Search - Ahn Trio :: Ahn-Plugged

These gals just wanna have fun...

Neal C. Reynolds | Indianapolis, Indiana | 07/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I do hope the cover of this CD doesn't scare away "serious" classical lovers! This is definitely classical. It's a collection of shorter classics, but that sure doesn't mean it's aimed for those with short attention spans like one reviewer suggests. This music is, to quote, "charged and alive"! A lot of "today people" who are leery about classical music are likely to find themselves wound up in music especially composed for the Ahn trio by such composers as Henji Bunch and Eric Emazan. Diverse composers such as Argentine tango composer Astor Piazzolla and Leonard Bernstein are included, and most diverse of all, perhaps, is David Bowie.These gals touch all the basses and show that there is indeed life in classical music."

Ahnbelievable!

o dubhthaigh | north rustico, pei, canada | 12/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These sisters cook with classical ingredients and have found in Kenji Bunch a composer who understands their dynamic and presents them with material that encourages them to expand their considerable talents. There is an attitude here that came off as a bit unbridled on the first CD, TRIOS, and may have set them against the mainstream of classical interpreters. That's a very good thing indeed, for having broken that stranglehold on how things should be played, they have managed to add a bit of steam to the chamber room. Sure it has to do with fashion and sensuality, but it did back in the day, when Wolfgang, Ludwig and Robert and Clara were heating things up. It all got too mannered afterwards, so when artists like the Ahns, or Kennedy, or any other adventurous soul upends the conventions, it is easy to jump on the surface differences as a way of avoiding dealing with the substantive issues at hand.
To my ears, they provoke the listener in what seemed like too comfortable assumptions about Piazzola, infused interest and intrigue into Bernstein where little besides Broadway and Americana star excess existed before, and have taken a Pat Metheny/David Bowie piece and brought classical drama to a terrific composition. Both writers should be duly flattered and impressed by the interpretation. And as I mentioned, with Bunch, they have a writer best suited to their own dynamic.
I am sure it helps that a set of twins are playing with their sister. There is a telepathy here that indicates they know when they are going to leap off the conventional cliff, and so the others respond by catching them in mid air. This disc makes for seductive and exciting listening. Listening to the Bosendorfer ring off the sensuality of the cello and the passion of the violin and that unbridled element is a source of wonder and enchantment."

Ahn Trio's "Ahn-Plugged" shares creative & artistic vision

C. Hsieh | San Diego, CA USA | 08/31/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Ahn Trio sisters, with creative originality and bravura, have expressed in their latest CD "Ahn-Plugged" a certain charged flair reminiscent of free-verse poetry & free-form art: "the different styles of music co-exist to be shared and experienced by all without any rigid rules". Contributions from contemporary composers and artists alike (Kenji Bunch, Eric Ewazen, Michael Nyman) help make this compliation a true aural treat, as well as a demonstration of the triad's viruosity. "Concerto for Piano Trio and Percussion" fits perfectly as a catchy, percussion-filled opener; the bold-rhythm and energetic cadences characteristic of this piece seem to reappear in the CD's later tracks, namely Astor Piazzolla's "Primavera portena" and Eric Ewazen's "The Diamond World." Both pieces are also resonant, swift, somewhat jazzy, yet are also balanced by the tranquil calm, the interestingly eerie timbre of Kenji Bunch's "Slow Dance". For any Bowie fan, the last track, "This is Not America" provides a rather intiguing twist to a familiar tune, adding to it the sister's instrumental depth. As a whole, The collection provides pieces that are worth the constant revisits, & serves, with its style, as an innovative addition to any musical library."