violin and electronics. Freed from the need for an accompanist, he worked in solitude to develop this musical essay reflecting on his year in isolation. The result was a nod to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons called The Four Seasons of Isolation. Also included on the album is The Raven, which incorporates a dramatic reading of Edgar Allen Poe’s masterpiece accompanied by violin and looper. The music combines electronics and violin to create haunting, ever-expanding chords that illustrate the story.

  • Catalog #: RR8060

    Release Date: September 10, 2021

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Electroacoustic
    Electronic
    Piano
    Violin

    SYNCHRONIES, James Dashow's second double album on Ravello Records, offers a selection of the composer's work for traditional instruments with and without electronic sounds. His approach to these two musical resources combines the intimacy and flexibility of beautifully designed chamber music with full scale sonorous constructions: some achieved by finely textured orchestrations of the classical instrumental ensemble, others by the symphonic use of rich electronic timbres that are characteristic of the composer's music. Dashow's unique sound is immediately recognizable, enhanced by his ground-breaking ideas on the spatialization of sound, where the location and movement of musical events in space are now fundamental elements of his compositional practice. The performers in these pieces are true virtuosi of contemporary art music; their artistry and subtle understanding of these works yield deeply expressive interpretations that resonate with both listeners and performers alike.

  • Catalog #: RR8059

    Release Date: June 10, 2022

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Percussion
    Piano
    Violin

    10 emerging composers assemble and offer insight into our societal world through music on IN TANDEM from violinist Lucia Lin. Each work featured on this album represents a social cause close to its composer’s heart, commenting on inequality and breaking down barriers by building social awareness. Orchestrated in intimate duo settings, Lin’s virtuosic violin playing is complemented by a variety of selected string, percussion, piano, and vocal performers, each offering a fresh ingredient to a diverse and conversation-igniting program.

  • Catalog #: RR8049

    Release Date: January 22, 2021

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Piano
    Trumpet
    Violin

    Legendary composer, author, and educator Herbert Deutsch presents his newest album, ENCOUNTERS: JAZZ, SONGS & CHAMBER MUSIC, on Ravello Records. The music, performed by the American Chamber Ensemble, is unflaggingly groundbreaking; Deutsch, who in 1964 collaborated on the development of the Moog Synthesizer and composed music for its first live performance, deepens his legacy of innovation with this latest collection.

  • Catalog #: RR8044

    Release Date: October 9, 2020

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Cello
    Guitar
    Violin

    Stuart Weber's PIECES OF ROAD is a heartfelt, profound homage to the spirit of the American West. At once traditional and original, the classical guitarist manages to capture the essence not only of his native Rocky Mountains, but of nature and comfort at large.

  • Catalog #: RR8037

    Release Date: July 10, 2020

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Percussion
    Piano
    Violin

    Fresh from Ravello Records is the McCormick Percussion Group’s STRINGS & HAMMERS. In this latest offering, the MPG tackles a program of new and politically charged works. They are joined by the violin-bass-piano trio Strings and Hammers. Together, the ensemble of string and percussion players employs rhythm, eccentric timbres, and even their own yelping, whispering voices to express powerfully relevant themes.

  • Catalog #: RR8030

    Release Date: May 22, 2020

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Electronic
    Piano
    Violin

    Christopher J. Keyes’s new album, Ravello Records’ A CONNOTATION OF INFINITY, speaks directly to why listeners should embrace the transgressive element of electronics in traditional classical music. Keyes, who wrote as much software for the album as he did music, employs what he calls a 3D audio for a more immersive listening experience. Keyes’s latest release, which features performances of select pieces on video, envelopes and entrances the minds of listeners from all walks of life.

  • Catalog #: RR8025

    Release Date: December 13, 2019

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Piano
    Viola
    Violin

    In his first album with Ravello Records, composer Leonard V. Ball, Jr. presents WORLDS TRANSLUCENT, a collection of works completed across the span of nearly a decade that capture the joys, fears, and fascinations of everyday life. The album, which features music for violin, viola, and piano, deals with the gravity of human mortality alongside the simple amusements of domestic life that counterbalance it.

  • Catalog #: RR8021

    Release Date: October 11, 2019

    21st Century
    Avant-Garde
    Chamber
    Electronic
    Piano
    Violin

    Welcoming the new day in the world of composer Maija Hynninen is not soft like early morning rays. In DAWN BREAKS, Hynninen does away with the cliches of warmth and comfort in the morning. Performing all of the electronics on this album, Hynninen characterizes everything in her world, presenting soundscapes that are truly unique.

