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Kuniko
Classical Music 2021
by C. Michael Bailey
Here is a smattering of notable classical music released in 2021. Isata Kanneh-Mason Summertime Decca 2021 Isata Kanneh-Mason's debut, Romance: The Piano Music of Clara Schumann (Decca, 2019) was a shrewd business decision disguised with clever production, selections at the edge of the standard repertoire, looking deeply into an infrequently recorded composer. Before Romance cooled, the pianist released Summertime, a tightly focused recital of 20th century American music. Kanneh-Mason achieves an informative juxtaposition ...
read moreKuniko: Steve Reich: Drumming
by C. Michael Bailey
If it can be beaten with a stick, a mallet, a brush or a hammer, Kuniko beats it. The master percussionist elevates the musical art of universal percussion to a level that forces it to not only be taken seriously, but to encourage an effort to learn about it. That is the measure of an artist. Kuniko's previous Linn recordings, Kuniko Plays Reich (2012), Cantus (2013), Iannis Xenakis IX (2015), and Bach: Solo Works For Marimba (2017), all ...
read moreKuniko: Bach: Solo Works for Marimba
by C. Michael Bailey
Johann Sebastian Bach. His music is a cornerstone of Western Civilization. On reason Bach's music has had staying power in our quickly evolving culture is its durability. Bach's music has been effectively framed by vastly different instrumental approaches. These include Vittorio Ghielmi's near-the-intent viol consort approach to The Art of Fugue (Winter & Winter, 2009), through Uri Caine's reconstructed Goldberg Variations (Winter & Winter, 2000), all the way to Bill Cunliffe's BACHanalia (Metro, 2017). That is an impressive breadth of ...
read moreKuniko: Iannis Xenakis IX
by C. Michael Bailey
Sound is elemental. It is why the heartrate, composed of many individual heartbeats in succession is called a vital sign. Percussionist Kuniko understands this in an explicit and integral manner. Her previous recordings, Kuniko Plays Reich (Linn Records, 2012) and Cantus (Linn Records, 2013) were devoted to her command of the vibraphone and marimba. Iannis Xenakis IX broadly expands her use of percussion methods, liberating her talent dramatically. In other words, Kuniko mixes things up...like a wild, precisely structured, aural ...
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Kuniko
