- "Darkness and Scattered Light" - John Luther Adams's music gets royal treatment from late double bass player Robert Black in this new release devoted to compositions for the large instrument. Black coaxes sounds from the bass that push the envelope on what we expect from the instrument normally, and Adams's music floats along in the characteristic style of the composer: sparse, airy, and patient.
- "A Prayer to the Dynamo" - Deutsche Grammophon shares the world premiere recording of Jóhann Jóhannsson’s A Prayer to the Dynamo, a major orchestral work inspired by the composer’s fascination with technology, the field recordings he made at Iceland’s Elliðaár power plant, and the writings of American historian Henry Adams. Jóhannsson’s music maintains gentle propulsion, plain but handsome.
- "Current" - 2019 Guggenheim Fellow Samuel Adams (composer John Adams's son) shares an album of music that blurs digital and acoustic sound, closing the distance between the two. The title work, Current, is scored for string quartet and resonating snare drums, creating music with a particular inevitability.
- "Éventail" - Swiss oboist Heinz Holliger plays an album of early 20c French music, with compositions from Ravel, Debussy, Milhaud, Saint-Saens, and Casadesus, as well as Koechlin, Jolivet and Messiaen, composers that Holliger had a personal relationship with. Jolivet's Controversia stands out for its rich dialogue between Holliger and French harpist Alice Belugou.
- "Bach Partitas Re-Imagined" - the Principal of the Royal Academy of Music, Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, commissioned these 're-imaginings' of three of Bach's most celebrated keyboard Partitas for the same scoring from alumnus composer Thomas Oehler. This music shines bright and stays true to its original scoring, which is perhaps the toughest challenge of a creative arrangement.
- "Starlighter" - Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, string quartet Brooklyn Rider, and percussionist Mathias Kunzli give compelling renditions of works by Azmeh, Colin Jacobsen, and Lev Zhurbin here. Kunzli's accompaniment can be abrasive and overpowering at times, but the final product is still impactful, especially in Azmeh's quintet, "In The Element."
- "Twofold" - a record made entirely of unaccompanied flute music is not a task for the faint-of-heart, and flutist Brandon Patrick George proves his unwavering dedication to the task in this new collection. Brandon's tone has an appealing, unaffected mellowness, and he navigates music by C.P.E. Bach, Saad Haddad, Reena Esmail, Shawn Okpebholo, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Claude Debussy, and Tōru Takemitsu with ease.
- "Hockney: Bigger & Closer" - Nico Muhly's 60-minute original score was crafted to accompany a new immersive exhibit of artist David Hockney's works in London, so while its a bit of a shame to listen to this music outside its intended context, listen closely and you'll hear Hockney's brushstrokes clear as day.
