In recent weeks, two members of the UMass Amherst music faculty have released recordings of newly-composed music.
On October 6, Bridge Records released the newest CD by the Quattro Mani piano duo, which consists of UMass faculty member Steven Beck and Susan Grace. The Music of Fred Lerdahl Volume 7 features a cycle of three pieces for two pianos titled “Inner Life” which was written for and dedicated to Beck and Grace by the composer during the pandemic. Lerdahl, the Fritz Reiner Professor Emeritus of Musical Composition at Columbia University, has had three previous compositions selected as finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in music. Formed in 1989, Quattro Mani has collaborated extensively with modern composers such as Lerdahl, George Crumb, Joan Tower, Paul Lansky, Poul Ruders, and Frederic Rzewski. Quattro Mani’s partnership with Bridge Records includes numerous recordings, six of which feature the duo exclusively.
In September, music theory professor and composer Miriam Piilonen released her third recording of original music via the online distribution platform, Bandcamp. Sharp Diamond features seven original tracks written, produced, and performed by Piilonen, with assistance from pianist Brennan Bocks and UMass music history faculty member Benjamin Court, who contributed production to the album. Piilonen describes the project as “an expression of personal transformation under pressure” inspired by her experiences growing up in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia and her professional explorations into East Coast contra dance, House music and dance, and Chicago Footwork. PopMatters critic John Garratt praised the individual tracks on Sharp Diamond as being “as delightful as they are unique.” Piilonen’s previous recording projects include her work as saxophonist with the Chicago-based punk band Pledge Drive, and a collection of original spoken poetry titled Crowd Displeasers, also released on Bandcamp.