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Release Date: September 25, 2020
Catalog #: NV6310
Format: Digital & Physical
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Chamber Music for Our Times

Craig Madden Morris composer

New from Navona Records and Craig Morris comes CHAMBER MUSIC FOR OUR TIMES, a stirring album of original chamber works. Following DREAMS, which was released in 2011 to critical acclaim, CHAMBER MUSIC FOR OUR TIMES is the work of a master craftsman with an ear for poignant lyricism. The album features four pieces, each of which exhaustively explores the colors and timbres available to the chamber ensembles.

Critics have called Morris’s music “extremely intelligent, complex and powerful,” and CHAMBER MUSIC FOR OUR TIMES is further evidence of that. It opens with Romance, for Violin and Piano, which finds the violin and piano in one of the most deeply-intimate musical settings imaginable. The delicate interplay between these two instruments suggests both the tenderness and the passion of a budding courtship as it develops from one moment to the next. This is followed by Colors, a piece for string quartet that delves into the rich timbral contrasts that define this centuries-old musical form. The second portion of CHAMBER MUSIC FOR OUR TIMES’s program consists of a pair of piano quartets. Johnny and Tony, in particular, is a masterful homage to the chamber music of Brahms and Dvorak, and further reveals Morris’s skill for counterpoint and melody. Moods, the second piano quartet and concluding piece on the album, offers an upbeat and lighthearted finale to the collection.

CHAMBER MUSIC FOR OUR TIMES is the result of Morris’s lifetime of study and practice of the art of composition. His work reveals his profound love and commitment to 19th-century Romantic music; and yet, this background serves merely as a launchpad for his own compositions. Far from derivative, Morris uses his deep understanding of the idiom to create novel and captivating works—works that lovers of tonal chamber music are sure to find at once familiar and refreshing.

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"Extremely attractive thanks to Morris’s compositional imagination"

Pizzicato

Track Listing & Credits

# Title Composer Performer
01 Romance for Violin & Piano Craig Madden Morris Eric Silberger, violin; Han Chen, piano 6:35
02 String Quartet "Colors": I. Moderato ma poco rubato Craig Madden Morris Eric Silberger, violin; Ji-In Yang, violin; Andy Lin, viola; Nan-Cheng Chen, cello 7:17
03 String Quartet "Colors": II. Fast, with Fun Craig Madden Morris Eric Silberger, violin; Ji-In Yang, violin; Andy Lin, viola; Nan-Cheng Chen, cello 3:54
04 String Quartet "Colors": III. Slow, with Passion Craig Madden Morris Eric Silberger, violin; Ji-In Yang, violin; Andy Lin, viola; Nan-Cheng Chen, cello 5:50
05 String Quartet "Colors": IV. Lively Craig Madden Morris Eric Silberger, violin; Ji-In Yang, violin; Andy Lin, viola; Nan-Cheng Chen, cello 6:19
06 Piano Quartet No. 1 "Johnny & Tony": I. Adagio Passionate Craig Madden Morris Cindy Wu, violin; Andy Lin, viola; Nan-Cheng Chen, cello; Han Chen, piano 5:55
07 Piano Quartet No. 1 "Johnny & Tony": II. With Bounce Craig Madden Morris Cindy Wu, violin; Andy Lin, viola; Nan-Cheng Chen, cello; Han Chen, piano 5:32
08 Piano Quartet No. 1 "Johnny & Tony": III. Flowing Craig Madden Morris Cindy Wu, violin; Andy Lin, viola; Nan-Cheng Chen, cello; Han Chen, piano 4:18
09 Piano Quartet No. 1 "Johnny & Tony": IV. Buoyant & Rhapsodic Craig Madden Morris Cindy Wu, violin; Andy Lin, viola; Nan-Cheng Chen, cello; Han Chen, piano 6:51
10 Piano Quartet No. 2 "Moods": I. Moderato Craig Madden Morris Eric Silberger, violin; Andy Lin, viola; Nan-Cheng Chen, cello; Han Chen, piano 6:09
11 Piano Quartet No. 2 "Moods": II. Adagio Craig Madden Morris Eric Silberger, violin; Andy Lin, viola; Nan-Cheng Chen, cello; Han Chen, piano 6:11
12 Piano Quartet No. 2 "Moods": III. Bouncy with a Smile Craig Madden Morris Eric Silberger, violin; Andy Lin, viola; Nan-Cheng Chen, cello; Han Chen, piano 5:50

