KBACH's First Take

Composer Jeff Beal is familiar to audiences through his soundtrack scores for shows like Monk, House of Cards, and HBO's Rome. A new album with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra includes two concert pieces by Beal, "Four Score," a gift to the album's conductor (Leonard Slatkin) for his 80th birthday, and "Body in Motion," a violin concerto for Kelly Hall-Tompkins. Michael Keelan talked with Beal and Hall-Tompkins.More information is available at the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

Pianist Susan Tomes has an extensive and distinguished discography as a chamber music pianist and is the author of several books about music. Her new solo album “Women and the Piano” stems from the biographies she researched to produce her 2024 book of the same name. KBACH’s Michael Keelan talked with her about the discoveries she made investigating the lives and music of these artists. More information is at Hyperion Records.

The Sturm und Drang movement swept through the arts in the late eighteenth century, bringing drama and heightened emotion. Conductor Ian Page is in the midst of a large recording project with his ensemble The Mozartists to document that artistic movement. Each volume features symphonies alongside vocal works in the Sturm und Drang style by composers both familiar and obscure to modern audiences. KBACH's Michael Keelan talked with Page about the latest installment which is volume 4 of 7. It includes the famous "Farewell" symphony (#45) by Haydn. More information is at The Mozartists.

Cellist Camille Thomas was personally invited by Philip Glass to play his two cello concertos ahead of the pioneering American composer's ninetieth birthday this season. A new album includes the concertos with the Brussels Philharmonic alongside arrangements of Glass's piano music. Michael Keelan talked with Thomas. Find more details at Deutsche Grammophon.

Anna Besson teaches flute at the Brussels and Amsterdam conservatories. Her new album with her ensemble A Nocte Temporis contains all the Mozart flute quartets along with Hoffmeister's arrangement of Mozart's piano sonata, K.311 for the same instrumentation. KBACH's Michael Keelan talked with Besson about playing historical flutes. More information is at Alpha Classics.

Connor Chee is a Diné (Navajo) composer and pianist who plays his own music on a new album, "Sandpaintings." The title refers to a form of Native art with healing properties, rich in symbolism and cultural references. The music reflects those visual representations in a carefully designed cycle. KBACH’s Michael Keelan talked with Chee. See more at Wild Saguaro Records.

Béla Bartók composed 44 short duos for two violins, initially for use in an educational method. Their musical rigor makes them suitable for concert performance, and a new recording with violinist Alexandra Preucil and violist Antoine Tamestit intersperses the duos with the original field recordings of the folk source material made by Bartók over a century ago. KBACH's Michael Keelan talked with both players. More information is at Harmonia Mundi.

Arthur Sullivan is famous for the comic operettas he wrote with wordsmith William S. Gilbert. A new debut album from tenor David Webb features many excerpts from G&S, as they’re known, but also a few of Sullivan’s more serious efforts. The Academy of Ancient Music lends a distinctly Victorian tint to the instrumental accompaniment. KBACH’s Michael Keelan talked with Webb.More info is at Resonus Classics.

Cincinnati-based composer Rick Sowash has released a new album of his music for clarinet and piano on his RSP Classics label. The release, Full Circle, features clarinetist Christopher Bade with KBACH's Greg Kostraba at the piano. Greg talked with Sowash about his varied career, his love of writing for the clarinet, and the music on the new release. The album is available through Kickshaw Records.

The Apollo Chamber Players consistently explore contemporary American culture on their albums. We the People features recent commissions often with texts reflective of aspects of democracy and the experience of ethnically diverse groups in the US. The wide variety of textures includes narrator, electric violin, a student choir, and soloists. KBACH's Michael Keelan talked with ensemble founder Matthew Detrick.