Chamber Music |
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"... 3: 4, 5 ..." (1997)
For oboe, clarinet, violin, viola and contrabass I: Blend II: Brio: The Mad Dance III: Elegy |
Publisher: Jeanné, Inc.
*Commissioned by Jeanné, Inc. for the International Double Reed Society. First performance: International Double Reed Society annual conference, Chicago - June 1997. |
A remarkably effective work by a major American composer perhaps just reaching the height of her powers. This piece is skillfully constructed, listener accessible, and yet retains a sense of fresh newness about it throughout. Its first movement, Blend , shows a strong timbral imagination and has a remarkably effective closing in which the unusual presence of the bass in an ensemble of this size is exploited to the instrument's depths. The Mad Dance is a tour de force of technical display for the ensemble. The pieces closes with a moving and at times tender Elegy, which conveys an unmistakable American character... This work is a major contribution to chamber music for winds and strings which hopefully will be heard frequently in concert halls worldwide. - William Nichols, The Clarinet
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A Strange Magic String Quartet No. 2 (2016)
Publisher: Subito Music Corp. • Comprised of one extended movement, the quartet begins with a dissonant, chromatic cell in arguing dialogue that is almost mystical in character, then changes to a rather hypnotic ritual rhythm which veers every once in a while into abstract ragtime territory, all encased in the spirit of the dissonant opening cell. At its close the movement returns to the spirit of the initial questing, unresolved start. |
This music asks for players possessing big technique and a sense of adventure.
ASTRAL... a mirror life on the astral plane... (2004; 2009)
For Solo Clarinet / Solo Alto Saxophone / Solo Violin / or Solo Viola (8:30 - 13:00) Publisher: Jeanné, Inc. Performances: University of Minnesota, College Music Society, Eastman, others •ASTRAL is a largely unmetered, contemplative movement roughly equivalent to one very long phrase. A sharply rhythmicized motive -- exploring the chromatic tensions of varying thirds above and below the central pitch (sounding middle C ) anchors each of the eleven stages which mark the movement’s progress. The clarinet’s registers are explored slowly one by one ultimately covering a range of three-and-one half octaves), but blend together in the final stages. Concerning the eleven ‘stages’ of the central motive: In numerology, 11 in its purest form stands for "healing the fallen nature", or subduing humanity’s animal nature by means of strength of innocence, faith, purity, beauty, goodness, love and affection. Eleven therefore represents the kind of mental, emotional and physical state that it will take to raise consciousness to its highest (holy) level. |
" The warmth is considerable in Astral, an interesting and very virtuosic work for solo viola." - INFODAD.com
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“Rhapsodic in its construction and effect Astral...a mirror life on the astral plane "slowly tracks the spirit's elevation through eleven stages from expressive contemplation through unease and turbulence to final arrival and affirmation", with eleven having a numerological significance. [T]he music will surely find wide approval.” - Canfield, FANFARE
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“A very substantial work, elaborated with evident taste and musicality. It is difficult, and demands to be taken seriously, while offering a considerable challenge to the performer, who is even expected to sing or hum at times. I strongly recommend the piece….” - Simmons, FANFARE
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“…. a kind of extended exploration, an arc from low to high, but with assorted asides and digressions, through what the composer well describes as a "slow registral upcurve uncovering the clarinet’s registers one by one". T]he rhythms are compelling and the way the work milks chromatic tensions produces some exquisite effects." - Glyn Pursglove, MusicWeb INTERNATIONAL
"Bubble-Up" Rag (2001)
Concertpiece for Flute and Piano (9:45) Publisher: Jeanné, Inc. *Commissioned by MaryLee Cochran for premiere at 2001 convention of the National Flute Association First Performance: Nat’l Flute Assoc., Dallas TX August 2001: Mary Lee Cochran, flute, Wesley Beal, pno. Others: College Music Society annual convention, Nov. 2001 (Santa Fe), and fall 2001 tour Cochran/Beal; National Flute Association - Karen Moratz, 2005; Symphony Space, NYC; others |
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“…Probably the best new piece for flute and piano that I've heard in a long time...” - AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE ~ November / December 2007
“Abundant charm and pizzazz.” - ALL MUSIC GUIDE
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" Some of the most striking music is to be heard in ‘Bubble-Up Rag’, a work of considerable complexity and length, which shifts in and out of ragtime rhythms and which explores a harmonic language that would, indeed, have startled the ragtime pioneers." - Music Web
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“A delightful jeux d’esprit. It is interesting to read in the composer’s notes that the piece was written "during the morning and evening rush-hours (!), with its original tempo clocked up to the car’s turn-signal beat"! Zaimont’s music is often characterised by the vivaciousness of her rhythms and this piece is wonderfully light but urgent in its rhythms. It deserves a place in the received canon of pieces for this combination of instruments."
