A Grand Journey Vol. 2 Trio Casals, Alexandr Kislitsy, Ovidiu Marinescu, Anna Kislitsyna

• Bruce Babcock (b. 1951): Nevertheless:
• 1Babcock: Nevertheless: I. Allegro04:12
• 2Babcock: Nevertheless: II. Moderato04:38
• 3Babcock: Nevertheless: III. Presto03:21
• Richard E. Brown (b. 1947): Sonatina for Cello and Piano:
• 4Brown: Sonatina for Cello and Piano: I. Allegro Moderato03:09
• 5Brown: Sonatina for Cello and Piano: II. Andante con moto03:15
• 6Brown: Sonatina for Cello and Piano: III. Allegro02:22
• Elizabeth Vercoe (b. 1941): Sonaria:
• 7Vercoe: Sonaria08:27
• Andre’ E. Godsey: String Trio No. 1:
• 8Godsey: String Trio No. 1: Reflections Through the Windows Raindrops: I. Andante01:28
• 9Godsey: String Trio No. 1: Reflections Through the Windows Raindrops: II. Moderato con moto02:28
• 10Godsey: String Trio No. 1: Reflections Through the Windows Raindrops: III. Allegro Vivace02:18
• John Summers: Converse for Solo Violin and Cello:
• 11Summers: Converse for Solo Violin and Cello07:03
• Moderato for Solo Cello:
• 12Summers: Moderato for Solo Cello09:04
• Brian Field (b. 1967): …and all that jazz…:
• 13Field: …and all that jazz…05:04
• Total Runtime56:49

Info for A Grand Journey Vol. 2

Inspired by traditional melodies and cultural flavors, A GRAND JOURNEY gives us contemporary chamber works by Richard E Brown, Ovidiu Marinescu, and Mark G. Simon. Performed by internationally acclaimed Trio Casals, these distinct works immerse listeners in varying motifs drawn from diverse cultures, simulating a journey of melodic Korean folk patterns, Greek mythological icons, Irish fiddling, tango, and sensations garnered from the Black Sea and English countryside.

The composers draw upon a wealth of technical knowledge and established forms to bring their musical visions to life. Brown’s Trio No. 1 applies ideas from pentatonic Korean folk songs to strictly crafted chaconne, scherzo, and fugue forms, while Trio No. 2 follows a looser bookended construction with a pastoral sound. Marinescu’s piece, The Journey, refers both to cultural sources and the composer’s own inner journey as he blends classical form, clocklike repetition, tango rhythms, and fiddle tunes to express his ideas. Simon’s Caucasus Sonata is a hair-raising journey of the soul through rock and hard places, demanding virtuosity and stamina from the performer.

Trio Casals:
Alexandr Kislitsyn, violin
Ovidiu Marinescu, cello
Anna Kislitsyna, piano

Trio Casals:
Since making a highly acclaimed debut at the 1996 edition of the Pablo Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, Trio Casals has delighted audiences with spectacular virtuosity, engaging enthusiasm, and exquisite musical elegance. During the 2020-21 season, Trio Casals recorded their sixth and seventh albums for Parma Recordings with new violinist Alexandr Kislitsyn, who continues the great tradition established by Sylvia Ahramjian. MOTO ETERNO was released to critical acclaim in the spring of 2021 and will be premiered in concert in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall. The Trio’s A GRAND JOURNEY was released September 2021 on Navona Records.

Trio Casals performs regularly in Weill Hall (2016, 2018, 2019, 2020), has concertized in the Rachmaninov Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Holywell Room in Oxford, England, at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, and has toured China and Romania. Recent guest appearances include concerts for the Syracuse New Music Society (NY), Union College IN Schenectady (NY), Lewes Chamber Players (DE), and Kendal Concerts (PA). Other notable previous engagements include a week-long collaboration with the Nashville Ballet and composer Michael Kurek, appearances in the Triple Concerto by Beethoven with the Helena and Southeastern PA Symphonies, and concerts in Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware.

Trio Casals has created original programs that juxtapose the great classical tradition of Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, and Tchaikovsky with new works written by American composers, such as Paul Schoenfield, Michael Kurek, George Rochberg, Hilary Tann, and over 30 other contemporary composers, of whom many have written for Trio Casals: Diane Jones, L Peter Deutsch, Joanna Estelle, Clive Muncaster, David Nisbet Stewart, Nicolas Ascioti, Brian Noyes, and Joanne D. Carey, to name a few. The trio often plays the works of Astor Piazzolla, who brought the Argentine tango from the dance halls onto the concert stage. In addition to its performing schedule, Trio Casals is committed to music education, offering regular master classes at schools and colleges. Its members have played in shelters for victims of domestic abuse, nursing homes, and hospitals, and all three have a distinguished career as soloists.

This album contains no booklet.