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New Millennium Ensemble Performs Richard Festinger
Includes the compositions
PERIPETEIA, PIANO VARIATIONS, TRIPTYCH, CONSTRUCTION EN METAL ET BOIS,
and AFTER BLUE
"Move over Haydn! Richard Festinger, composer and distinguished Professor of Music Composition
at San Francisco State University, presents a recording of five chamber works... featuring the Naumburg
award-winning New Millennium Ensemble [Bridge Records 9245]... [Festinger] approaches composition with
the intellectual curiosity of an academic, the heart of a romantic, and the depth of one totally immersed
in the art...[the music] is neatly structured and rich in counterpoint and rhythmic intricacy.
[Variations for Piano] culls the intricacy of Liszt's Les Preludes and the spaciousness of Webern's piano works...
[it is] perfectly executed, well-crafted music. Construction en metal et bois for piano and percussion pushes
the boundaries of chamber music. Here Festinger gives us his best and the demanding challenges are met with
equal passion. Margaret Kampmeier and John Ferrari, like two fighter pilots, perform at lightning speed and
with the intensity of a tarantella... Festinger's music, like a Mark Rothko painting, is beautiful, even on
the surface. And discovering what's beneath makes it rewarding." - Classical Voice of North Carolina
Bridge CD 9245 Available from Bridge Records
Price: $14.99 plus shipping
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Richard Festinger Chamber Music
Includes the compositions
TAPESTRIES, TRIONOMETRY, STRING QUARTET and TWINNING
"Here now is a most welcome disc... devotred entirely to the chamber music of this
California-based composer... The music is complex and prismatic but transparent...
ever managing to find a balance between delicacy and introspection on the one hand
and rhythmic vivacity on the other... Festinger (unlike far too many of his contemporaries)
never resorts to gimmicks... His music remains unsullied and uncompromising, speaking
directly to the hearts of those who care to listen." - American Record Guide
CRI CD 832 Available from
New World Records
Price: $15.99 plus shipping
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New Millennium Ensemble - Here Comes Everybody
Includes A SERENADE FOR SIX
Written in 1993. Scored for flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clariinet, violin, cello,
piano and percussion commissioned by the New York New Music Ensemble. World Premiere performance
November 8, 1993 by the New York New Music Ensemble at Merkin Hall, New York, David Gilbert conducting.
"Festinger's... classically-shaped, three-movement Serenade spins out kaleidoscopic but transparent
contrapuntal elaborations (and, in the lovely slow movement, lyrical lines) with a lapidary
craftsmanship and expressive warmth... The Serenade's delicacy and nuance are wonderfully set
off by a thrilling final toccata propelled along by jazz-derived rhythmic asymmetries.
This splendid work is, for me, the high spot of a very fine program."
- American Record Guide
CRI CD 772 Available from New World Records
Price: $15.99 plus shipping
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Earplay
Includes SEPTET
Written in 1987. Scored for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, percussion and piano.
Commissioned by the Earplay ensemble. World Premiere November 23, 1987, by the Earplay ensemble,
First Unitarian Church, San Francisco, California, conducted by the composer.
"If you follow contemporary American music, you'll want to investigate this collection of eclectic,
high-quality composing and outstanding playing. I...was fascinated by Richard Festinger's
'little-orchestra' approach to the ensemble..." - American Record Guide
Centaur CD CRC 2274 Available from Centaur Records
Price: $16.00 plus shipping
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East Meets West
Includes TRIPTYCH for solo flute
Written in 1979. World Premiere May 5, 1979, the American Center, Boulevard Raspail, Paris France, Leslie Lind, flute.
"Triptych... is compelling. There are no jet whistles, key clicks, and the like,
but just perfectly executed, well-crafted music. Turning wide leaps into counterpoint
and executing widely-spaced trills with the precision of a mockingbird using athletic breath control..."
- Classical
Voice of North Carolina
CRS Vinyl LP 8738 Available from
Contemporary Record Society
Price: $12.98 plus shipping
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