- MusicWeb INTERNATIONAL
- MusicWeb INTERNATIONAL
Dance/Inner Dance (1985)
For flute, oboe, cello (11:00) Publisher: Jeanné, Inc. *Commissioned by the Huntingdon Trio * Winner ILWC Competition (Ireland) 1989 *First Prize - Friends and Enemies of New Music Competition (USA) 1990 First Performance: July 1985 Other Performances: National Musical Arts; Musical Accord; International Double Reed Society (Baton Rouge); National Theatre (Dublin); Carnegie Hall; Artists International; Univ. of Alabama - Huntsville; |
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" A composer worthy of broader recognition is Judith Lang Zaimont, whose high-voltage 'dance/innerdance' closed the program. This work weaves constantly shifting textures, colors and rhythms into a glittering, scherzo-like and seamless web that proved completely satisfying. " - THE WASHINGTON POST
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" Skillfully wrought, a sprightly trio full of conversational interplay. " - THE NEW YORK TIMES
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Doubles (1993; 2008)
For Oboe and Piano / or Soprano Saxophone and Piano (11:30) Publisher: Jeanné, Inc. *Cited on Century List (100 Great American Works ), Chamber Music America *First Prize in Tempus Continuum 2012 Composer Competition *Commissioned by Lisa Kozenko with assistance from the Minnesota Composers Forum First Performance: Weill Hall, New York, NY March 1993 Other Performances: International Double Reed Society; Chamber series - Philadelphia, PA; College Music Society; Society of Composers International; Univ. of Minnesota; National Museum of Women in the Arts; Banff Festival; others |
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" Zaimont's 'Doubles', a very pretty one-movement work with a rewarding and complex interplay between oboe and piano " - THE WASHINGTON POST
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" Doubles is an effective showpiece for oboe. " - FANFARE
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From the Folk (2004; 2010)
For Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet, Bassoon, or Clarinet Quartet (Eb, 2 Bb, Bass) (9:00) I. Song II.Dance Publisher: Jeanné, Inc. * Commissioned by the Hoff-Barthelson School/Copland House for Contemporary Music Festival 2004. First Performance: May 2004. Others: 2016, Columbus OH; others. •Although the melodies and harmonies of this piece are entirely original and refer to no distinct source, in these two movements I aim to celebrate a kind of music I’ve always loved -- folk music, and emphasize musical aspects generally though of as ‘folk-like’. The two most distinct and clearest emphases are on sweet melody, streaming ahead without undue pressure or distortion; and zesty pulse, dancing past continuously in lively, extrovert manner. - keep players and listeners at all time ‘on their toes’. |
From the Great Land: Woman's Songs (1982)
For mezzo-soprano, clarinet (Eskimo drum), piano (23:00) "She is Left on the Ice" "Passion: The First Dream" "Lullaby: he Second Dream" "Counting Song: The Third Dream" "Lament -- Interlude - Lullaby" "Vision" "She Dies" Text: Frank Buske Publisher: Jeanné, Inc. *Commissioned by the North Star Consort through a grant from the Exxon Fund for the University of Alaska. First Performance: Bayreuth, Germany, May 1982 Others: Carnegie Recital Hall; Kansas State University; St. Louis; CAMI Hall (NYC); International Clarinet Congress (London); College Music Society; Radio Station WQXR (NYC); Lousiana State University; Indiana University; etc. |
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"Powerful and inspired, Zaimont's chromatic language is appropriate for such a dark subject.... Her ingenious use of instrumental color, such as the Alaskan pan drum, keeps our imagination churning. The dusky mezzo-soprano croons a series of dreams and memories; ... her use of the clarinet mouthpiece to produce devilish effects suggesting sound of the wilderness, is especially imaginative." - WOMEN OF NOTE QUARTERLY
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"In eight sections, the cycle is dramatic, theatrical, and very effective." - The BALTIMORE SUN
"The major work on the recital was From the Great Land. This is a large, dramatic and evocative work." [International Clarinet Congress, London, England, August 1984] - THE CLARINET