Recorded March 20, August 21, December 20, 2019 at Samurai Hotel Recording Studio in Astoria NY

Session Producer & Recording Engineer Shao-Ting Sun

Copyist Jered Albertus

Executive Producer Bob Lord

Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
A&R Director Brandon MacNeil

VP, Audio Production Jeff LeRoy
Audio Director Lucas Paquette
Mastering Shaun Michaud

VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Patrick Niland, Sara Warner

Artist Information

Craig Madden Morris

Composer

Craig Morris has been composing music since the age of 11. He studied composition with Shirley Bloom, Kevin Scott, and Joelle Wallach and also studied violin, piano, and voice. He played violin with the Bronx Symphony Orchestra for many years and presently plays with the Ridgewood Symphony. He has sung professionally as a cantor for over 40 years. His music has been performed by the Ridgewood Symphony, the Bronx Symphony Orchestra, the Brno Philharmonic, the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, the Fifth International Music Festival of Buenos Aires, and the Chamber Music Society of Formosa. His compositions include piano sonatas, orchestral suites, violin, cello and clarinet concerti, a concert duet for soprano and tenor, choral compositions, and a sacred service for the Sabbath. Arise My Love and The Rubaiyat were chosen as finalists in the 2010 Meistersingers Choral Competition.

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The New Asia Chamber Music Society

Organization

THE NEW ASIA CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY the recipient of the 2016 Huang-Yu-Ting Memorial Award and New Music USA’s project grant, was founded in 2010 by an entrepreneurial group of young Asian-American virtuosi.

Propelled by a shared passion for classical chamber music performance, the members of NACMS are prize winners of world-renowned international competitions, graduates from America’s most prestigious music schools, including The Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute, and appear regularly on major stages across the globe. Based in New York City, NACMS is committed to bringing audiences exciting chamber music performances of the highest caliber and innovation. By delving into the giants of traditional chamber music repertoire, cultivating new voices of contemporary composers that meld elements of Western and Eastern cultures, and collaborating with a broad network of art organizations – NACMS is creating a trifecta of innovation to enable new concert-going experiences for the audience. This exciting young collective also seeks to engage its technologically-wired peers around the world with its lively social media presence, fostering a more interactive and social environment for chamber music performance and presentation.

Cindy Wu

Violin

Praised by the Seattle Times as “Simply marvelous” and Taiwan’s Liberty Times for “astonishingly capturing the spirit of the music,” violinist Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu enjoys a versatile career as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.

Wu has collaborated in concerts with renowned artists such as Yefim Bronfman, Lynn Harrell, Leila Josefowicz, Cho-Liang Lin, Midori, Thomas Quasthoff, Yuja Wang, and members of the Alban Berg, Emerson, Guarneri, Miró, and Tokyo string quartets at prominent venues such as the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and festivals such as Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, Marlboro Music Festival, and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. She has also collaborated as a guest violist with the Dover, Orion, and Shanghai quartets. Wu is a recipient of many awards including the Milka Violin Artist Prize from the Curtis Institute of Music, and third prize at the International Violin Competition of David Oistrakh. She has taught at the Thornton School of Music of the University of Southern California, and is currently the Artistic Partner of the Da Camera Society in Los Angeles. Wu plays on a 1918 Stefano Scarampella violin and a 2015 Stanley Kiernoziak viola.

Eric Silberger

Violin

From prestigious concert halls around the world to an Icelandic volcano, virtuoso violinist Eric Silberger’s performances have been described by critics as “spine-tingling...astonishing” (The Guardian), “dazzling virtuoso playing” (The Washington Post), “impeccable level of playing, a wonderful musician” (The Strad). “ ....he has got everything in his favour, technique, composure and personality.” (El Pais, Spain).

He is a prize winner of the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in 2011.

