Ravello Records presents ANIMATED SOUNDS, a multimedia release from composer Gheorghe Costinescu. The album showcases works by Costinescu from a varied and illustrious career spanning more than half a century. The first half of the release is purely musical, with pieces such as the virtuosic Sonata for the Piano and Essay in Sound, performed by pianist Stephen Gosling, and the expressive Voices Within, performed by violinist Vesselin Gellev. Eric Huebner performs two inventions from the larger work Evolving Cycle of Two-Part Modal Inventions for Piano, which uses the Baroque invention to explore Romanian folk music. Soprano Lucy Shelton, with Costinescu and Gosling at the piano, performs the bilingual song Why Do You Wail…/Ce Te Legeni… and the cycle Nine Portraits from the Wild, which includes gestural directions for the singer. The album’s second half showcases Costinescu’s work and collaborations in multimedia. His One-Minute Tribute: 9/11/2001 for percussion quartet is paired with his poignant animation of a photograph by Dan Nguyen of the installation "Tribute in Light." An abstract animation by Michele Gagné complements Costinescu's pioneering electronic work Dots, Lines, and Patches, responding to its crackling, spontaneous sound world. Tai Chi on the Hudson, performed by the Voxare String Quartet, echoes the organic movements of Tai Chi, as depicted in animated sketches by the composer. The album closes with two excerpts from Costinescu’s theatrical, self-reflexive work The Musical Seminar: in his performance of Phonetic-Musical Exercise & Pianist’s Stuttering Aria, the composer is both pianist and frantic, stuttering vocalist; Animated Sounds, with animated sketches in the score by Costinescu, displays absurdist scenes where the musicians contend with lecturing academics and an angry, cattle-like crowd, before they are lulled to sleep by sounds of New England crickets. KEY POINTS • Gheorghe Costinescu is an award-winning composer, conductor, pianist, musicologist, and educator. He has studied with such acclaimed composers as Karlheinz Stockhausen and Luciano Berio, and has had his works performed throughout the United States and Europe. His works can be heard on the Ravello Records releases JUBILUS & PANTOMIME (DVD) and AN EVOLVING CYCLE (CD), and on the New World/CRI release MUSIC FOR THE VOICE (CD). • Violinist Vesselin Gellev has performed across the world with numerous ensembles, in such venues as the Sydney Opera House, and Concertgebouw. He is currently violinist of the Antares Quartet, concertmaster of Kristjan Järvi’s Absolute Ensemble, and sub-leader of the London Philharmonic. • Pianist Stephen Gosling is a ubiquitous presence on the New York new music scene. He has collaborated with many prominent composers, such as John Adams, Pierre Boulez, Elliott Carter, and Steve Reich. He is currently a member of the New York New Music Ensemble and has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Dutch Radio Philharmonic, and the American Composers Orchestra. • Throughout his illustrious career, conductor David Hoose has served as music director of the Tallahassee Symphony, Brandeis University Orchestra, Emmanuel Music, and Cantiones Sacrae, which he also co-founded. Currently, he is music director of Cantata Singers & Ensemble and Collage New Music. • Acclaimed pianist Eric Huebner is known for his performances of new and traditional music by composers as varied as Elliott Carter, Olivier Messiaen, and György Ligeti. He is currently a member of the Antares ensemble, as well as the pianist for the New York Philharmonic. • Soprano Lucy Shelton, the only artist to receive the International Walter W. Naumburg Award twice, as a soloist and as a chamber musician, has performed repertoire from Bach to Boulez in major recital, chamber, and orchestral venues throughout the world. Notable world premieres include works by Elliott Carter, Oliver Knussen, Stephen Albert, Joseph Schwantner, Alexander Goehr, and Gerard Grisey. She is currently on the faculty of the Tanglewood Music Center.
