Featuring performances by sopranos Tony Arnold and Susan Narucki, Tara Helen O’Connor (flute), Charles Neidich (clarinet), Marcy Rosen (cello), and more
The composer Edward Smaldone is featured on two new albums; "Once and Again" on New Focus Recordings (released August 15, 2020 FCR258) and "Double Portrait" on Ablaze Recordings (released June 19, 2020 AR00053).
"a modernist that doesn't need pots and pans to make his point. An artist through and through" - Midwest Record
"Once and Again" is a collection of chamber music, including song cycles and instrumental works that encapsulate Edward Smaldone's diverse sources of inspiration - from Duke Ellington to Monteverdi. The five works on this CD range from 1986-2014, and were 'tinkered with' over a number of years. "Each piece was thus visited once and again," says Mr. Smaldone. "Once and again is also a feature of the two song cycles whose texts have been recycled and repurposed for inclusion in these compositions."
"Once and Again" features performances by sopranos Tony Arnold and Susan Narucki, alongside prominent contemporary chamber instrumentalists including Tara Helen O’Connor (flute), Charles Neidich (clarinet), Daniel Phillips (violin), Marcy Rosen (cello), and more. Works include Cantare di Amore for soprano, flute, and harp, Double Duo for flute, clarinet, violin, and cello, Letters from Home soprano, flute, clarinet, and piano, and Duke/Monk for clarinet and piano. Program details and links to digital materials are below.
"Smaldone has a gift for connecting one phrase with another, even one note with another, so that you get wrapped up in the music" - Fanfare
"Double Portrait" is a 2-CD set pairing the music of composers Douglas Knehans and Edward Smaldone. Featuring performances by members of the new music ensemble All of the Above, Smaldone's program includes intimate chamber works from the flute, cello, and piano trio, Rituals: Sacred and Profane, to the solo piano work, Three Scenes from the Heartland. Program details and more resources are below.
"In 2017 Douglas Knehans invited me to be a visiting composer at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. To celebrate this visit, we coordinated a shared concert of music featuring most of the works on this current disc and played by the new music ensemble, All of the Above. The program was performed again in Ohio, as well as at the Cortona Sessions in Italy, and in New York City at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall and the DiMenna Center. Through these collaborations we have both recognized an unusual complimentary quality to our distinctly different music." - Edward Smaldone
New Recordings featuring works by Edward Smaldone
New Focus Recordings
FCR258
Released August 14, 2020
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1-3) Cantare di Amore
Tony Arnold, soprano; Tara Hellen O'Connor, flute; June Han, harp
4) Double Duo
Tara Helen O'Connor, flute; Charles Neidich, clarinet; Daniel Phillips, violin; Marcy Rosen, cello
5-10) Letters from Home
Susan Narucki, soprano; Judith Mendenhall, flute & piccolo; Charles Neidich, clarinet & bass clarinet; Donald Pirone, piano
11-12) Duke/Monk
Charles Neidich, clarinet; Morey Ritt, piano
13) Sinfonia
The Brno Philharmonic Strings, Mikel Toms, conductor
Ablaze Records
AR00053
Released June 19, 2020
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1) Rituals: Sacred and Profane
Nave Graham, flute; Yijia Fang; cello; Matthew Umphreys, piano
2-4) Suite
Scott Jackson, violin; Matthew Umphreys, piano
5-7) Three Scenes from the Heartland
Matthew Umphreys, piano
8) Double Duo
Nave Graham, flute; Mikey Arbulu, clarinet; Scott Jackson, violin; Yijia Fang; cello
American composer Edward Smaldone has established an impressive international career garnering numerous awards, commissions, performances, and recordings.
Smaldone’s 2019 commission, Murmurations (clarinet concerto) was premiered in Copenhagen by Søren-Filip Brix Hansen and Den Kongelige Livgardes Musikkorps, (the Wind Orchestra for the Queen of Denmark). His piano concerto, Intersecting Paths, for Niklas Sivelöv and the League/ISCM Orchestra, is scheduled to premiere in New York City in 2021.
Edward Smaldone was named 2016 “Composer of the Year” by the Classical Recording Foundation in New York, and was awarded the Goddard Lieberson Award by American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1993. He has received additional awards from ASCAP, the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo Corporation, the Charles Ives Center for the Arts, the Percussive Arts Society, and the American Music Center. Smaldone is Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, since 1989 and was the Director of the School from 2002 to 2016. His music is recorded on the New Focus, CRI, New World, Capstone, Ablaze and Naxos labels.