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"…. a flamboyant tarantella by Judith Lang Zaimont… a fun listen." - Graham Rickson - Classical CDs, the Arts Desk
Hidden Heritage: A Dance Symphony (1987)
For flute/alto flute, clarinet/bass clarinet/tenor saxophone, electric piano, amplified cello, percussion (32:00) Publisher: Subito Music Corp. *Commissioned by Baltimore Dance Theatre/Baltimore Museum of Art, through a grant from the Peggy and Yale Gordon Trust, with additional funding from the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Art and Culture First Performances: Baltimore Museum of Art, June 6-7,1987. Others: Columbia, Maryland; Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania; University of Minnesota; Polaris Ensemble |
"A dramatic brilliance suitable for its stage origins. ...Each scene is complete within itself." - FANFARE
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"An excellent work, its disparate elements fused with remarkable skill. Indeed, listening to Zaimont's music, one often thinks that if a common musical language could exist in the late 20th century, it might sound like this." - BALTIMORE SUN
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"Fascinating renditions of visual images... Right away it grabs our attention with its clanging bells, hot and cool woodwinds ... it flaunts its tight structure and jazziness." - Classical disCDigest
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“Lazy Beguine is hauntingly beautiful” - Jack Rummel, RAGTIMERS.ORG - June 2007.
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Music For Two (1971)
for any two treble or bass wind, string, brass instruments • various pitch levels, tailored per duo (14:00) Revised version for two bass-clef instruments, 1985 Publisher: Jeanné, Inc. First Performance: September 1971 Revised Version First Performance: (for bass instruments): Peabody Conservatory, February 1985 Others: Chandler (AZ ) Symphony; world-wide |
I: Fanfare
II: Folksong
III: Folderol
Publisher: Jeanné, Inc.
*Commissioned by University of Wisconsin - River Falls - "1999 Commissioned Composer"
First Performance: Resident sax quartet - Univ. of WI
Other performances: Fiuggi Festival 1999 (Italy); Adolphe Sax Quartet - NY;
Zagreb Quartet; Presidio Quartet; CASE Quartet; others
II: Folksong
III: Folderol
Publisher: Jeanné, Inc.
*Commissioned by University of Wisconsin - River Falls - "1999 Commissioned Composer"
First Performance: Resident sax quartet - Univ. of WI
Other performances: Fiuggi Festival 1999 (Italy); Adolphe Sax Quartet - NY;
Zagreb Quartet; Presidio Quartet; CASE Quartet; others
Piano Trio 'Russian Summer' (1989)
For piano, violin and cello (30:00 original; two-movement subset most often performed 16:00) II. Nocturne III. Romp Publisher: Subito Music Corp. * Commissioned for the 10th Anniversary of the Skaneateles Festival First Performance: Skaneateles Music Festival, August 1989 Other Performances: International Congress on Women in Music; Eaken Trio, National Public Radio; Indiana University of Pennsylvania; National Museum of Women in the Arts; world-wide |
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"The music is handsomely turned with flashes of brilliance from the keyboard. There are no arid passages, nor is there any padding at all. Zaimont has enriched the literature." - Syracuse POST-STANDARD
"The first movement is nicely impressionistic. The second starts quietly, but soon turns into a brilliant but never bombastic tour de force of motion, strategically interrupted, at times, for moments of introspection." - Raymond Tuttle, FANFARE
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"Exceptionally well written for its instruments, it explores an attractively wide range of materials without being unduly dominated by any of them. The composer's flexibility in managing always interesting textures, in fact, is one of this piece's chief charms. Another is the way Zaimont integrates wide-ranging instrumental colors into the music's structure. The net result is an exceptionally ingratiating work, pleasing without ever being merely 'eager to please.' It was full of variety and engaging ideas, and it fully deserved the warmth with which it was received by the large audience." - Syracuse POST-STANDARD
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"'Nocturne' offers gorgeously dissonant melodies, paid out over melancholy piano droplets, while the 'Romp' is just that -- a wild, fiddler-spurred dance." - Minneapolis STAR-TRIBUNE
