the wreckage of flowers, by Michael Hersch

the wreckage of flowers

by Michael Hersch

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1.	Fourteen Pieces: I 03:46	info	buy track
2.	Fourteen Pieces: II 01:39	info	buy track
3.	Fourteen Pieces: III 01:47	info	buy track
4.	Fourteen Pieces: IV 02:21	info	buy track
5.	Fourteen Pieces: V 00:49	info	buy track
6.	Fourteen Pieces: VI 02:32	info	buy track
7.	Fourteen Pieces: VII 00:50	info	buy track
8.	Fourteen Pieces: VIII 02:15	info	buy track
9.	Fourteen Pieces: IX 02:01	info	buy track
10.	Fourteen Pieces: X 01:43	info	buy track
11.	Fourteen Pieces: XI 02:43	info	buy track
12.	Fourteen Pieces: XII 03:20	info	buy track
13.	Fourteen Pieces: XIII 02:21	info	buy track
14.	Fourteen Pieces: XIV 03:29	info	buy track
15.	the wreckage of flowers: I 02:04	info	buy track
16.	the wreckage of flowers: II 00:59	info	buy track
17.	the wreckage of flowers: III 01:44	info	buy track
18.	the wreckage of flowers: IV 01:44	info	buy track
19.	the wreckage of flowers: V 00:52	info	buy track
20.	the wreckage of flowers: VI 00:51	info	buy track
21.	the wreckage of flowers: VII 01:23	info	buy track
22.	the wreckage of flowers: VIII 01:15	info	buy track
23.	the wreckage of flowers: IX 01:31	info	buy track
24.	the wreckage of flowers: X 01:12	info	buy track
25.	the wreckage of flowers: XI 01:38	info	buy track
26.	the wreckage of flowers: XII 00:43	info	buy track
27.	the wreckage of flowers: XIII 01:12	info	buy track
28.	the wreckage of flowers: XIV 01:18	info	buy track
29.	the wreckage of flowers: XV 01:46	info	buy track
30.	the wreckage of flowers: XVI 01:21	info	buy track
31.	the wreckage of flowers: XVII 01:47	info	buy track
32.	the wreckage of flowers: XVIII 02:13	info	buy track
33.	the wreckage of flowers: XIX 02:30	info	buy track
34.	the wreckage of flowers: XX 02:03	info	buy track
35.	the wreckage of flowers: XXI 01:19	info	buy track
36.	Five Fragments: I 00:27	info	buy track
37.	Five Fragments: II 00:46	info	buy track
38.	Five Fragments: III 01:10	info	buy track
39.	Five Fragments: IV 00:19	info	buy track
40.	Five Fragments: V 00:48	info	buy track

about

Michael Hersch’s haunting disc of violin works, the wreckage of flowers, features all of Hersch’s music for violin written during the first decade of the 2000s. The recording, originally released in 2010, includes two works for unaccompanied violin: Five Fragments and Fourteen Pieces, alongside Hersch’s large-scale work for violin and piano of 2003, the wreckage of flowers: 21 pieces after texts of Czeslaw Milosz. Violinist Miranda Cuckson and pianist Blair McMillen perform.

"Hersch's music forms a unique world; one highly recognizable as his own and difficult to associate closely with stylistic movements. He uses spare materials to grippingly visceral effect, packing the utmost expression into very simple bits of material. It can at times be almost unbearably intense. Using isolated clusters or chords, he masterfully employs the power of a single attack, or of a precisely shaped crescendo on a single note, to express his aims. Loud and turbulent passages requiring great accuracy combined with wildly unleashed energy and speed adjoin extensive sections or brief moments of restraint and simplicity, where bow control of every inflection becomes paramount. The sudden switches from furious virtuosity to still, delicate playing, along with often abnormally large stretches and leaps, test the performer's skill and stamina. These instrumental issues are very particular to Hersch's music, and they serve its basic expressive paradox, for the listener is simultaneously impacted by its huge dimensions and powerful gestures, and drawn in by its acute focus on subtle detail and nuance."

- Miranda Cuckson

credits

released June 17, 2022

the wreckage of flowers was originally released in 2010 on the Vanguard Classics label

All works recorded in the Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall, The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University - Baltimore, Maryland

the wreckage of flowers recorded October 2009

Fourteen Pieces and Five Fragments recorded March 2010

Recorded and engineered by Ed Tetreault at the Peabody Institute Recording Studio, Baltimore, Maryland, 2010

Produced by Michael Hersch and Ed Tetreault

All works published by 21C Music Publishing, Inc., New York, copyright 2003, 2004, 2007

All artwork by Nicholas Cairns, from the series, Excrescentia, ink on paper, copyright 2010

Photography: Miranda Cuckson by J. Henry Fair, Blair McMillen by Keiko Nagata, Michael Hersch by Richard Anderson

CD Liner Notes by Miranda Cuckson, copyright 2010

Graphic design and layout by ycArt Design Studio

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New Focus Recordings New York, New York

New Focus Recordings is an artist led collective label featuring releases in contemporary music of many stripes, as well as new approaches to older repertoire. The label was founded by guitarist Daniel Lippel (who is the current director), composer engineer Ryan Streber, and composer Peter Gilbert in 2003-4, and features releases from many of new music's most active performers and composers. ... more

newfocusrecordings.com

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