Cuckson,Miranda Vilag CD

Vilg is a Hungarian word meaning "world" or "illumination". It also resembles the word "village" in English. In Sanskrit, "vilag" means "to cling to"; in Hindi, "separated". "In my frequent work with composers, I had noticed quite a few drawing upon the music of their native countries - the tunes, native instruments, characteristic rhythms. Thinking about what the many cultures of the world mean to people today, I chose for this album to program the Bart?k Sonata together with pieces I had recently commissioned from my friends: Aida Shirazi, from Iran, and Stewart Goodyear, from Canada. I also selected two works, one each by Manfred Stahnke and Franco Donatoni, that I've recently been playing regularly. While these don't draw from the composers' own ethnic cultures, they explore ideas inspired by folk music and un-formalized language." - Miranda Cuckson. Miranda Cuckson delights listeners with her playing of a remarkably wide range of music and styles, from older eras to the newest creations. Known for her organic expressivity, dexterous virtuosity, musical insight, brilliant programming, and love for music, she is acclaimed internationally as a soloist and collaborator. A violinist and violist, she performs at venues large and small, concert halls, and informal spaces. While remaining very dedicated to the Western classical repertoire, Miranda has emerged as a major champion of contemporary and living composers. She has played countless concerts and premieres of new works, and is widely acknowledged for the far-reaching inspirational role she has played in bringing new creations more to the center of concert life. Miranda has released four recordings on Urlicht AudioVisual, and her recording of Luigi Nono's "La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura" was named a Best Recording of the Year by the New York Times. Her newest recording, VIL?G, juxtaposes four recent works for unaccompanied violin with B?la Bart?k's iconic Sonata for Solo Violin. Three works receive their recording premieres: Aida Shiraz's Saniya, Stewart Goodyear's Solo, and Manfred Stahnke's Capra 4. Franco Donatoni's Argot rounds out a program that showcases a wide variety of traditional and "classical" styles along with extended sonorities.

1. Bartok: Sonata for Solo Violin, SZ. 117, BB 124: I. Tempo Di Ciaccona 2. Sonata for Solo Violin, SZ. 117, BB 124: II. Fuga. Risoluto, Non Troppo Vivo 3. Sonata for Solo Violin, SZ. 117, BB 124: III. Melodia. Adagio 4. Sonata for Solo Violin, SZ. 117, BB 124: IV. Presto 5. Shiraazi: Saniya: I. ?=60 Free, Light, Dreamy, Like the Spring Breeze 6. Saniya: Intermezzo. ?=84 Yearning 7. Saniya: II. ?=84 with An Urge to Express Something But Sounding Unsure and Stammering 8. Saniya: Intermezzo. ?=92 Bolder Than Before, Moving Forward, Becoming More Extrovert 9. Saniya: III. ?=92 Restless, Dark, Shadowy 10. Saniya: Intermezzo. ?=60 Free and Light-Weight Like the Beginning of the Piece But a Little Darker 11. Saniya: IV. ?=60 Meditative, Still, Sensitive, Gradually Sounding More Fragile 12. Goodyear: Solo - a Suite for Solo Violin: I. Waltz 13. Solo - a Suite for Solo Violin: II. Chant 14. Solo - a Suite for Solo Violin: III. Prelude 15. Solo - a Suite for Solo Violin: IV. Dance 16. Solo - a Suite for Solo Violin: V. Elegy 17. Stahnke:Capra 4: I. Reine Terzen Und Sexten 18. Capra 4: II. Reine Quarten Und Quinten - Und Sekunden 9/8 19. Capra 4: III. Reine Kleine Septen 7/4 Und Quarten 20. Capra 4: IV. Oktaven Und 8/7 Sekunden 21. Capra 4: V. 11/10 Sekunden Und Quinten: Semantic Signalling (Tepehua, Mittelamerika) 22. Capra 4: VI. Quarten 21/16, Selten Sekunden 8/7 Und Sexten 12/7 23. Capra 4: VII. Naturtonreihen 24. Donatoni: Argot - Due Pezzi Per Violino: I 25. Argot - Due Pezzi Per Violino: II