The compositions of Adam Silverman reflect his adventurous curiosity—he’s written music in many styles, from tonal to microtonal, from minimal to maximal, but the music is always direct, expressive, and expertly crafted.
| # | Audio | Title/Composer(s) | Performer(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Time | 55:06 | |||
Sturm (2002) |
||||
| Amy Barston, cello, James Stern, violin, Audrey Andrist, piano | ||||
| 01 | I. Forcefully, with Bite | I. Forcefully, with Bite | 6:26 | |
| 02 | II. Tenderly, with Passion | II. Tenderly, with Passion | 8:11 | |
| 03 | III. Swiftly, with Aggression | III. Swiftly, with Aggression | 4:39 | |
Nocturnes and Reveries (2004) |
||||
| Audrey Andrist, piano | ||||
| 04 | I. Fleeting | I. Fleeting | 1:06 | |
| 05 | II. Sentimentally | II. Sentimentally | 2:41 | |
| 06 | III. Agitated | III. Agitated | 2:24 | |
| 07 | IV. Tenderly | IV. Tenderly | 1:47 | |
| 08 | V. Dolce, Sostenuto | V. Dolce, Sostenuto | 3:03 | |
| 09 | VI. Sprightly | VI. Sprightly | 2:43 | |
| 10 | Ricochet (2004) | Ricochet (2004) | Strata | 8:40 |
Corrie Q's Jigs and Reels (String Quartet #3) (2005) |
||||
| The Corigliano Quartet | ||||
| 11 | I. Sophie's Set (jigs) | I. Sophie's Set (jigs) | 4:11 | |
| 12 | II. Slippery Waltz | II. Slippery Waltz | 4:58 | |
| 13 | III. The Hopping Needle (reels) | III. The Hopping Needle (reels) | 4:17 | |
Some composers are manically focused, repeating themselves in some way or another throughout their entire lives, honing in and perfecting a single notion in its multiple extremes—from Rossini to Reich, Lassus to Lutoslawski—while others are absorbent, exploring multiple strands of possibilities, moods and stripes, among them Stravinsky, Poulenc, Schoenberg, Andriessen, and the composer of the music on this disc, Adam Silverman.
Neither sort of artist is preferable to the other (where would we be without Reich’s razor-focus and Stravinsky’s wanderings?) but it does say a lot about the person and personality of the composer who chooses to go rogue, even from themselves. The compositions of Adam Silverman reflect his adventurous curiosity—he’s written music in many styles, from tonal to microtonal, from minimal to maximal. He seems to have settled, at least in the last half decade, on music favored by melody and lush, piquant harmonies, music with clear forms and elegant instrumental lines. But what he retains throughout all of the four pieces on this disc is a generous spirit and a caring, inviting approach to music making. The music sings for something just out of reach while being entrancing and gorgeous—which is what all good music ought to do." -- Daniel Felsenfeld
Recorded 12/07, and 5/07 in the Recital Hall and Concert Hall at SUNY Purchase, NY
Engineered and Produced by Judith Sherman
Engineering and Editing Assistant: Jeanne Velonis
Liner Notes by Daniel Felsenfeld
Design by Calabaza Studios
Photography by Joel Silverman
Personnel:
Sturm: James Stern, violin; Amy Sue Barston, cello; Audrey Andrist, piano
Nocturnes and Reveries: Audrey Andrist, piano
Ricochet: Strata (Nathan Williams, clarinet; James Stern, violin and viola; Audrey Andrist, piano)
Corrie Q's Jigs and Reels: The Corigliano Quartet (Michael Jinsoo Lim, violin: Lina Bahn, violin; Melia Watras, viola; Amy Sue Barston, cello)
Professor of music composition and theory at West Chester University, Adam Silverman (b. 1973, Atlanta, GA) is a composer of music for concert performance. Many of his works have entered the standard canon of percussion ensemble literature, including the quartets “Quick Blood,” “The Cruel Waters” and “Spiderweb Lead,” the octet “Sparklefrog,” and sextet “Naked And On Fire.” In the past decade, his work composing for wind symphony has produced several works for percussion soli with wind ensembles, starting with the widely-performed marimba concerto “Carbon Paper and Nitrogen Ink” and including works with drum kit soloist (“Zipzap”), a double concerto for two percussionists (“The Rule of Five”) and “Speaking Truth To Power, 2018” for four percussionists and wind band. His other works for winds include “Alien Robots Unite!,” “Raining Bricks,” “Hard Knocks,” and the saxophone concerto “Alternating Current,” which was premiered with Timothy McAllister as soloist. In addition to these works for percussion and wind ensemble, Silverman’s catalog also includes works for chamber ensemble, orchestra, and opera, and have been performed worldwide by such ensembles as The New York City Opera, The Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, The Opera Company of Brooklyn, Eighth Blackbird, The Corigliano Quartet, and The Prism Quartet. He also composed the score for “Little Fiel,” which blends stop-motion animation with filmed documentary; in 2018, this film had 50 screenings in 15 countries, winning many awards including Best Original Music at the Oregon Documentary Film Festival.
Four full-CD recordings of Silverman’s music are available and individual compositions of his have also appeared on CDs by the Temple University Wind Symphony, Prism Saxophone Quartet, cellist Amy Sue Barston, Trio Kavak, The Florida State University Percussion Ensemble, and others, all of which are widely available online.
Educated at Yale (Doctor of Musical Arts, 2003), The Vienna Musikhochschule (1994-1995), The University of Miami (Bachelor of Music, 1995) and in private study with microtonal composer Ben Johnston, Silverman is now an Old-Time music enthusiast, performing as an amateur on banjo, fiddle and mandolin.
http://www.adambsilverman.com/New Focus Recordings is an artist-led collective label featuring releases in contemporary creative music of many stripes, as well as new approaches to older repertoire. The label was founded by guitarist Dan Lippel, composer Peter Gilbert in 2004, and composer/engineer Ryan Streber in 2004, formed …Read More …
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