Richard Festinger. Chamber Works. Bridge Records 9245.

摘要

Composer Richard Festinger (b. 1948) has been a well-respected figure on the American contemporary music scene for three decades, especially in the “uptown” circles of New York City and in his native San Francisco Bay area. In Northern California Festinger performed early on as a jazz musician before he studied composition (with Andrew Imbrie at UC Berkeley), founded the noted contemporary music ensemble Earplay, and became Professor of Music Composition at San Francisco State University. Commercially available recordings of his vibrant, skillfully wrought compositions have been less numerous than one would wish, however, and the release of this CD devoted entirely to his chamber music for one to six players is a welcome addition to the discography of recent music by U.S. composers. The overall quality of the disc is high, with scintillating performances delivered by the New Millennium Ensemble, whose close collaboration with the composer dates back to 1994.