Genre: Solo Instrumental

Ravello Records presents SOPRANO SUMMIT from revered saxophonist Paul Cohen. Alongside his work as a performer, Cohen is known for his passionate scholarship, rediscovering long-forgotten saxophone works as well as arranging related music for the instrument. In this, his latest contribution, Cohen presents an album of music for the soprano saxophone in chamber and solo settings.

KEEP GOING: THE MUSIC OF ELIAS TANENBAUM features the chamber and solo works of the late Elias Tanenbaum performed by Ensemble Pi. The pieces demonstrate Tanenbaum's ability to turn his emotional reactions to world events into music that illustrates both the life-changing grief and need for change that those events cause. As Tanenbaum himself said, "What is there left in any of us but to keep going?" Ensemble Pi is a new music ensemble dedicated to performing the music of both living composers and undiscovered composers of the past. Keep Going is the ensemble's tribute to Tanenbaum, whose beautiful and thought-provoking music has never received the widespread recognition it deserves.

Amy Briggs brings to life a variety of tangos from different composers on TANGOS FOR PIANO. Proposed by composers from UC Davis, the disc features works from Laurie San Martin, Yu-Hui Chang, Pablo Ortiz, Ross Bauer, Yvar Mikhasoff’s International Tango Collection, Astor Piazzolla, and many more. The different backgrounds and compositional variety of each composer highlight the breadth and possibilities of the tango, which Briggs captures impeccably on the solo piano.

“What music encapsulates the 90s?” This question is usually answered with grunge, alt-rock, manufactured pop, hip-hop, or any combination thereof. With 90S TIMEFLOW, composer Alan Schmitz steers us in another direction with a collection of contemporary classical works that represents the overarching themes of his work throughout the decade. The melodic, evocative, and accessible works on this release cap off a revolutionary century of classical composition with the perfect balance of influence and ingenuity.

WHEN WIND COMES TO SPARSE BAMBOO was originally released in 2003. Saxophonist Demetrius Spaneas performs works by Bach, Rands, Britten, Persichetti, Debussy, Martino, Tower, and Heim with contemporary grace, providing new and varied settings to standard and contemporary works.

NO SUGGESTION OF SILENCE was originally released in 2001 and was lauded as "truly refreshing " (21st Century Music) and "sophisticated" (New Music Connoisseur). Featuring performances by pianist John Root, flutist Hugh Williams, The Next Stage Speaking Chorus, The Barbad Chamber Orchestra with violinist Sebu Sirinian and conductor Ramin Heydarbeygi, The Choir of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, and the Goliard Chorale with the P.S. 122 Children's Chorale, clarinetist Thomas Piercy, cellist Jane Lawson, and pianist Judith Olson.

TRAVELER’S TALE was originally released in 2007 and features on-disc performances by flutist/composer Byron Petty, pianist Shuko Watanabe, clarinetist Roger Quigley, hornist Wallace Easter, guitarist Robert Trent, trumpeter Chris Magee, organist Daniel Brinson, and violinists Mark Taylor and Janice Vincent.

A CONCERT OF MUSIC BY ALLEN BRINGS was originally released in 2008 and features stunning performances by pianists Allen Brings and Eric Huebner, soprano Jennifer Foster, the Atlantic String Quartet, Talujon, and Flexible Music.

LYRIC IMAGES is a collection of guitar pieces written by composer Alan Schmitz over a period of 25 years (1977 to 2002). The works (presented here in reverse chronological order) display a variety of styles and include tonal variations, atonal-intervallic writing, and 12-tone techniques. The use of such different approaches, sometimes in the same piece, is indicative of what has developed in the works of many artists (musical, visual, poetic, dance) during the second half of the 20th century.

Richard Crosby's AN AMERICAN PORTRAIT was originally released in 1999, and features stellar works by Charles Tomlinson Griffes, Amy Beach, Lee Hoiby, William Grant Still, David Guion, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and George Gerswhin.

David Bennett Thomas' CHAMBER WORKS was originally released in 2005, and was lauded as "immediately engaging" (Philadelphia Music Makers) and "concise and comprehensible" (American Record Guide).

OBSTRUCTED VIEW was originally released in 2005 and was lauded as "deft, challenging and eclectic" (Washington Post), and features composer Jessica Krash performing the pieces for solo piano.

This solo piano album featuring Canadian pianist Jane Solose, presents works by American composers George Gershwin, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Amy Beach, Chen Yi, Deniz Ince, and James Fry.

Ravello Records is pleased to announce the first installment of its compilation series, VANGUARDS VOL. 1, presenting a deep cross-section of the label's contemporary and eclectic catalog. The album features performances by the London Symphony Orchestra, pianist Kate Boyd, the McCormick Percussion Group, the New Hudson Saxophone Quartet, pianist Amy Briggs, the Grammy-nominated Strung Out Trio, and many more in works by contemporary composers such as Alan Beeler, Stefan Poetzsch, Michael Veloso, Lisa Miles, Hubert Howe, Scott Brickman, Alan Schmitz, and others.

As ocean waves continue their usual cycle of meeting the shore and returning to the vast blue wholeness, a certain kind of freedom, along with a sense of comfort for the unknown, can be found within their consistent movements. Drawing inspiration from nature and meditation, flutist and composer Jennifer Borkowski presents her debut Ravello Records release COMPOSED. Borkowski creates a dialog between Western and Indian classical music with her adaptation of Anusvara by Shirish Korde, in which she uses a Western classical flute. Korde’s other work on this album, Tenderness of Cranes, offers imagery of nature: the playful dance of cranes, wings flapping on water, and birds taking flight.

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) has earned an undisputed place among the greatest pianists of his time and perhaps of all time, both for his titanic technique and his unapologetic rejection of Late Romantic performance practices. His playing, teaching, and writings continue to shape how and what pianists play today. Busoni is still remembered for his innovative approach to J.S. Bach scholarship through his work as an editor, and especially for his ever-popular transcriptions of Bach’s organ works.

Ravello Records is pleased to announce the release of the late composer-performer Frank A. Wallace’s album, WALLACE PLAYS WALLACE. This multi-disc compilation is a wide-ranging culling of the noted guitarist/composer’s decades of masterful classical guitar performances of his own compositions. In the wake of the artist’s passing in 2020, the album distills his prolific output down to all of Wallace’s own solo classical guitar works that he played, recorded, and released during his lifetime. Wallace’s music, known for its extraordinary breadth of color and concept, has been heralded as “beautifully played and superbly recorded” by Classical Guitar Magazine. Wallace displays his trademark blend of sophisticated virtuosity and transfixing musicality in this crowning consummation of his recorded solo works.