Reflection

Adrian Nowak, harp. CD Accord, 2024.

Polish harpist Adrian Nowak explores the meaning of the term Reflection in his album of four solo works (many in their world premieres) by contemporary Polish composers. The music is dark and aleatoric, often containing unspecified tempos and note values. This demands the performer to co-create the listener’s experience. How much, then, is really reflective of the composer’s intent? That is part of the mystery of this powerful album. Artur Gelbrun’s Introduction and Rhapsody based on 12-tone techniqueis virtuosic and improvisatory while Edward Bogusławski’s Preludio e cadenza is filled with a kaleidoscope of extended techniques including the use of a plectrum, xylophonic sounds, varied glissandi, and extreme registers. Roman Haubenstock-Ramati also makes use of techniques including stammering and flatter finger for his unusual graphically presented score. The album concludes with an untitled work by Paweł Malinowski where Nowak conjures an otherworldly journey of sound and space. 

Impressions

Isabelle Olivier, harp. Métamorphoses, 2024.

Like a visual artist, Isabelle Olivier creates a colorful canvas combining “elegance, minimalism, spectral notions, feelings, and vibe.” Her new album Impressions is inspired by art and forges a partnership between harp and a top-notch versatile ensemble of string quartet, piano, accordion, electronics, and drums. She credits the vividness of Van Gogh as inspiration for the tenderness in her opening work Fleurs de Soleil. Cezanne is filled with soft coloring while Bike takes us on a gentle jaunt, so joyous, we might even be riding side-saddle. A favorite is Boating Party based on a work by Mary Cassatt, again with a feeling of forward motion as if the painted figures have come to life and leapt off the wall. The same holds for a funky La Gare depicting a classic Monet painting filled with steam and motion. Another standout is the clever Wrong Colors seemingly poking fun at her own desire to mix and match as the mood strikes. Ever creative, humorous, playful and surprising, Olivier plays a winning combination in this terrific album of originals. •