di.vi.sion premieres: The Music of Merrill Clark

di.vi.sion Piano Trio

Catalog #: TROY1594
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Format: Digital
Piano

The di.vi.sion piano trio (Kurt Briggs, violin; Matt Goeke, cello; Renée Cometa Brigg, piano) was formed in 2001. Its repertoire ranges from Haydn and De Fesch to Shostakovich and Ravel. The ensemble regularly programs and commissions new works that incorporate the musical structure of division. This recording of Merrill Clark's music includes Prime Divisions, which interweaves the compositional techniques of division with the composer's own system. The other work on the recording, Eighth Avenue Tango, was written as a birthday gift for violinist Kurt Briggs. Merrill Clark (b. 1951) has written many works in a wide variety of genres, from unaccompanied solo works to large-scale orchestral works. Clark finds writing for virtuoso musicians, whose playing one admires and who are also good friends, as the most gratifying creative event possible. The performances on this recording reflect the strong connection between the composer and performers.

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Track Listing

Title Composer Performer
Prime Divisions Merrill Clark di.vi.sion piano trio
Eighth Avenue Tango Merrill Clark Kurt Briggs, violin; Renée Cometa Briggs, piano

Reviews

  • As the title makes clear, the music is a negotiation between the old and the new. The old is traditional forms and approaches to expression. Merrill's new lies more in calculations behind the scenes, like a series of complex polyrhythmic modulations and symmetrical or palindromic metrical schemes.…While these structures are audible to a certain extent, much of the surface of the music remains quite consonant and palatable.

    – American Record Guide

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