New Recording by Yevgeny Kutik

Meditations On Family

Violinist Yevgeny Kutik invited eight prominent American composers to write a short works on the theme of family.

Christopher Cerrone, Gity Razaz, Andreia Pinto Correia, Kinan Azmeh, Gregory Vajda, Paola Prestini, Timo Andres and Joseph Schwanter contributed short pieces on the theme of family. The diverse pieces are linked by this common theme.

Rising star Yevgeny Kutik's previous three recordings on Marquis have been met by critical acclaim.

Hailed for his dazzling command of the violin and its repertoire, as well as a communicative immediacy that hearkens back to the legendary Romantic masters, Russian-American violinist Yevgeny Kutik has become a highly sought-after artist on the concert stage worldwide.

Review

''An old-fashioned rhapsodic style, which was magnified by his rich, sweet tone'' --The New York Times

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Flight to Limbo

2. Cadenza for the Once Young

3. Litania

4. Rima

5. How to Draw a Tree

6. Suitcased Dreams

7. See Above

8. Day Dreams

Daydreams… “Reverie” for Violin, Vocal Quartet and Glass Harmonica.

When I was young, I had the propensity to Daydream- not a particularly unusual circumstance, I suppose, for a boy with a clear temperament fiercely drawn to art, poetry and most especially to music. For as long as I can remember, music’s many mysteries has engaged my ear, mind and spirit. The love and support of my Grandmother and Mother helped encourage my musical interests that remain at the forefront of my creative endeavors.

When Yevgeny performed my work,“The Poet’s Hour” for Violin and Strings with Music Director, Gerard Schwarz and his All-Star Orchestra, I was dazzled by the brilliance of his playing. After his invitation to contribute a short work for his “Meditation of Family” project, I found old photograph (1924) of my maternal grandparents and mother as a baby that fired my musical imagination with fond memories of early family life.

“Daydreams…” opens with a series of rising sustained violin double stops that define the work’s overall harmonic spectrum and gives rise to a backdrop of vocal and crystal goblet sonorities that spring from the violin’s increasingly forceful gestures. The violin becomes increasingly animated and vigorous with music that soars above the seemingly disparate world of sustained voices, as though on a journey looking back on fading memories.

-Joseph Schwantner