Reviews

Here's what's been happening at Cyclic Defrost:

Ben Gwilliam/Jason Zeh – Brombron 16: Dots (Korm Plastics)
Nicely packaged single track of mysterious tape haze, silence and low-fi scraps; looks better than it sounds.

Seth Horvitz – Eight Studies for Automatic Piano (Line)
Refined experiments for player-piano by ex-microhouse producer, discussed here.

Alfredo Casella – Symphony No. 3 / Elegia Eroica (Naxos)
Blustery Italian orchestral music from between the wars.

Burkhard Friedrich – Citta Utopica (Ahornfelder)
Hour-long collage of subtly crazed electro-acoustics.

Alfred Schnittke – Complete Violin Sonatas (Naxos)
Bleak, muscular yet refined chamber music from Russian genius.

Jessika Kenney and Eyvind Kang – Aesetaurium LP (Ideologic Organ/editionsMego)
Mournful, droning black-chamber-folk for viola and voice, endorsed by Steven O'Malley.

Steve Reich – Three Movements/The Desert Music (Chandos)
Grand performances of grand Minimalism for orchestra

Alban Gerhardt and Cecile Licad – Casals Encores (Hyperion)
Flighty miniatures and Chopin arrangements for cello and piano.

Forthcoming: selection of twentieth century Danish composition on DaCapo; excellent static, samples and synthesis by Viennese artist Angelica Castello; Villalobos and Loderbauer's Re:ECM; Mazulis' Musica Falsa ...