MSR Classics Releases New CD by UMass Faculty Berlin, Spiridopoulos, Krasin

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Along the Continuum cover

UMass music faculty Eric Berlin, trumpet; Gregory Spiridopoulos, trombone; and Ludmila Krasin, piano; are featured on a new recording on MSR Classics released earlier this spring. The CD, “Along the Continuum,” centers around the two-decade long professional relationship of Berlin and Spiridopoulos, both of whom are principal players in the Albany Symphony, colleagues in the Majestic Brass and Empire Brass Quintets, and long-time faculty members in the UMass Amherst department of music and dance.

The new CD’s title is taken from “Continuum,” a work written by fellow faculty member Jeffrey W. Holmes for Berlin, Spiridopoulos, and the UMass Wind Ensemble in 2012. The new release features Holmes’ new arrangement of the piece for trumpet, trombone, and piano, along with other works designed to take the listener “back along the continuum” of Berlin and Spiridopoulos’ shared musical roots. These works include Eric Ewazen’s Double Concerto, Joseph Turrin’s Fandango, Herbert Clarke’s Cousins, and piano reductions of concertinos by Anthony Plog and Jacques Castérède.

Both Berlin and Spiridopoulos can be heard on numerous recordings by the Albany Symphony, which has a history of commissioning and recording new American works. Notable examples include the 2014 Grammy winning album, Conjurer, featuring music by John Corigliano, and the 2016 Grammy nominated album, Kabir Padavali, featuring music by Christopher Rouse. Berlin was soloist on the Albany Symphony’s recording “True Colors,” featuring a commissioned work inspired by his career trajectory composed by George Tsontakis. The release was included in National Public Radio’s Top 10 Classical Recordings of 2017.