fred

On fred, the celebrated sextet Eighth Blackbird performs sparkling works showcasing the broader chromatic palette of American master Frederic Rzewski, best-known for his piano music. The program is imbued with the composer’s eccentric spirit, improvisational surprises, and social conscience: eighth blackbird’s propulsive new arrangement of Rzewski’s dramatic Coming Together, in which music accompanies the text of a letter by an inmate killed in the Attica prison uprising of 1971; the energetically playful “musical game” Les Moutons de Panurge; and the world premiere recording of Rzewski’s inventive Pocket Symphony, written specially for Eighth Blackbird

Performers

Molly Barth, flutes
Michael J. Maccaferri, clarinets
Matt Albert, violin & viola
Nick Photinos, cello
Matthew Duvall, percussion
Lisa Kaplan, piano

Album Details

Producer & Engineer: Judith Sherman
Assistant Engineer & Digital Editing: Bill Maylone
Recorded: July 14-17, 2003 (Coming Together and Pocket Symphony) and October 28, 2004 (Les Moutons) at Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago
Graphic Design: Melanie Germond & Pete Goldlust
Front cover photo: © The Image Bank (GK Hart / Vikki Hart)
Photos of eighth blackbird: McArthur Photography
Interview with Frederic Rzewski recorded June 12, 2004 at Christys Rathskeller in Cincinnati, Ohio, transcribed by Lisa Kaplan
Publisher: Pocket Symphony © 2000, Les Moutons de Panurge © 1969 and Coming Together © 1971, Sound Pool Music (BMI)
Steinway piano, Piano Technicians: Charles Terr and William Schwartz

Matthew Duvall plays Pearl Drums and Adams Musical Instruments
Molly Barth plays a Lillian Burkart flute and piccolo

© 2005 Cedille Records/Cedille Chicago