This is a fine time for a Philadelphian to get into classical music, thanks to a spate of excellent new recordings from composers and musicians of local interest. The Albany label is especially committed to promulgating new music; Jeremy Gill's terrific new album of music for solo piano and for voice and piano was on my top 10 list for 2011, and Jan Krzywicki has an omnibus of fascinating chamber music that has just been released.
Another good friend to living composers is the relatively new Innova label. The recent double CD set Odyssey, featuring flutist Mimi Stillman and pianist Charles Abramovic, is a veritable love letter to Philadelphia composers, including 11 works from eminent artists who either live in the area or have close associations. The variety of styles speaks to a diversity of expression in the classical music world that is probably unprecedented in history, ranging from lyrical neo-Romanticism to folk and jazz influences, and a healthy dollop of good old modernistic dissonance.
The set also represents a high mark in the career of one of our city's most talented and hardworking music pros. Those, like myself, who have followed Stillman over the years will trace their first encounters with her music-making when she was a teenage prodigy. (She entered Curtis at the age of 12 to study with the legendary Julius Baker, and was the youngest wind player in the school's history.)
The famously vivacious Stillman has made a lot of friends over the years, and seems to have stayed connected to all of them. Curtis remains a rich trove of collaborators, including her partner for this project, the superb Abramovic, and Philadelphia Orchestra cellist Yumi Kendall, the trio that was the original core membership of the Dolce Suono Ensemble, which Stillman founded in 2005. Dolce Suono has become increasingly innovative, culminating in the past two seasons with the ambitious and acclaimed "Mahler 100/Schoenberg 60 Project."
The Curtis connection extends to the composers that Stillman champions and now, with increasing regularity, commissions, including a bunch on the double CD: David Ludwig, Richard Danielpour, Zhou Tian, Michael Djupstrom, Daniel Kellogg; the list is probably incomplete. This wonderful set and the Mahler/Schoenberg project might be a career capper for some. But I'm pretty sure that the still youthful Stillman is just getting started.
