Muczynski: Chamber Music Ginevra Petrucci, Gleb Kanasevich, Dorotea Racz & Dmitry Samogray

• Robert Muczynski (1929-2010): Fantasy Trio, Op. 26:
• 1 I. Allegro energico 02:52
• 2 II. Andante con espressione 03:02
• 3 III. Allegro deciso 01:53
• 4 IV. Introduction and Finale. Andante molto e sostenuto 03:52
• Sonata, Op. 25:
• 5 I. Theme and Variations. Andante sostenuto 08:27
• 6 II. Scherzo. Allegro grazioso 03:01
• 7 III. Andante sostenuto 04:59
• 8 IV. Allegro con spirit 03:06
• Duos, Op. 24:
• 9 I. Andante sostenuto 01:15
• 10 II. Allegro risoluto 01:05
• 11 III. Moderato 01:44
• 12 IV. Allegro ma non troppo 00:57
• 13 V. Andante molto 02:04
• 14 VI. Allegro 01:23
• Time Pieces, Op. 43:
• 15 I. Allegro risoluto 02:36
• 16 II. Andante espressivo 05:49
• 17 III. Allegro moderato 02:01
• 18 IV. Introduction. Andante molto - Allegro energico 05:04
• Sonata, Op. 14:
• 19 I. Allegro deciso 03:53
• 20 II. Scherzo. Vivace 01:55
• 21 III. Andante 04:12
• 22 IV. Allegro con moto 03:25
• Total Runtime 01:08:35

Info for Muczynski: Chamber Music

Often cited as the most distinguished neoclassical composer of post-war America, Robert Muczynski (1929-2010) was born in Chicago to Polish parents. This album of chamber music surveys an output which is always restless and unpredictable thanks to the embrace of both Bartokian harmonies and structures as well as the more lyrical yet open-ended language of Samuel Barber.

The Cello Sonata of 1968 is often considered to be Muczynski’s chamber music masterpiece, in which the problems of balance and register inherent to the genre are not only solved but transcended with a mastery especially evident in the central Scherzo. From a year later, the Fantasy Trio Op.26 is a welcome addition to the clarinet-cello-piano trio genre established by Beethoven. Energy and punchy rhythmic interplay are hallmarks of Muczynski’s music, as the earlier Flute Sonata engagingly demonstrates: in its whimsical, abrupt, headstrong progress through a compact four-movement form, it may even be considered the most important such work by an American composer.

Muczynski took technical agility and devil-may-care confidence for granted in his interpreters; in this case, an international quartet of musicians based in the US. There is an extended booklet essay by the pianist Dmitry Samogray which places both composer and works in invaluable context. Any listeners curious to fill out their appreciation of American music beyond Copland and Bernstein will want to hear this release.

Robert Muczynski (1929-2010) was born in Chicago, son of a Polish and Slovak immigrant. At the age of 5 he started his piano lessons, and later studied at the DePaul University composition with Walter Knupfer and Alexander Tcherepnin.

Muczynski may safely be called the most important neoclassical composer of post-war America. His style bears influences from Bartók, Barber, Bernstein and occasional jazz elements. This new recording contains some delightful chamber for various instruments: the flute sonata, trio for clarinet, cello & piano, the cello sonata, and duos for flute and clarinet: attractive music full of vitality and exuberant energy.

Wonderful performances by Ginevra Petrucci (flute), Dorotea Racz (cello), Gleb Kanasevich (clarinet) and Dmitry Samogray (piano), all four of them seasoned soloists and ensemble players. The booklet contains excellent liner notes written by Dmitry Samogray.

Ginevra Petrucci, flute
Gleb Kanasevich, clarinet
Dorotea Racz, cello
Dmitry Samogray, piano

Ginevra Petrucci
Praised by the Italian press as being “one of the most interesting talents of her generation”, and described as having “a beautiful phrasing, brilliant virtuosity and a legato worthy of a great singer” by The Flutist Quarterly, Ginevra Petrucci has performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls throughout Europe (Sala Accademica di Santa Cecilia and Villa Medici, Rome; Teatro La Fenice, Venice; Sala Maffeiana, Verona; Villa Pignatelli, Naples; Salle Cortot, Paris; Liszt Academy, Budapest; Chopin Academy, Warsaw), America (Carnegie Hall, New York; Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.), Japan (Ohji Hall, Tokyo), South America and Middle East. She performs regularly with artists such as Bruno Canino, Rocco Filippini, Paolo Carlini, Luca Vignali, Boris Berman, David Radzynski, Emmanuel Ceysson, Jory Vinikour and with the ensembles I Virtuosi Italiani, I Pomeriggi Musicali, I Musici di Roma, the Kodály Quartet. Her recordings include Giulio Briccialdi’s four flute Concerti with I Virtuosi Italiani, Friedrich Kuhlau’s quintets with the Kodály Quartet, Haydn's flute Duets, the recital CD "The World of Yesterday" with Bruno Canino, Dupuy and Büchner’s Concerti with I Pomeriggi Musicali, the first CD entirely dedicated to the flauto d’amore and an all-Muczynski album with Ensemble Accendo. She is visiting professor at international institutions such as the Royal Academy in Dublin, the Paderewski Academy in Poznan, the Conservatorio Superior in Vigo and La Coruña, the European Culture and Performing Arts Association in Tokyo etc. She has worked with composers Kaija Saariaho, Steve Reich, George Crumb, Betsy Jolas and Jean-Michel Damase and she collaborates with Nuova Consonanza Contemporary Music Festival and La Biennale di Venezia. Born in Rome in 1989, she studied at Conservatorio ‘Santa Cecilia’ of Rome with her father, to continue her education at Ecole Normale ‘Alfred Cortot’ (Paris) with Pierre-Yves Artaud and at the Yale University (USA) with Ransom Wilson.

She is the President of the Leonardo De Lorenzo Association.

Booklet for Muczynski: Chamber Music