Sharon Bezaly's Spellbound serves as an installment among a number of BIS releases whereby the label assists in commissioning new works by contemporary composers for the young Israeli-born flutist to play. In this case, all of the pieces are by women of widely ranging generations and backgrounds; Sofia Gubaidulina, of course, is the venerated Russian composer whose early work was supported by Shostakovich, whereas Sally Beamish is English and noted for concertos, chamber music, and her close ties to Scotland -- she is a ...
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Sharon Bezaly's Spellbound serves as an installment among a number of BIS releases whereby the label assists in commissioning new works by contemporary composers for the young Israeli-born flutist to play. In this case, all of the pieces are by women of widely ranging generations and backgrounds; Sofia Gubaidulina, of course, is the venerated Russian composer whose early work was supported by Shostakovich, whereas Sally Beamish is English and noted for concertos, chamber music, and her close ties to Scotland -- she is a couple of generations younger than Gubaidulina. Still younger is Japanese composer Mari Takano, who studied with György Ligeti and makes judicious use of electronics and sampling within her work and has a decidedly post-postmodern take on music. While the title might indicate a concept, really this is a sum-of-its-parts project as opposed to a whole. Gubaidulina's ...The Deceitful Face of Hope and of Despair is one of the finest and most restrained works that Gubaidulina has yet made;...
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