Henry Martin: Chamber Music for Strings and Piano

You may already be familiar with Mr. Martin from his collection of Preludes and Fugues that have appeared on other labels. He is currently professor of music at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and has pursued a career as a composer-pianist specializing in jazz and Western tonal tradition. His teachers have included Milton Babbitt and David Del Tredici. The works on this disc exemplify Martin's attraction to past influences and how tonality is still a viable form of expression. The Piano Trio is his own take on the Brahms works in that form; the Sonata for Solo Cello, which he describes as one of his darker works, was inspired by the Bach Cello Suites. A more "modern" work, This Living Hand is based on the writings of John Keats, which also influence Sweet Converse. The three members of Innisfree all have musical connections to the Northeast; all are members of or have performed with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and its associated String Quartet. This is an exceptional disc for those who believe that the Romantic impulse is still alive in today's music.