Silberger has collaborated as soloist with the Mariinsky Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Philharmonia, St. Petersburg Philharmonia, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Danish National Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, Orquesta Sinfónica de México, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Conductors Silberger has worked with include Lorin Maazel, Valery Gergiev, Michael Tilson Thomas, Dimitri Kitajenko, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Donald Runnicles, Robin Ticciati, and others.

Silberger plays on a rare J.B. Guadagnini violin made in 1757 on generous loan from the Si- Yo Music Society Foundation and Sau-Wing Lam collection. Eric is a co-founder of the Hawaii International Music Festival and Executive Director of Strings at Classical Bridge International Music Festival of New York City.

Ji-In Yang

Violin

South Korean violinist Ji-In Yang has performed with numerous orchestras such as KBS Symphony Orchestra, the Aspen Young Artists Orchestra, New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, Sarah Lawrence Symphony Orchestra, the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony Orchestra, and Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra to name a few, as well as numerous recitals in the United States and in Korea.

As a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, she has appeared internationally in such venues as London’s Cadogan Hall, the Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Seoul Arts Center, Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts, the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Zankel Hall and Weill Hall. Yang’s performances have also been heard on radio and television shows such as NPR’s From the Top, a guest appearance on Korea’s National Television Show Art Theatre as well as on KBS arts program show Classic Odyssey, Japan’s NHK, and America’s Capital Public Radio show Insight, and national radio show in Slovenia. She has also performed at the United Nations celebrating Earth Day. Yang has studied with Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang, Igor Ozim, Daniel Phillips, and Chin Kim.

Andy Lin

Viola

Taiwanese born violist and erhuist (Chinese violin) Dr. Andy Lin, praised by The Strad “The great Molto adagio…..elicited some of the night’s most sensitive work, especially from Wei-Yang Andy Lin on viola.” and New York Times “Taiwanese-born violist Wei-Yang Andy Lin..…is also a virtuoso on the erhu, and he gave a brilliant performance.”

Lin is the artistic director and co-founder of the New Asia Chamber Music Society and holds his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School and his Doctorate in Musical Arts from SUNY Stony Brook. He has appeared as a viola and/or erhu soloist with orchestras such as the Busan Metropolitan Traditional Music Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, Incheon Philharmonic, the Juilliard Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, New York Classical Players, Orford Academy Orchestra, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Solisti Ensemble, and Yonkers Philharmonic Orchestra. Lin is also a member of the Musicians of Lenox Hill and serves as principal violist of the New York Classical Players and the Solisti Ensemble. He has also been invited to perform chamber music with Itzhak Perlman and recitals at the Metropolitan Museum Gallery Concert Series and Patrons Lounge Concerts.

www.andylinviola.com

Nan-Cheng Chen

Cello

Cellist Nan-Cheng Chen’s performance was recently described as “personable and smile-inducing” and “fine playing” by The Washington Post and “Beautiful Tone” by New York Concert Reviews.

As a chamber musician, Chen is the executive director and co-founder of the New Asia Chamber Music Society (NACMS). An active soloist, Chen was featured in concert tours throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia, and has collaborated with Simon Bolivar Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Queens Symphony Orchestra, Metro-West Symphony, Quincy Symphony, and Symphony Pro Musica, which received a review that states: “It was the kind of performance one might hear live only once a decade,” from Worcester Telegram and Gazette.

Chen’s festival participations include a Banff Centre Residency, Sarasota Music Festival, Heifetz Institute, and Kneisel Hall. He was a guest-performing artist at Chautauqua Summer Music Festival and a Kaplan Fellow at the Bowdoin International Music Festival. As a music educator, Chen has given cello masterclasses at Penn State University, University of Wisconsin, University of Calgary as well as universities in Panama, Colombia, and Taiwan. Cheng has taught at CUNY Queens college, and is currently a faculty at Feitian College in Middletown NY. Chen holds a B.M. and M.M. from The Juilliard School, and is enrolled as a doctoral candidate at CUNY Graduate Center.

Amidst the COVID-19 situation, Chen has given several high-production-quality live-stream concerts from his own home, as well as sharing his music making process daily to his friends and music lovers. For more information, please follow @nateplayscello on Instagram or facebook.com/cellistncc.

