Thursday, December 18, 2008

'Feminissimo!' CD Features 'The Deserted Garden' of African American Composer Florence Price


[Florence Beatrice Smith Price (1887-1953); Feminissimo; The Deserted Garden; Florence Price, composer; Laura Kobayashi, violin; Susan Keith Gray, piano; Troy 1081 (2008)]

University of South Dakota:
VERMILLION, S.D. -- Susan Keith Gray, professor of music at The University of South Dakota and a pianist with the Rawlins Piano Trio, and violinist Laura Kobayashi of Washington, D.C., announce the release of their second CD, 'Feminissimo! Women Playing Music by Women.' 'Feminissimo!' is a mixture of romantic and contemporary character pieces and sonatas written by composers of Spanish, French, Norwegian, American, Polish and Czech heritages. The American works represent African-American and Jewish-American influences. The disc, produced by Albany Records, features nine compositions, including four world premier recordings from contemporary composers Elisenda Fábregas and Emma Lou Diemer, and by early 20th century composers Anna Priscilla Risher and Signe Lund. Other composers included are Grazyna Bacewicz, Florence Price, Meira Warshauer, Pauline Viardot-Garcia and Vítezslava Kaprálová.

The Kobayashi/Gray Duo formed in 1990 at the University of Michigan where both musicians were completing doctoral degrees. In 1993, they toured South America and the West Indies as winners of the USIA Artistic Ambassador auditions. They continue to tour throughout the United States and abroad, performing standard repertoire as well as works by women composers. The artists are enthusiastically praised for their blending of brilliant technique, beautifully expressive musicianship, impeccable ensemble and stimulating programming.” The CD is available from the National Music Museum in Vermillion, and from websites including http://www.amazon.com and http://www.albanyrecords.com. [Full Post] [Florence Beatrice Smith Price (1887-1953) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]






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