Strings Attached
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Composer(s)
Thomas Whitman
Allan Crossman
Mary Jeanne Van Appledorn
Christopher James
Performer(s)
Max Lifchitz, piano
David Szepessy, cello
The North/South Consonance Chamber Ensemble
This album celebrates North/South Consonance's twenty-fifth consecutive year of advocating on behalf of composers of our time. It includes first recordings of five works by four living American composers whose pieces have been featured as part of our New York City concert series. A post-romantic thread runs through each composition.

Whitman's Ori--a single-movement string quartet--is an impressionistic fantasy based on the sacred Jewish melody Avinu Malkeinu. His solo cello suite The Seven Deadly Sins consists of ancient and modern dances. Crossman's piano piece Street Suite depicts scenes from each city where the composer has resided: San Francisco, Berkeley and Montreal. Van Appledorn's Uptown Blue is a charming blues-inspired piano piece written to commemorate the new millennium. The musical language used by James in his Four Intermezzi--for string trio and piano --respects tradition while sounding refreshingly personal and contemporary.

Great care was taken to preserve the integrity of the concert hall ambiance when this album was recorded and mastered. Indeed, the listener will find that the natural resonance of the concert hall and the wide dynamic range of the music were captured successfully. Please use a moderate volume setting when playing this disc.

Max Lifchitz New York, May 2005