What the Press Is Saying

What you might call a progressive-conservative, he writes from within the tradition of mid-20th century tonality but takes the discourse further. Engagingly.

…within a single, subdivided movement…it packed a lot of interest. Beautifully crafted. Memorably played.

--Michael White, Telegraph.co.uk March 5, 2010

…a fetching composition…

Mr. Ranjbaran has a consummate command of orchestration and instrumental color.

--Terry McNeill, Classical Sonoma February 13, 2010

…intensely colorful and imaginative throughout…

--Gary Panetta, Peoria Journal Star February 14, 2010

…grafts popular styles from swing to fiddle hoedown onto the chamber music tradition. The hybrid felt unforced and convincing…

--Russell Johnston, Nashville Scene February 17, 2010

…a superbly crafted work that also hits on a visceral level.

--Holly Harris, Winnipeg Free Press February 10, 2010

…a deeply felt elegy…

--Holly Harris, Winnipeg Free Press February 10, 2010

Radical Light unfolds in a single span that encompasses a wealth of moods and orchestral colors…

What proved most striking here was the composer's command of harmony, and particularly the way the piece moves deftly in and out of the world of traditional tonality.

--Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle December 5, 2009

Clarinet piece was rare jewel [headline]

…a show-stopper.

But when the Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 110, by American composer Liebermann cruised to a breathless finish and the standing ovation and the shouts of bravo were echoing through the hall, it seemed clear that we had heard a piece that will remain in the repertoire for decades to come.

It is lyrically gorgeous, full of ravishing tunes from the opening whole-tone scales to the perpetual motion finale.

Lowell Liebermann’s magnificent new clarinet concerto outshone everything else.

--Seth Williamson, Roanoke Times January 26, 2010

…an evening of enchanting laughter.

Ultimately fun and alluring, Pasatieri’s magnanimous opera is more than worth seeing…

--Olga Privman, Reviewfix.com January 30, 2010

Inspired by Georges Feydeau’s Belle Époque play “A Flea in Her Ear”… “The Hotel Casablanca” is part breezy, sometimes bawdy farce; part love letter to the lyric stage.

Though drawn in broad, comedic strokes, each character also demands a measure of dignity.

--Steve Smith, New York Times January 15, 2010

The five movements, written in a through-composed declamatory style recalling Benjamin Britten, are heart-wrenching…

…a performance that grabbed the audience and never let it go.

--Mary Ellyn Hutton, Music in Cincinnati January 28, 2010

Zwilich’s music is distinctive not only for its superb craftsmanship, but also for its wit, lyricism and sheer beauty, making it immediately appealing to listeners.

Symphony No. 4…is a stunning find. From the first note, one was struck by the bold, colorful and communicative writing…

--Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati.com March 8, 2010

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's new Septet is a bear hug of a piece, wrapping a muscular piano trio around a strutting string quartet. As the bold phrases flow back and forth, the two ensembles dance in a powerful, exhilarating match of wills.

Piano septets are rare. Camille Saint-Saëns and Johann Hummel each wrote one, but for a different combination of instruments with piano, and they are rarely played. This one, for piano, three violins, two cellos and viola, strikes sparks from the opening bars.

…gorgeous and poignant harmonic writing.

--David Stabler, OregonLive.com March 9, 2010

…lyrical chromaticism laced with bracing dissonance…

Zwilich’s instrumental mastery and inventive melodic transformations have yielded a singular work that revels in its profusion of instrumental colors and is a rollercoaster of moody conversations, both joyous and intense.

Zwilich’s work made…a powerful impression…

--Lawrence Budmen, South Florida Classical Review January 18, 2010

Zwilich’s [Septet]..confirmed that a galaxy of expressive interactions can happen when these instrumental complements [piano trio and string quartet] become one big, impassioned debating team. As played with robust and nuanced charisma by the Kalichstein-Lared-Robinson Trio and Miami String Quartet, the score emerged as a finely wrought, organic and rich tapestry of ideas.

--Donald Rosenberg, Cleveland Plain Dealer November, 2009

…a compelling and eclectic work that should easily pass into the standard repertoire of chamber music.

--Jeffrey Rossman, Classical Voice North Carolina November 7, 2009

The viola threads its melody through gentle rustles and cascades which gradually grow in richness and complexity.

She has written skillfully and imaginatively for both viola and orchestra, and the music engages start to finish. How about a recording?

--Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News January 12, 2010

A symphony of the old school – sweeping, lush, robust – scored with notable complexity…

I’m eager to hear it again.

--Robert Faires, Austin Chronicle (named #2 of the "Top 9 Dance and Classical Music Treasures of 2009") January 1, 2010

These superb works reinforce my conviction that chamber music is thriving in the United States.

All three Welcher quartets are extremely well-crafted.

[about String Quartet No. 3] This music has a most welcome sense of playfulness…

[about String Quartet No. 1] …angular and acerbic but never, even in its angry moments, off-putting.

--Robert R. Reilly, Inside Catholic.com (review of Naxos American Classics 8.559384) January 29, 2010

…his Third Quartet… has a gracious fluency that suggests a continuity with string quartets by Fauré and Ravel.

…hauntingly lovely.

--Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News (review of Naxos American Classics 8.559384) December 26, 2009