Whirling Dervish at the Kennedy Center
- On February 21, 2016
- By alzand@rice.edu
- In News
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Violinist Natalie Lin and pianist David Mamedov performed the final movement of Imaginary Scenes on February 20th, in Washington, DC as part of the Shepherd School of Music’s contribution to the Kennedy Center’s Conservatory Project. View the terrific performance of Whirling Dervish above.
Măcelaru to present European première of City Scenes
- On December 28, 2015
- By alzand@rice.edu
- In News, Reviews/Press
- 0
The wonderful young conductor Cristian Măcelaru, currently Conductor-in-Residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra, will present the European première of City Scenes on February 12, 2016 with the Romanian Radio Orchestra.
Musiqa Awarded Second “Adventurous Programming” Award from CMA/ASCAP
- On December 16, 2015
- By alzand@rice.edu
- In Musiqa, News
- 0
Musiqa has just been honored with an “Adventurous Programming” Award from Chamber Music America and ASCAP, its second such award in three years. Three ensembles and four presenters were selected to receive 2016 CMA/ASCAP Awards, which will be presented at the Chamber Music America National Conference on Sunday, January 10, 2016 at the Westin New York at Times Square in New York City. Cia Toscanini, vice president of concert music, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), will present the awards. Established jointly by Chamber Music America and ASCAP, the annual awards recognize U.S.-based professional ensembles and presenters for distinctive programming of music composed within the past 25 years. The recipients, chosen by an independent panel of classical and jazz chamber music professionals, were evaluated on the basis of their programming and innovations in attracting audiences to performances of new music. Musiqa
SOLI concert in San Antonio features Swimmy
- On November 05, 2015
- By alzand@rice.edu
- In Musiqa, News, Reviews/Press
- 0
Classical Voice North America (Journal of the Music Critics Association of North America) reviews SOLI Chamber Ensemble’s October 5th opening concert, which featured a program of works by Pierre Jalbert, Anthony Brant and my piece Swimmy, narrated by Texas Public Radio’s Nathan Cone.
Al-Zand deftly embodies in music the spirit, delicacy, and subtle colors of Lionni’s illustrations (projected on a screen for this performance). Especially delicious are the rhythmically cockeyed walk of a lobster and the serpentine gliding of an eel “whose tail was almost too far away to remember.”
Tagoriana CD reviewed in Italy
- On October 21, 2015
- By alzand@rice.edu
- In News, Reviews/Press
- 0
The September issue of La Tenda, a monthly cultural magazine based in Teramo, Italy, reviewed Tagoriana, a CD on Albany Records that includes my Tagore Love Songs. The recording features mezzo-soprano Aidan Soder, baritone Paul Busselberg and pianist Calogero Di Liberto.
…Al-Zand chiude la Tagoriana con la sua giovanile immediatezza e la sua inventiva melodica che non rinuncia alla tradizione liederistica e si compenetra perfettamente con i testi da lui scelti.
…Al-Zand closes out Tagoriana with a youthful immediacy and melodic invention that does not reject the lieder tradition and perfectly interprets his chosen texts.
SOLI perform Swimmy on Musiqa’s Opening Night at MATCH
- On October 12, 2015
- By alzand@rice.edu
- In Musiqa, News, Reviews/Press
- 0
San Antonio’s SOLI Chamber Ensemble performs Swimmy on Musiqa‘s October 10th concert at the new Midtown Arts and Theatre Center (MATCH). A preview feature appears in the Houston Chronicle. The narrator will be actor Seán Patrick Judge. Other pieces on the program include works by Anthony Brandt, Pierre Jalbert, Marcus Maroney and Carl Schimmel. Performances of this same program will also take place in San Antonio on October 6th and 7th with narrator Nathan Cone.
New CD by Museaux Trio
- On August 12, 2015
- By alzand@rice.edu
- In News
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The Museaux Trio (Syndey Carlson, flute; Denise Fujikawa, harp; and Brian Quincey, viola) have just released their debut CD, which includes a recording of Studies in Nature, a work commissioned for them. The piece is inspired by the illustrations of biologist and artist Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919). His seminal Kunstformen der Natur (1899–1904) features beautiful, elegant renderings of newly discovered sea organisms. A species of radiolaria appears on the CD cover (below). The recording is released on Albany Records and is available for download at iTunes and Amazon.
Review of Paganimania in Fanfare
- On July 10, 2015
- By alzand@rice.edu
- In News, Reviews/Press
- 0
A new review of Christopher Janwong McKiggan‘s CD Paganimania appeared in the recent Fanfare online blog. The CD features the premiere recording of Paganini Reverie.
Article in Symphony Magazine
- On June 05, 2015
- By alzand@rice.edu
- In News, Reviews/Press
- 0
The Summer 2015 edition of SYMPHONY, the quarterly magazine published by the League of American Orchestras, features an article by Thomas May entitled A New East-West Polyphony, which highlights composers who are “drawing on their Arabic, Turkish, and Iranian roots to enrich America’s orchestral life.” The Houston Symphony’s performance of my City Scenes is mentioned, as is the work of Mohammed Fairouz, Fawzi Haimor, Mariam Adam, Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol, Kinan Azmeh, Kareem Roustom, Malek Jandali, and Reza Vali.
Paganini Reverie Film
- On June 03, 2015
- By alzand@rice.edu
- In News
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Richie Hawley of Little Frenchie Filmhouse has just released a new film featuring pianist Christopher Janwong McKiggan playing my Paganini Reverie. The film’s visual style is an homage to Alfred Hitchcock, specifically his 1959 film North by Northwest. Hawley is the former principal clarinetist of the Cincinnati Symphony and a current faculty colleague at the Shepherd School of Music. His films are always lively and kinetic, elegantly filmed, produced and—most significantly—eminently musical. Chris McKiggan is a virtuosic young pianist whose musical versatility and innovative programming of new works are hallmarks of his artistic style. His recording of Paganini Reverie can be found on his CD Paganimania.
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra plays Visions
- On May 15, 2015
- By alzand@rice.edu
- In News
- 0
The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2015–2016 season, which will include an April 30th, 2016 performance of Visions from Another World, under the direction of Cristian Macelaru, Associate Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra. An announcement of the season appears in the Edmonton Journal. Also on the program is Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 and Elmer Bernstein’s Guitar Concerto.