"Adroitly balanced..., a powerful indication of Zaimont's compositional abilities." - Classical Pulse! Number 23, Tower Records
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[T]he effect of the piece is spellbinding, and although tonal, the work is firmly ensconced in Zaimont’s inimitable compositional voice. The final movement, “Romp,” starts off deceptively, as though it were a continuation of the “Nocturne,” but not very far into the movement, it shows its true colors in a dynamic and lively, well, romp." - Canfield, FANFARE
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"Nocturne opens with a wistful little theme, beautifully developed, creating some lovely moments, fine sonorities and textures and some quite unusual harmonies… as we are led to the gentle, hushed coda. The violin and piano gently open Romp, soon joined by the cello as the music adopts a skittish, fast moving theme. Here, these players provide terrific ensemble as they hurtle forward through the ever developing music, eventually finding a terrific ebb and flow. Later the cello, violin, then piano take the theme in turns before weaving ahead. The music falls to a slower, quizzical passage where the three players ruminate on the theme before slowly gaining in tempo to race to the coda.
This is a terrific Trio." - The Classical Reviewer
This is a terrific Trio." - The Classical Reviewer
Reflective Rag (2001)
For flute and piano, arranged by the composer (4:00) Publisher: Jeanné, Inc. *Commissioned for premiere at the 2001 convention of the National Flute Association First Performance: Nat’l Flute Assoc., Dallas TX August 2001: Mary Lee Cochran, flute, Wesley Beal, pno. Others: College Music Society annual convention, Nov. 2001 (Santa Fe), and fall 2001 tour Cochran/Beal; National Flute Association - Karen Moratz, 200; others |
“[Reflective Rag] is wistful, lyrical - a beautiful remembrance of ragtime that moves me.”
- AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE ~ November / December 2007
- AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE ~ November / December 2007
Reflective Rag (2003)
For clarinet and piano, arranged by the composer (4:20)
Publisher: Subito Music Corp. / Jeanné, Inc.
First Performance: SAI national convention 2003
For clarinet and piano, arranged by the composer (4:20)
Publisher: Subito Music Corp. / Jeanné, Inc.
First Performance: SAI national convention 2003
SERENADE (adapted for Violin, Cello and Piano) (2008)
Publisher: Subito Music Corporation * First Prize, Third Millennium Ensemble national competition for chamber music, April 2012 *Awarded Third Prize, Darmstadt international competition for chamber music 2011 First Performance: Cincinnati College Conservatory: Melissa White, violin, Paul Wiancko, cello, Awadagin Pratt, piano December 2010. Others: around the world |
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“Serenade, a lovely 5-minute piece that demonstrates just how capable Zaimont is of writing a straightforwardly pretty, lyrical, tonal melody. “ - Simmons. FANFARE
" an introspective tone poem." - Jack Rummel, Ragtimers.org
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"Serenade has considerable intimacy and emotion." - INFODAD.com
"‘Serenade’ …is an intriguing piece of real, if mysterious, charm…"
- Music Web INTERNATIONAL |
Sky Curtains (1984)
For flute, clarinet, bassoon, viola, cello (22:00) Borealis Australis Publisher: Jeanné, Inc. * First Prize Georgia State University Centennial Competition First Performance: North/South Consonance, November 1984 Others: Georgia State University Contemporary Ensemble, University of Kansas Ensemble, American Chamber Ensemble; Hofstra University; North-South Consonance; others |
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"Sky Curtains is full of kaleidoscopic color. Particularly memorable was Zaimont's idiomatic and highly effective wind writing." - ATLANTA CONSTITUTION
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"Winds and strings play as an united ensemble, as a pair of contrasting sonorities, and in solo roles. This music has an ecstatic spirit. " - FANFARE
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"An impressionist tone poem depicting the two polar Auroras with shimmering lines that shift in and out of focus, a La Mer for the atmosphere. Close your eyes and you will see it." - Classical disCDigest
