Recordings
Dancing at the Pink House
2017
Performed by:
José González Granero, clarinet
Jonah Kim, cello
Nick Matthiesen percussion
Patricia Niemi, vibraphone and marimba
Mary Rowell, violin
Patricia Shands, clarinet
Brenda Tom, piano
James Winn, piano
Praise for Dancing at the Pink House
Terry Riley calls Dancing at the Pink House, "a downright exciting album, full of delightful twists and turns, always accessible, yet full of complex fabrics that reassemble themselves before our very ears."
Angels and Watermarks
2014
Performed by Brenda Tom, piano and harpsichord, and an ensemble under the direction of Barbara Day Turner.
Its program includes recordings of the Concerto for Piano and Ten Instruments, Angels and Watermarks for harpsichord, and Dream for piano.
Brenda Tom is a celebrated Bay Area keyboardist who has been receiving widespread critical praise for her recent performances of the Glass Piano Concerto with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.
Praise for Angels and Watermarks
Composer Chen Yi calls the album “an exciting and amazing program … in brilliant performances that walk us from European early music to Eastern folk music and American jazz — a wonderful addition to the repertoire.”
“The first movement of Howard Hersh’s Concerto for Piano and Ten Instruments opens in prime, attention-getting fashion: thunderous, repeated middle C’s interrupted by wild flourishes that suggest a piece that might head, stylistically, in any number of directions. But when the orchestra starts playing, it jumps in with a mixed-meter folk dance, pretty much the last thing one is led to expect. It’s a surprising contrast worthy of Beethoven and indicative of the smart, all-embracing ethos of the music on this album and its composer.” — Jonathan Blumhofer, The Arts Fuse, Boston
Click here for the complete review.
The Pony Concerto
2007
Performed by Patricia Shands, clarinet, and James Winn, piano
This Albany CD includes recordings of The Pony Concerto for flute, clarinet, piano, violin, and cello, Braided River Nights for alto flute and marimba, and the Sonata for violin and percussion (with string bass obbligato).
In his review for Classics Today, David Hurwitz called them "lovely performances of music well worth hearing, and the sonics are excellent too."
Terry Riley describes it as a "brilliant new CD release by one of the masters of California's thriving new music scene...these pieces are rendered with the kind of passion and nuance that only happens when performers are deeply moved and in perfect sync and understanding with the music's design. This is music of the Heart guided by a keen intelligence."