  • Catalog #: RR8012

    Release Date: June 14, 2019

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Percussion
    Piano
    Violin

    Follow composer Richard Carr as he guides you through his world-travel experiences in his Ravello Records release PLACES I’VE WALKED. The feeling of authenticity cannot be understated in these compositions, divided into four parts.

  • Catalog #: RR7993

    Release Date: August 10, 2018

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Percussion
    Piano
    Violin

    On 3: THE MUSIC OF GINA BIVER, her debut recording on Ravello Records, composer, guitarist, vocalist and producer Gina Biver presents five selections featuring the concept-based new music/new media performing collective Fuse Ensemble, a group in which she has played an integral part for the past decade. Not only did Biver compose the five tracks on the album, she either performed on, produced, mixed and/or engineered many of them.

  • Catalog #: RR7973

    Release Date: September 8, 2017

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Large Ensemble
    Piano
    Violin

    Composer Steve Rouse constructs unique and indelible sound worlds on his album MORPHIC RESONANCE, his first release with PARMA Recordings. The album is a revue of Rouse’s chamber music from the last two decades and beyond, and the works featured on MORPHIC RESONANCE demonstrate Rouse’s powerful gifts to create compelling and idiosyncratic musical statements.

  • Catalog #: RR7969

    Release Date: July 14, 2017

    20th Century
    21st Century
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    Electronic
    Violin
    Voice

    With SUFFICIENT TROUBLE, his debut release on Ravello Records, composer and performer Brian Belet offers a selection of computer music composed over the last twenty years. Featuring acoustic instruments and responsive electronic materials the disc offers a degree of variety in timbre and musical content that is sometimes lacking in electronic music. In Lyra, the album’s opening track, Belet establishes an aural world in which the organic material and electronic content merge seamlessly, clearly defining the musical language to come as the album progresses.

  • Catalog #: RR7931

    Release Date: April 8, 2016

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Cello
    Piano
    Violin

    Delivering a diverse cross-section of dynamically rhythmic and tonally expressive chamber works, composer John K. Leupold II presents his debut release on Ravello Records, EXASPERATING PERPETUATION. Described by the Washington Post as “an imaginative exploration of instrumental timbres,” Leupold’s music seeks to enhance the tonal possibilities of the instruments through the use of tension, personification, and imagery.

  • Catalog #: RR7930

    Release Date: April 8, 2016

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Electroacoustic
    Flute
    Violin

    Violinist Mikylah Myers and flutist Francesca Arnone perform diverse electroacoustic pieces on their first collaborative album REACT, released on Ravello Records. The works on this album demonstrate well the potential range of electroacoustic music in facilitating both experimental and traditional compositional ideas. The featured composers explore new ways of creating and organizing sound, and as performed with either computer or other interactive electronics, the violin and flute help construct unique sonic landscapes.

  • Catalog #: RR7901

    Release Date: February 10, 2014

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Flute
    Violin

    The rush and restlessness of our daily lives can be like a fog, an opaque shroud that can distract from the enlightening experiences of nature. On her debut Ravello Records album THROUGH THE MIST, composer Pamela J. Marshall presents several works that find their origins in the composer's experiences with the natural world.

  • Catalog #: RR7899

    Release Date: October 14, 2014

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Cello
    Piano
    Violin

    Composer Debra Kaye's debut Ravello Records release, AND SO IT BEGINS, catapults the listener into her deep universe of sound - an expedition down one New York City street and up another, through the warp and weft of interior landscapes, to Taos Mountain, on a journey through a dream, a dying, a love - as she blends her classical roots with traces of jazz, pop, world music, the pulse of city rhythms, and the expansiveness of spacious landscapes.

  • Catalog #: RR7840

    Release Date: June 26, 2012

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Orchestral
    Orchestra
    String Orchestra
    Violin

    ESSAYS AND SKETCHES is an album unreleased works of American composer and longtime Sam Houston State University faculty member Newton D. Strandberg. Featuring performances by orchestras and ensembles from around the globe, the four pieces on this recording—Essay for String Orchestra, Amenhotep III, String Trio, and Acts for Orchestra—serve as an astute collection of Standberg's output as a composer. More than a musical release alone, ESSAYS AND SKETCHES serves as a retrospective of Strandberg's prolific career, housing a collection of writings, visual art, scores, and more, all compiled by Strandberg's peers, students, and admirers from SHSU.