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Sonata-Rhapsody for Violin and Piano (2011)
1. Nocturne (Romantic) - Thinking 1 - 2. Aria (Sad) - Thinking 2 - 3. Dance (Twisted) For violin and piano (24:00 ) Publisher: Subito Music Corp. First Performance: Boston New Music, 2017 •A fully-rounded work for two strong players. Three large movements in differing atmospheres are separated by two free, short, astringent intermezzi - the traditional and the exploratory flourish side-by-side. Nocturne’s theme grows from the motif of a rising second. The Aria is a full-throated lament, unresolved. In Dance sharp corners and multi-meters abound, and the piano’s accents include knocking on the instrument case. |
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SPIRALS for String Trio (2000)
For violin, viola and ‘cello (30:00) I: The Spiral (Ancient Song) II: Whirligig III: A Closed Fist IV: Entropy V: The Rose VI: Chambered Nautilus Publisher: Subito Music Corp. * Millennium Commission from Chamber Music America. First Performance: Ensemble Capriccio at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Apr. 2000. Others: “A Closed Fist” reproduced as emblematic work in the College Music Society’s Reflections on American Music - The Twentieth Century and The New Millennium, Pendragon Press, November 2000. |
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"Based on the image of movement inherent in the spiral, the music coils and uncoils through six movements. The serpentine motif winds its way through tonal movements that are juxtaposed with a wealth of tone clusters and chromatic inflections. It is not easy music, but it held the audience captivated." - William Randall Beard, St. Paul PIONEER PRESS, May 8, 2000
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Publisher: Subito Music Corp.
**Commissioned by the Anderw W. Mellon Foundation
First Performance: Harlem Quartet, Syracuse University.
Eastman School of Music, Cornell University, September 15-17, 2007.
Others: NY Museum of Modern Art; nation-wide
**Commissioned by the Anderw W. Mellon Foundation
First Performance: Harlem Quartet, Syracuse University.
Eastman School of Music, Cornell University, September 15-17, 2007.
Others: NY Museum of Modern Art; nation-wide
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“The Figure” (2007), Judith Lang Zaimont’s quartet, is concerned with the way a musical line — the “figure” of the title — can waft through a work, sometimes varied, sometimes without variation but with different character and coloration. The figure itself, graceful and consonant, is inviting enough to sustain this kind of exploration, and Ms. Zaimont makes the most of it: in relatively quick succession she takes her theme through driven, rhythmically involved, darkly introspective and sweetly lyrical episodes, often weaving textures around it that are more fascinating than the figure itself.“
- Allan Kozinn, NEW YORK TIMES July 2011 |
"…a strong, powerful post-Bartók sort of work." - Simmons, FANFARE
“Achieves a brilliant blend of the dramatic, the emotional, the philosophic, the quixotic and the lyrical.” – Canfield, FANFARE
"The quartet, deriving its imagery from the idea of visual figuration illuminated in different ways, is a discursive collaboration between partners, at times passionate, mysterious or easy-going and emotionally open." - RECORDS INTERNATIONAL
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We are drawn to Zaimont’s works for their distinctively expressive, emotional, and dramatic language. This piece’s many changes in tempo, meter, and attitude push the performers to rely on intimate artistic connections with one another. —Ilmar Gavilán, violin -Lincoln Center, “The Score” an “Insider's Guide " to “Great American String Quartets" to the Performing Arts curated by The Harlem Quartet. (Feb. 2018)
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“Compelling and consistent.” - ALL MUSIC GUIDE
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"The first is called ‘Couplet’ and is, unsurprisingly, constructed in a dualistic ‘rhyming’ fashion, with long held notes juxtaposed to triple-stop sonorities; the resulting dialogue is finely articulated. The second piece, Sestina, is in six sections, and is technically demanding…. Grandeur and power.” MusicWeb INTERNATIONAL
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The Statue - Hero of Exiles (2017)
