Catalog #: RR8087
Release Date: April 28, 2023
21st CenturyChamberCelloFluteViolinAt 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 #: RR7940
Release Date: August 12, 2016
21st CenturyChamberFlutePianoViolaComposer Scott Brickman demonstrates the diversity of his inspirations and musical interests on his third full album on Ravello Records, NINETY-SIX STRINGS AND TWO WHISTLES. Drawing on a sea of influences, from Baroque dance suites, to the compositional methods of Arnold Schoenberg, to punk rock, the mixture of popular and historic references broadly typifies post-modern American music composition.
Catalog #: RR7918
Release Date: November 13, 2015
21st CenturyChamberCelloFluteViolaFrom Stravinsky-esque rhythms and impressionistic harmonies to Xerox® machine-inspired gestures, Eight Strings & a Whistle – comprised of flutist Suzanne Gilchrest, violist Ina Litera, and cellist Matthew Goeke – present a diverse selection of contemporary and 20th-century works that highlight the ensemble’s blend of technical prowess and emotive interpretation on their debut Ravello Records release ALBERT’S WINDOW.
Catalog #: RR8086
Release Date: February 10, 2023
21st CenturyChamberCelloFlutePianoRavello Records is proud to present AMERICAN CARNAGE, an album of chamber music by composer Ken Walicki. Well traveled and well versed in an array of different genres, Walicki shares numerous personal experiences and influences in these pieces, from blissful moments of natural beauty to musical reflections on his formative years and beyond. Masterfully performed by members of the Los Angeles-based Divan Consort, AMERICAN CARNAGE offers exuberance and zest from start to finish, a satisfying and equally authentic listening experience.
Catalog #: RR8061
Release Date: November 19, 2021
21st CenturyChamberCelloFluteViolaOn ...AND NOTHING REMAINS THE SAME... from Eight Strings & a Whistle and Ravello Records, the flute-viola-cello trio explores the constant cycle of transformation that defines human existence. Since 1998, Eight Strings & a Whistle has earned a reputation for championing Baroque, Classical, and Romantic repertoire while also premiering new works from living composers. ...AND NOTHING REMAINS THE SAME... focuses on the music of contemporary composers, the majority of whom composed their pieces specifically for the Trio. The performances heard on the album offer a rewarding and intimate listening experience, with a deeply evocative sound rife with stark dissonance and rich harmony.
Catalog #: RR8079
Release Date: December 2, 2022
21st CenturyChamberFlutePianoThe outstanding vigor of flutist Sarah Waycott and pianist Yanna Zissiadou is on full display on ANIMO TWO, an arresting album of new music for the ANIMO flute and piano duo. The richness of musical color created here with two solo instruments is a mesmerizing testament to ANIMO's skill both as individual performers as well as their chemistry in dialogue. Zissiadou and Waycott truly have the Midas touch when it comes to commissioning new pieces for their rare setup, yielding an album that meanders between empathetic tenderness and unfettered exuberance. A delight.
Catalog #: RR7921
Release Date: January 8, 2016
21st CenturyChamberElectronicFlutePianoOn his Ravello Records release BALANCING ACTS, composer and sound designer Russell Pinkston showcases a selection of his compositions for acoustic instruments and electronic sounds. Most of these pieces combine the two, capitalizing on the absolute precision and unlimited sonic potential of electronic media, while still taking advantage of the spontaneity and expressivity of live performance. Several works feature interactive software written by the composer, which tracks a live performer and generates an electronic accompaniment in real time.
Catalog #: RR8082
Release Date: December 9, 2022
21st CenturyChamberFluteGuitarSaxophoneOn CENTER CHAMBER, wind, string, and keyboard instrumentalists come together to perform a collection of original and intimate compositions that include the saxophone — particularly Paul Cohen’s conn-o-sax, a rare and long forgotten instrument given new life in contemporary works. The conn-o-sax brings a dark, contemplative quality and infuses a unique tonal and musical spirit to these often lively, brooding, and captivating works. The engaging and brilliant intimacy of the playing eloquently reveals the unique emotional and musical bonds that tie together these exceptional artists. Listeners will undoubtedly agree: CENTER CHAMBER offers a listening experience as special and engaging as the instrument it features.
Catalog #: RR7923
Release Date: January 8, 2016
21st CenturyChamberCelloFluteViolaSince the robust development of the symphonic form in the 18th century, many composers, from Haydn, Beethoven, Mahler and Stravinsky, have written within the genre, creating engaging sonic worlds in and of themselves. Inspired by Arnold Schoenberg’s two chamber symphonies, American composer Douglas Anderson presents three of his chamber symphonies on his debut release on Ravello Records, which aim to envelope the listener in a varied and multifaceted musical environment all the while exploring the genre using the necessarily limited timbral and harmonic palette of a small ensemble.
Catalog #: RR8023
Release Date: January 10, 2020
21st CenturyChamberFlutePercussionVoiceCLICKABLE: THE ART OF PERSUASION, from the celebrated duo of flutist Zara Lawler and marimbist Paul J. Fadoul, is a concept album, an audio version of a live show that uses theatrical performance and audience participation to convey the many facets of persuasion - from powerful storytelling to coercion, pressure, and manipulation. The album includes commercial jingles, a lullaby, dust jacket texts set to music, a protest song, a serenade, and a spoken-word commentary on social media.