Han Chen

Cello

Han Chen is a pianist that is “impressively commanding and authoritative” (Gramophone) and also has “a graceful touch”, “rhythmic percision” and “hypnotic charm” (New York Times). His debut album (Liszt Complete Piano Solo Works Vol. 41) released by the Naxos Records has won him acclaims from around the world.

As a soloist, he has performed with numerous orchestras and worked with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy and Nicholas McGegan. As a new music advocate, Chen has performed a tremendous amount of works by living composers. He has premiered works by composers such as Unsuk Chin, Molly Joyce, Louis Karchin, and Reinaldo Moya. Born in Taichung, Taiwan, Chen now resides in Long Island City. After graduating from The Juilliard School and the New England Conservatory, he is now pursuing his doctorate degree at The Graduate Center, CUNY under the guidance of Prof. Yoheved Kaplinsky and Prof. Ursula Oppens.

Shao-Ting Sun

Recording Producer

After pursuing his master’s degree in Music Technology, New York University, concentrating on Stephen F. Temmer Tonmeister Honored Program (Acoustical and Classical Instrument Music Production Concentration) and graduating in 2014, Shao-Ting Sun began working for Leszek Wojcik (recording manager at Carnegie Hall and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center) as a recording engineer.

He worked for Paul Geluso in Julia Wolfe’s recording production “Anthracite Fields,” which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music in 2015 and Nominated by the GRAMMYs for “Best Classical Composition Album.”

Running private music production and recording business in his spare time, Sun established Sun Music Production Corporation in 2015. Apart from working with the most talented classical musicians on the East Coast, Sun has also been deeply involved in music productions in various genres, such as:  jazz, crossover, original soundtracks for films and games, experimental music, modern music, and pop music.

He was music producer and engineer for the 2019 Netflix original TV drama series Green Door, which was nominated for “Best Music Sound and Design” by the Taiwanese Golden Bell Award. He also worked on Rayark Games’s Sdorica Original Soundtrack production, Cytus II - “Winter Games,” “If You Were Mine,” and the original soundtrack on PlayStation 4 - Deemo: Reborn VR game. He also mixed the trailers of Assassin’s Creed - Symphony by Ubisoft.

Outside of music, Sun also spends time on audio research. He has provided audio technical support for Auro 3D and Ambidio.

Jered Albertus

Music Copyist

Jered Albertus is a music copyist. He has prepared scores for performance for Craig Morris that have been performed by various ensembles, including the Composer’s Choir, the Gregg Smith Singers, the Bronx Symphony Orchestra, the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra, the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra.

He is also the Choir Director and Organist at the Central Presbyterian Church in Haverstraw NY. Albertus holds a degree in Music Education from Lebanon Valley College where he studied piano with Nevelyn Knisley and music theory with Professors Thomas Lanese, Dr. James Thurmond, and Frank Stachow. When not pursuing musical interests, he likes to hike with his wife Patricia.

Notes

This music, adapted from my violin concerto, expresses the depth of both tenderness and passion in an intimate setting for violin and piano, with each equal partners in the dance of feelings that intertwine when two people become close and fall in love.

— Craig Madden Morris

The string quartet combines the beautiful flow and meshing of violins, viola and cello in four movements that offer contrasts of the different colors of the quartet, from the romantic interplay in the opening movement to the antic sounds of pizzicato in the second movement, and from the passionate spun out melody of the third movement to the excitement that builds in the final movement.

— Craig Madden Morris

This piano quartet explores the beautiful counterpoint, melody, and rhythms inspired by Brahms and Dvořák in their wonderful chamber music.

— Craig Madden Morris

This music is a further exploration of the colors of the piano quartet ending in a light hearted finale that lifts the music to an upbeat ending.

— Craig Madden Morris

Scores

Romance for Violin and Piano

Craig Madden Morris

String Quartet: Colors (excerpt)

Craig Madden Morris

Piano Quartet No. 1: Johnny and Tony (excerpt)

Craig Madden Morris

Piano Quartet No. 2: Moods (excerpt)

Craig Madden Morris