For soprano, violin, cello, and piano (7:00) Text: adapted from the writings of Emma Lazarus (including The New Colossus) Publisher: Subito Music Corp. *Commissioned by Close Encounters with Music First Performance: Daneille Tarantes and Close Encounters with Music , June 2017 |
“Charm and elegance.” -MusicWeb INTERNATIONAL
When Angels Speak (1987)
Fantasy for woodwind quintet (11:00) Publisher: Jeanné, Inc. *Commissioned by the Vox Nova Woodwind Quintet - Artists International prize First Performance: Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, February 1988 Others: Roerich Museum; American Symphony Orchestra League; Manhattan School of Music; others |
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"The piece begins and ends with imposing octaves, but at its heart seems to be a kind of heavenly gossip, with the angels graciously, sometimes lyrically, nattering on about this and that. It is well conceived for the instruments and goes down pleasantly; the final impression stronger than pleasantness: there is feeling in the discourse as well, but it is not insisted upon." - THE NEW YORK TIMES
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Wind Quintet No. 2 - " Homeland " (2001)
For flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon (16:50) I: Forest into Fields II: Echo (Intermezzo) III: Meditation and Dance Publisher: Jeanné, Inc. *Commissioned for the Bergen Wind Quintet (Norway) by the Minnesota Commissioning Club First Performance: Ted Mann Hall, Minneapolis October 2001 Others Performances; Greig Hall, Bergen (Norway); University of Southern Mississippi; others |
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One hears a wonderful flow of imagination... A French sensibility and sense of play and color can be discerned throughout her music in addition to an American strong dramatic profile, rhythmic exuberaance, and a wonderful sense of color - both timbral and harmonic. This is a work recommended for both college-level and professional ensembles. - Bruce Creditor, Quintessence in The Clarinet, No. 26
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Publisher: Subito Music Corp.
*Commissioned by the University of Alabama - Huntsville for its Silver Anniversary
First Performance: Huntsville Chamber Music Society Recital, November 1994 The Contreras Trio
Others: Manhattan School of Music, Network for New Music (Philadelphia), University of Minnesota, others world-wide
*Commissioned by the University of Alabama - Huntsville for its Silver Anniversary
First Performance: Huntsville Chamber Music Society Recital, November 1994 The Contreras Trio
Others: Manhattan School of Music, Network for New Music (Philadelphia), University of Minnesota, others world-wide
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"Beautiful music, enthusiastically recommended... The opening of ZONES, a piano trio based on the idea of cold, warm and temperate climates, is virtually a reverse trip through the major developments of twentieth-century harmony, starting with a spicy, dissonant, severely angular music that becomes gradually more consonant until it reaches the tonal lushness of Zaimont's own chosen idiom, one rich in flowing, evocative melody. It all happens in under a minute and the effect is remarkable..." - John Story, High Fidelity, Volume 20 No. 5
"The trio is based on the idea of the different character of weather patterns in the natural world, with a richly eloquent vocabulary." - RECORDS INTERNATIONAL
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"Ear-tickling sonorities, bristling with ideas; ... passionate energy and commitment [in] music aware of the past and building on it in a post-modern way." - The HUNTSVILLE TIMES
"This mini-epic incorporates sudden mood shifts, lengthy solo excursions, juiced with surprisingly ripe and unexpected lyricism ... a wild spectrum of instrumental colors and textural juxtapositions." - Minneapolis STAR-TRIBUNE
"Zones… may be my favorite of Zaimont’s compositions. [A] solidly constructed work—ruggedly expressive, if consistently austere, rewarding close, concentrated attention. Though not ingratiating in a melodic or “romantic” sort of way, [it] compels the attention of the listener, while making clear musical—if non-verbal—sense through contrapuntal rhythmic energy." - Simmons, FANFARE
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