Search - Druckman, Macomber, Zeavin :: Jacob Druckman: String Quartets Nos. 2 & 3 / Reflections on the Nature of Water / Dark Wind - Group for Contemporary Music

An excellent tribute to one of America's finest composers

06/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although there are many wonderful recordings of Jacob Druckman's works, I believe that this is one of the finest. This recording contains some of his chamber music works from throughout his career.One particular piece on this CD, Reflections on the Nature of Water, is without a doubt one of the finest works ever written for the marimba. This work is a classic and is a staple in most marimbists repertoire. This recording of Reflections on the Nature of Water is not the first (that honor goes to William Moersch, the marimbist who commissioned the work - see below). However, this recording of Reflections is wonderful and will certainly stand the test of time against other recordings of this work that will certainly come out. The marimba that Daniel Druckman is playing (a Marimba One marimba by Ron Samuels) beautifully enhances his sensitive, colorful interpretation of this piece. His rolls are exceptionally smooth and his mallet choices are excellent. Daniel Druckman is Jacob Druckman's son, and he certainly must feel a personal affinity for his father's music. His playing makes this apparent in this landmark recording.The only other released recording that I know of this piece is by William Moersch. I compared the two back to back, and each one seems to have its merits. I detected what sounded like a couple of minor audible digital edits. However, the Moerch recording, the only other recording currently available, also seems to contain a couple of these. These edits are extremely subtle and will probably not be at all audible to the average listener, and due to the very nature of these beautiful but very difficult movements, they are perhaps hard to avoid when recording this piece.The remaining works on this album are wonderful, both the works themselves and the recordings. They are all works for stringed instruments (Strings Quartets Nos. 2 & 3 and Dark Wind for violin and cello). The warm quality of this recording makes you feel like you are sitting right in front of the quartet, like you are having an intimate experience and are being enveloped in Druckman's amazing sound-world. The players are all well-known new music veterans and as you would expect, play perfectly.You could not ask for a better recording of Druckman's chamber music. If you are not familiar with his music, this recording will be an excellent start."

Major American works

08/15/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Stunning performances, beautifully recorded. Includes the late composer's son perfoming the work for solo marimba, RELFECTION ON THE NATURE OF WATER. Congratulations to all involved in putting this together."