Catalog #: RR8003
Release Date: January 11, 2019
21st CenturyChamberFluteSaxophoneOn CROSSWIND, flutist Erin Helgeson Torres and saxophonist Michael Rene Torres, who have performed as Tower Duo since 2007, deliver a stunning set of performances which utilize flute and saxophone. Each performance evokes a sensory or psychological experience as wide-ranging as the various sensations encountered in a wet, humid environment, or the juxtaposition of consonance and dissonance. The album accentuates the duo’s emphasis on performing and premiering contemporary works by emerging composers, such as PARMA label-mates Chin Ting Chan and Scott Brickman, as well as one of Torres’ own compositions, the complex and introspective Four Short Episodes.
Catalog #: RR7974
Release Date: September 8, 2017
21st CenturyChamberElectronicFluteString QuartetKen Walicki is an American composer and director of the Composition Program at California State University, Fullerton. He is widely recognized and acknowledged for his dramatic and engaging music, often using innovative instrumentation. Walicki was one of the first composers to use turntables in his music. Walicki conveys the effects of globalization and increasing dependency on technology with CYBERISTAN, a Ravello Records release. Each piece contains its own environment and its own space. The natural acoustic sounds juxtaposed against man-made sounds of electronic instrumentation supports a dichotomy of two worlds vying for supremacy but inevitably merging into one homogenous identity.
Catalog #: RR7874
Release Date: June 4, 2013
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicFluteGuitarVoiceComposed in the wake of 9/11, Barry Seroff's Democracy is a multifaceted, genre-spanning examination of the spiritual and philosophical roots of American thought. Calling on texts from Quaker preachers, American poets, Japanese haiku, and Nietzsche, Seroff forms a flowing narrative charting our cultural development from the innocence and purity of infancy through the growing awareness of adolescence and adulthood, to our ultimate peacemaking with the joy of childhood. Seroff draws influences including classicism, jazz, hardcore punk and more and stitches the seemingly disparate elements of inspiration and source materials into an organic, evolving piece that seeks to explain the intricacies and history of American culture.
Catalog #: RR7914
Release Date: October 9, 2015
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalFluteGuitarViolaIt is often not until the brutal weight of loss and grief bears down upon us that we are forced to ponder the meaning of life and reconsider our own path of existence. Composer Masatora Goya presents his debut Ravello Records release, DREAM OF SAILING, a collection of chamber works inspired by the life and passing of Goya’s father, Masahiro.
Catalog #: RR8047
Release Date: September 10, 2021
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalFluteGuitarVoiceGuitarist William Anderson presents GENIUS LOCI, an anthology compilation highlighting his storied career as both a composer and a performer. The album features Anderson’s work with a variety of ensembles as well as his solo guitar music. The New York Times has deemed Anderson “the alert guitarist,” and with good reason; his playing reveals his passionate attention to detail. Anderson was mentored in the musical values of late Modernism, but now seeks compelling music without strictly aligning himself with particular aesthetic ideologies. The resulting anthology from Ravello Records captures the color and breadth of Anderson’s more-than three decades in the music industry.
Catalog #: RR7814
Release Date: July 26, 2011
21st CenturyChamberFlutePercussionMcDUO is the latest Ravello release from Robert McCormick and Kim McCormick. The Tampa-based husband-and-wife duo are the featured performance on this release, which includes compositions from James Lewis, Daniel Adams, Paul Reller, Stephen Montague, Howard Buss, Chihchun Chi-Sun Lee and Hugo Weisgall. The McCormick Duo has been featured on several recordings since forming to develop and perform repertoire in the flute/percussion and flute/marimba idioms.
Catalog #: RR7980
Release Date: January 12, 2018
21st CenturyChamberElectroacousticFlutePercussionSteven Kemper makes his debut on Ravello Records with his electroacoustic album MYTHICAL SPACES. Kemper combines acoustic instruments and electronics to create meditative compositions that explore the connections between real and imaginary worlds. Kemper writes that “myths represent traces of our collective imagination, and similarities between myths from different cultures point to a shared human experience.”
Catalog #: RR7904
Release Date: May 12, 2015
21st CenturyChamberClarinetFluteOboeThe conch shell exemplifies the versatility, sublimity, and transcendence of nature - a natural dwelling, a biological work of art, and, as shown by the City of Tomorrow, an instrument. NATURE, the debut Ravello Records release by the City of Tomorrow wind quintet - consisting of Elise Blatchford, flute; Stuart Breczinski, oboe; Camila Barrientos Ossio, clarinet; Laura Miller, bassoon; and Leander Star, horn - showcases works by four contemporary composers that explore the evolution of humanity's relationship with nature.
Catalog #: RR7930
Release Date: April 8, 2016
21st CenturyChamberElectroacousticFluteViolinViolinist 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 #: RR7832
Release Date: April 24, 2012
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalFlutePercussionPianoRESONANT EDGES was originally released in 2007 and features performances by pianists Dianne Frazer Cross, Peter Henderson, Mark E. Hussung, and Denise Fillion, clarinetist Karen Dannessa, flutists Deanna R. Little and Lisa A. Jelle, soprano Dorothy Maddison, and the Seattle New Music Ensemble.