Meanwhile

The remarkable new-music ensemble eighth blackbird has won Grammy Awards for its last two albums on Ce­dille Records. Now, the "polished, personable, routinely dazzling sextet" (New York Times) returns with mean­while, an album highlighting the kaleidoscopic diversity of contemporary classical music.

Meanwhile includes world-premiere recordings of three exciting and accessible works written for the adventur­ous young sextet: Stephen Hartke's sparkling, fanciful Meanwhile: Incidental Music to Imaginary Puppet Plays (2007) looks to classical Asian puppet theater for inspira­tion, with gamelan-style Flexatones and piano altered to sound like a Vietnamese hammered dulcimer; Missy Mazzoli's Still Life with Avalanche (2008) paints an idyllic landscape disturbed by unexpected news; and Two movements from Roshanne Etezady's Damaged Goods (2001) grapple with the psychic bruises of everyday modern life. The album also includes works by three well-established, marquee names in contemporary music from Europe and the United States.

Grammy Award Winner: Best Chamber Music, Best Contemporary Classical Composition

Cedille - CDR90000133