Moondog - Instrumental Music by Louis Hardin (1978) {LP - Musical Heritage Society MHS3803} (Released on VINYL but not CD)
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© 1978 Musical Heritage Society | MHS 3803
Classical / Jazz / Avant-Garde / Modern Classical / Minimal / Experimental / Third Stream

LOUIS T. HARDIN (MOONDOG). In the beginning was tonality. Then came atonality which was revolutionary. Tonality continued in folk music and popular music, in spite of atonality, but in the case of serious composers, it was taboo to even think of writing tonal on pain of being ignored and unperformed. I persisted in writing tonal music, and by opposing the atonal revolutionaries, I became a counter-revolutionary. I maintained the tonal tradition, unaware that the founder of atonality himself had repudiated the 12-tone System, which he had conceived. But that was not the end of atonality, for even though its founder gave it up, his pupils did not, and so, for the time being, at least, it survives. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, Tonality!

John Cage - Complete Piano Music, Vols. 1-10 - Steffen Schleiermacher (2004) {18CD Set MDG 613 1731-2 rec 1997-2002}
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© 1997-2002, 2004 Musikproduktion Dabringhaus Und Grimm | MDG 613 1731-2
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Piano

Steffen Schleiermacher's monumental traversal of the complete piano music of John Cage will be essential for the collection of any fan of the composer's, unless he or she has already purchased the previously released ten volumes (a total of 18 discs) that are boxed together here and reissued in recognition of the composer's 100th anniversary in 2012. The 20-hour compilation is a testimony to Cage's hugely prolific output, and certainly constitutes one of the most significant collections of keyboard music of the 20th century. There could hardly be a more sympathetic and skillful interpreter of Cage's oeuvre than German pianist/composer Steffen Schleiermacher.

John Zorn - There Is No More Firmament (2017) {Tzadik TZ8352}
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© 2017 Tzadik | TZ 8352 | Tzadik Archival Series
Classical / Jazz / Avant-Garde / Modern Classical

There is No More Firmament is a remarkable collection of recent compositions from 2013–2016 that showcase the range, variety and continued creativity of Zorn as he enters his sixties. Connected together with a thread of intensity, magic and madness, the music tells a twisted and complex story of a magical descent into madness. The compositions include two works for brass ensembles, a woodwind quintet, jazz piano trio, string trio and two solo pieces for clarinet and trumpet, with the outrageous trumpet solo Merlin appearing in two realizations—one by jazz master Peter Evans and another by the European classical virtuoso Marco Blaauw.

Horatiu Radulescu - Dizzy Divinity, Byzantine Prayer, Frenetico il longing di amare, Capricorn's Nostalgic Crickets II (1993)
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© 1993 Adda (France) / 581298
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Avant-Garde / Spectralism / Serialism / Flute

The restrained, minimal burst-like flute-playing of Dizzy Divinity, the noisy, sharp Byzantine Prayer, the oddly metallic-sounding Frenetico il longing di amare, and the slightly less distinct Capricorn's Nostalgic Crickets II all make for an interesting package. Some spectralism is so abrasive it is irritating but not the case here.

Les Retrouvailles is the fifth studio album by French musician Yann Tiersen. Released in 2005 through Ici, d'ailleurs… record label, it features a number of high-profile guest vocalists, both French and Anglophone alike: Christophe Miossec, Dominique A, Elizabeth Fraser (of the Cocteau Twins), Jane Birkin, and Stuart Staples (of the Tindersticks). As is customary with his albums, Tiersen showcases his multi-instrumental skills, which on the album encompasses the accordion, piano, mandolin, and harpsichord, among others.

With his whimsical, melancholy music, Yann Tiersen has become a sought-after composer, not only for his soundtrack work, but in his own right. Borrowing from French folk music, chanson, musette waltz, and street music, as well as rock, avant-garde, and classical and minimalist influences, Tiersen's deceptively simple style has been likened to Chopin, Erik Satie, Philip Glass, and Michael Nyman.

Luca Francesconi is one of the most prominent Italian composer of his generation with a substantial and varied output to his credit. The release under review provides a good idea of his output although all the works recorded here are already some ten or twenty years old. Da Capo (1986) for small ensemble is the earliest work here and is probably one of Francesconi’s best-known and most popular. It is not difficult to understand why. It is a brilliantly scored, colourful piece full of nice instrumental touches and lively rhythms, although it opens and ends in a rather subdued manner. The other works were all composed at about the same time: between 1994 and 1995. They, too, display a considerable variety of means and moods. Etymo is the most substantial both in length and in content. The title, Etymo (as in etymology) is about the search for the origin and development of language. It sets texts from various poems from Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal for soprano, large ensemble and electronics. The final words are drawn from Baudelaire’s Carnets intimes.

