Albert’s Window

From Stravinsky-esque rhythms and impressionistic harmonies to Xerox® machine-inspired gestures, Eight Strings & a Whistle – comprised of flutist Suzanne Gilchrest, violist Ina Litera, and cellist Matthew Goeke – present a diverse selection of contemporary and 20th-century works that highlight the ensemble’s blend of technical prowess and emotive interpretation on their debut Ravello Records release ALBERT’S WINDOW.

Going Up? by Martin Rokeach and commissioned by Eight Strings & a Whistle, ensnares the listener in its elliptical orbit, as each theme gradually ascends to nebulous, whimsical resolutions. Aloysia Serenade, Op. 19 by Peter Jona Korn (1922-1998) was written for Boston Symphony Orchestra flautist Doriot Anthony Dwyer, the first woman to hold a principal chair in a major U.S. orchestra. The composition leaps from spirited, energetic peaks to brooding, contemplative valleys, traversing a vast amount of emotional and musical territory.

Written for and dedicated to Eight Strings & a Whistle, Bad Robots by composer Edmund Cionek explores man’s relationship with technology, drawing inspiration from the sounds of a copy machine and its rhythms. The album closes with the lyrical Trio, Op. 40 by Albert Roussel (1869-1937), an example of what the composer called “music willed and realized for its own sake:” abstract, colored, cyclic, and unique.

In these works we hear an ensemble of knowledge, elegance, and depth performing music of equal caliber and inspiration – a combination as perfect, in its idiosyncratic and unique own way, as the eight strings and a whistle of Eight Strings & a Whistle.