Tapestry Ensemble

Tapestry is a chamber group weaving together four unique performers working with six versatile composers. Each of these accomplished musicians brings a distinct thread of musical and cultural experiences to this project, resulting in an exciting recording of new repertoire. While there have been a handful of recordings in the past devoted to the earliest repertoire for the oboe, clarinet and piano trio by composers such as Edouard Destenay and Jean Gabriel Marie, this recording is remarkable in that it comprises all newly composed works for trio and quartet, driven by the combination and contrasts of the performers rather than a specific instrumentation. The manner in which each of these composers has captured the individual strengths and personalities of these four musicians is evident as a constant thread woven through each of these compositions, much like characters in a novel.

The genesis of Tapestry has its roots in the desire of clarinetist Julia Heinen and oboist Richard Kravchak to perform new music together. Having commissioned and premiered a number of duo concertos, including works by Daniel Kessner, Max Lifchitz, and modern performance editions of 18th and 19th century concertos by Joseph Fiala and Carlo Pässler, they wished to perform in a chamber music context as well. Heinen and Kravchak enjoyed playing the small number of trios for oboe, clarinet, and piano, but wished to add a lower voice to the ensemble to provide an even wider variety of colors. The duo joined forces with friends and virtuoso instrumentalists Dmitry Rachmanov and Ovidiu Marinescu, and thus not only a new ensemble, Tapestry, was born, but a new genre of oboe, clarinet, cello, and piano was created.

Tapestry’s first commission was to noted film and concert music composer Gernot Wolfgang. The resultant work, New York Moments, is an exciting jazz-infused work that has become one of the centerpieces of their repertoire. The debut concert of Tapestry took place on New York’s prestigious “Bargemusic” series. Much of the program of that concert is included on this recording.

The name Tapestry was chosen because of the seeming endless color combinations and wonderfully varied textures that an ensemble like this could produce. Their repertoire is extremely varied and they perform works from throughout music history. The new works they have commissioned have explored new territories of sounds including jazz-influenced styles.

– Anthony J. Costa