The Rileys - Way Out Yonder (2018) {Sri Moonshine Music Digital Download}
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© 2018 Gyan Riley and Terry Riley / Sri Moonshine Music | DD
Jazz / Classical / Modern Classical / Avant-Garde / Electronics / Guitar / Piano

Intricate shapeshifting structures containing elements of minimalism, jazz, and North Indian raga. Way Out Yonder is the second live release from The Rileys, the duo comprised of iconic American composer and minimalist pioneer Terry Riley and his guitarist/composer son Gyan Riley. The album contains spontaneous improvisations and compositions by both Terry and Gyan, captured during three performances in Canada, Japan and the US, and features the elder Riley on piano, voice, melodica and electronics. The album artwork was created by Barbara Falconer, who also painted the cover of Riley’s landmark 1978 release, Sri Camel.

George Crumb - Makrokosmos III & IV - Bojan Gorisek (1997) {Audiophile Classics APC101301-2}
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© 1997 Audiophile Classics | APC 101.301-2
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Avant-Garde / Piano

Volume III: A collection of five pieces completed in 1974 and titled Music for a Summer Evening forms the third volume of Makrokosmos. It departs considerably from the previous two. Commissioned by the Fromm Music Foundation for Swarthmore College, the work is scored for two amplified pianos and percussion (two players), contains fewer pieces, and does not associate any of the pieces with Zodiac signs.

Minimalism has had its ups and downs in our era. But if you think you know all there is to know about it, as I occasionally do (wrongly), there is something that will change your mind. I found an experience like that when I recently was sent the 4-CD version of Canto Ostinato XXL, a composition by Simeon Ten Holt (1927-2012). This version is played by four grand pianos and a full cathedral pipe organ, by Jeroen van Veen and Friends (Brilliant 94990 4-CDs).

Steve Reich - Drumming (2018) {2CD first-time CD release Superior Viaduct SV097 rec 1971}
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© 1971, 2018 Steve Reich / Superior Viaduct | SV097
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Minimalism / Experimental / Avant-Garde / Percussion

This first-time vinyl reissue and first-time CD release has been carefully remastered from the original master tapes. Recorded live at Town Hall, New York City, 16 December 1971. Steve Reich's Drumming is regarded as one of the most important musical works of the last century. Distilled through his studies of African percussion in Ghana during 1970 and Balinese gamelan music, Reich revolutionized our understanding of polyrhythms, sculpting a new sonic territory to illuminate the radical potential of Minimalism.

This is a wonderful CD built from environmental sounds, gently rocking marimbas, lovely counterpoint for winds, foot-taping rhythms, and sweetly sung wisdom from a chorus. Westward Ho! is an eight-part canon for voices and gambas that depicts the western migration from Europe to the New World, and finally west on the Oregon Trail.

Kyle Gann - Long Night - Sarah Cahill (2005) {Cold Blue Music CB0019}
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© 2005 Cold Blue Music | CB0019
Classical / Modern Classical / Totalism / Post Minimalism / Avant-Garde / Piano

Long Night is an exquisitely drifting, ever-unfolding work for three pianos, all of which are played by noted new music pianist Sarah Cahill. Kyle Gann is a highly regarded composer, author, and award-winning critic (prolifically penning over 2,000 articles for 40 publications) who has written about new music for the Village Voice since 1986. His own music, informed by the American experimental tradition, is complex, unusual, beautiful, and moving. "Kyle Gann is a force of nature…a commanding presence in the landscape of American music."

George Crumb - Makrokosmos I & II (1972-73) for amplified piano - Margaret Leng Tan (2004) {Mode 142 Digital Download}
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© 2004 Mode Records | Mode 142
Classical / Contemporary Classical

Makrokosmos I and II for amplified piano (1972-1973) are vintage works by George Crumb, composed during the highly productive period that yielded his mystical Songs, Drones and Refrains of Death; Ancient Voices of Children; and Black Angels – an impressive output that had a tremendous influence on the experimental music of the 1970s. This 2004 recording of Crumb's 24 fantasy pieces on the Zodiac may seem a bit of a trip down memory lane, insofar as comparisons with the historic Nonesuch and Columbia Odyssey LPs are inevitable; and it is apparent now how widely Crumb's original techniques infiltrated the piano music of his contemporaries.

Moondog - The Story of Moondog (1957) {Prestige-Hallmark 716532 rel 2016}
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© 1957, 2016 Prestige / Hallmark | 716532
Classical / Jazz / Avant-Garde / Modern Classical / Minimalism

The second Moondog album to be released by Hallmark is The Story of Moondog, which officially was his fourth album and released in 1957. Though considered something of an eclectic taste, Moondog was revered by the beatnik generation and an inspiration to several minimalist composers who came along later. The Viking of 6th Avenue, as he became known, may have appeared to be an itinerant performer but his work attracted the attention of several noted musicians, composers and conductors, including Artur Rodzinski and Kenny Graham, as well as attracting numerous tribute songs, including those by Prefab Sprout and T Rex. With a documentary of his life and career currently in production, interest in Moondog is likely to grow.