audio

Lilac . Star . Bird (2007)
(for solo guitar)
for guitarist Tracy Anne Smith

 

 

listen to excerpt from Lilac
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listen to excerpt from Star
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listen to excerpt from Bird
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(studio recording/ Norbert Kraft, recording engineer)
Tracy Anne Smith, guitar

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"The title of the CD comes from the three-movement work of Ying-Chen Kao (born 1981). The style of the music is one of almost beautiful-sounding dissonance. Its high-roving melodies reminded me of the Hans Werner Henze Three Fragments in style... This is no doubt a major work that demands attention."
- Chris Dumigan, Britain's Classical Guitar Magazine August 2010

Minor 7th: Reviewing the best
in non-mainstream acoustic guitar music by Timothy Smith
Tracy Anne Smith, "Lilac.Star.Bird," 2009
"For her debut release Tracy Anne Smith has assembled a uniquely beautiful set of compositions, which have served to set this particular disc apart from almost any other I have heard to date. At the core of this recording is the work to which the CD owes its name, "Lilac.Star.Bird", which was composed for Smith by composer Ying-Chen Kao in 2007. It is an evocative and surreal soundscape, drawing influence from a poem by famed American writer and poet, Walt Whitman. Each movement is meant to evoke a lilac, star, or bird, and they go beyond mere imitations of their titles, rather serving as prolonged meditations on each topic. It appears that this concept is what influenced Smith to select the other works for the disc."

Album Reviews: Tracy Anne Smith: Lilac.Star.Bird
www.thosewhodig.net, 12.07.2010 by Dave DeDionisio
"The sophistication, originality, and worth of this composition are immediately noted by this performance. The ambitions of this composition have found a voice in the hands of Tracy Smith as she brings to life the range of intended images and sounds. New repertoire is inspiring and refreshing, especially when it as effective as this composition."

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Surreal Perception (2008)
(for clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello and piano)
for REDSHIFT ensemble
listen to excerpt from Surreal Perception
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(live recording at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery,
New York)
The REDSHIFT ensemble

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Solitary (2009)
(for baritone, clarinet, cello and piano)
Commissioned by Dr. Andrew Talle
poem by Dr. Hollis Robbins
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(live recording at Griswold Hall, Baltimore, MD)

Richard Giarusso, baritone
Miles Jaques, clarinet
Andrew Talle, cello
Tim Hoft, piano

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Cloud Burst (2005)
(for cello and piano)
Commissioned by Michael Kannen, head of Peabody’s Chamber music department, and founding member of the Brentano String Quartet.
listen to excerpt I
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listen to excerpt II
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(live recording from CAGE- Conservatory Avant-garde Ensemble March 8, 2006)

Michael Kannen, cello
Ann Teresa Kang, piano

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530.623 (2004)
(trio for clarinet, violin and viola)
For Noah Weber, Jesse Irons and Gwendolyn Fisher
listen to excerpt I
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listen to excerpt II
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listen to excerpt III
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(live recording from Peabody Camerata Concert)

Noah Weber, clarinet
Sonya Chung, violin
Gwendolyn Fisher, viola

Also check out
Arcturus Chamber Ensemble plays 530.623
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I am Dancing Blue Flame (2008)
(for soprano, tenor saxophone, piano, Max/MSP and video)
for soprano Bonnie Lander
Text by H.A. Kares
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(live recording from Bonnie Lander's PCM Recital)

Bonnie Lander, soprano
Zachary Herchen, tenor saxophone
David Witmer, piano
Jenny Beck, Max/MSP
Ying-Chen Kao, video

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Piano Quintet (2005)
(for 2 violins, viola, cello and piano)
listen to excerpt from mvt.I
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listen to excerpt from mvt.II
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listen to excerpt from mvt.III
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(live recording from 'Living Music' concert series, An die Musik, Baltimore MD, Saturday, May 13, 2006 at 8:00pm)

Jesse Irons, violin I
Martin P. Shultz, violin II
Karin Hardin, viola
Sam Matthews, cello
Hui-Chuan Chen, piano

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Frustration Factory (2009)
(for saxophone quartet)
Commissioned by AM/PM saxophone quartet
I. time is ticking…
II. frustration
III. worn to a frazzle
IV. lullaby
V. startled
VI. call it a day
listen
(studio recording/ Zach Herchen, recording engineer)
AM/PM saxophone quartet
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Haunted by an angel (2005)
(trio for baritone, violin and guitar)
Text by H.A. Kares
listen to excerpt I
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listen to excerpt II
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listen to excerpt III
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(live recording from Peabody Composition Department Recital Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at 7:00pm)

Jason Buckwalter, baritone
Elise Blake, violin
Benjamin Beirs, guitar

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Toccata (2002)
(for viola and piano)
listen to excerpt I
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listen to excerpt II
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listen to excerpt III
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(live recording from Ying-Chen Kao's Senior Recital)

Yang Lu, viola
Ching-Ming Cheng, piano

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ancient memory (2008)
(for solo tenor trombone)
Commissioned by Summer Trombone Workshop 2008 Taipei, Taiwan

高崇文, trombone

Listen (YouTube)
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Red Air (2006)
(for full orchestra)
listen to excerpt
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(from the Peabody Symphony Orchestra Composition Reading)
Peabody Symphony Orchestra

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Flute Sonata (2003)
(for flute and piano)
listen to excerpt
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(live recording from Ying-chen Kao's Senior Recital)

Amy Pardo, flute
Seungah J. Lee, piano

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Three pieces for two sopranos and String Quartet (2003)
text and Translation by Ching-Ming-Cheng (in Chinese)
I. Disappointment
II. Dream
III. Stoic Heart
listen to excerpt from mvt.I
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listen to excerpt from mvt.II
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listen to excerpt from mvt.III
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(live recording from Ying-chen Kao's Senior Recital)

Carolina Castells, soprano I
Bonnie Lander, soprano II
Yang Lu, violin I
Lani Hamilton, violin II
Vera Nji, viola
Pin-I Wu, cello

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Spanish Rhapsody (2003)
(for solo piano)
listen to excerpt
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(live recording from Ying-chen Kao's Senior Recital)

Anna Stoytcheva, piano

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Collidescope (2007)
(for dancers and video)
for "New Work 2007" A Collaborative Showcase
listen to sample
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Elizabeth Gahl, choreograher
Ying-Chen Kao, music/video

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