Molly Barth BLAIR DEBUT RECITAL with the Blair String Quartet, Amy Dorfman, Ji Hye Jung, and Jared Hauser
Friday, March 29, 8 p.m., Turner Recital Hall
Hear works by W. F. Bach, Johannes Brahms, Michael Fiday, David Lang, Russell Platt, and Zhou Tian
I am pleased about the CDs that I have recorded, and encourage you to peruse them!
Vento Appassionato: Molly Barth presents her interpretations of ten of the most influential 20th century compositions for solo flute: Syrinx by Claude Debussy, Sonata Appassionata by Sigfrid Karg-Elert, Acht Stücke by Paul Hindemith, Density 21.5 by Edgard Varèse, Image by Eugene Bozza, Sequenza by Luciano Berio, Mei by Kazuo Fukushima, Three Preludes by Robert Muczynski, Scrivo in Vento by Elliott Carter, and Air by Toru Takemitsu. “Barth is a rock-solid player who knows this music inside and out. Barth puts across all her selections with spirit and imagination. Even if you know Fukushima’s Mei (1962), your jaw will drop at 4:30 where she switches from a fortissimo high note to a pianissimo whistle tone. Such is her virtuosity that much of the writing sounds easier to play than it actually is.” T. Gorman, American Record Guide, Sept./Oct. 2018 https://www.albanyrecords.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AR&Product_Code=TROY1726&Category_Code
Molly Barth joins forces with guitarist Dieter Hennings to form Duo Damiana. Their debut album Castillos de Viento includes works of Michael Fiday, Jesse Jones, Shafer Mahoney, Hebert Vázquez, and Chen Yi. https://www.innova.mu/albums/duo-damiana/castillos-de-viento
Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon’s extended song cycle Songtree is based on poetry by William Shakespeare and Mexican author Raúl Aceves, featuring the Zohn Collective with soprano Tony Arnold. http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=2275916
Thorn, Molly Barth‘s collection of works by David Lang, has been described as “…a varied yet consistent overview of Lang’s chamber music activities, a vital part of his output. The performances strike just the right balance between nervous tension and technical security.” (Steve Smith, The Log Journal) https://cantaloupemusic.com/albums/thorn
This is what they had to say:
“…one of the world’s finest flutists.”
Brett Campbell, Eugene Weekly, October 4, 2018
“Flutist Molly Alicia Barth plays its melodies with the breadth of a clarinet and the metallic waver of a saxophone, as well as with more conventional flute tones, but always with rare control and precision.”
Nicholas Stevens, ClevelandClassical.com, October 10, 2018
“Barth is a rock-solid player who knows this music inside and out….Barth puts across all her selections with spirit and imagination. Even if you know Fukushima’s Mei (1962), your jaw will drop at 4:30 where she switches from a fortissimo high note to a pianissimo whistle tone. Such is her virtuosity that much of the writing sounds easier to play than it actually is.”
Todd Gorman, American Record Guide, September/October 2018
Molly Barth announces the Albany Records release of:
Vento Appassionato: 20th Century Solo Flute Repertoire
In Vento Appassionato, I present my interpretations of ten of the most influential twentieth century unaccompanied flute solos in the repertoire, chrono- logically spanning from 1913 to 1996. These pieces are dear to my heart. The stamp that I have placed on each piece is largely influenced by my flute mentors: Michel Debost, Kathy Chastain, Walfrid Kujala, Randy Bowman, Brad Garner, Carolyn Topliff, Harold Jones, and Mary Stolper. For the past two decades, I have had the exciting opportunity to pass along my interpretive guidance to students worldwide. Some of the composers represented are household names, while others are primarily known to wind instrumentalists. Many of the works are melody-driven and traditional in style, and some explore alternative textures and harmonic languages. Each piece on the album leads me on an impactful emotional journey, and I am happy to share this musical adventure with you. — Molly Alicia Barth
“Barth is a rock-solid player who knows this music inside and out….Barth puts across all her selections with spirit and imagination. Even if you know Fukushima’s Mei (1962), your jaw will drop at 4:30 where she switches from a fortissimo high note to a pianissimo whistle tone. Such is her virtuosity that much of the writing sounds easier to play than it actually is.”
Todd Gorman, American Record Guide, September/October 2018
Please purchase your CD or digital download here:
Information about Molly Barth and the Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt University is here:
Dieter and I are thrilled to present our Duo Damiana debut album, Castillos De Viento, on the Innova label. Check it out!
https://www.innova.mu/albums/duo-damiana/castillos-de-viento
Flutist Molly Barth and guitarist Dieter Hennings join forces to form Duo Damiana, a trail-blazing ensemble dedicated to pushing the boundaries of flute and guitar music. In their debut album, titled Castillos de Viento (Castles in the Wind), Duo Damiana has gathered some of today’s most captivating voices. Composers Michael Fiday, Jesse Jones, Shafer Mahoney, Hebert Vázquez, and Chen Yi provide a powerful soundscape that emphasizes both the individual beauty of each instrument as well as its collective power. An album with a unique global vision in mind, the works by Fiday, Vázquez, and Yi look East to Japan and China for its inspiration, while the works of Mahoney and Jones are deeply rooted in the American tradition. The title castillos de viento refers to the “ephemeral yet powerful nature of music. Although intangible, it reaches emotions that are rooted in solid, cogent, timeless ground within us.”
El jardín del pasaje púrpura (the garden of the purple passage), written by Hebert Vázquez, alludes to a Japanese garden with cherry blossoms. Michael Fiday’s 5 Haiku are a set of varied musical reflections on texts by the 17th-century Japanese haiku master Matsuo Basho, their concise forms revealing an entire world within. The rich elements of authentic folk music from three minority nationalities in China West are the subject matter of Three Bagatelles from China West by Chen Yi. The quiet, introspective nature of Shafer Mahoney’s Shining River was inspired by the writings of John Muir, the American naturalist. Jesse Jones is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Elliott Carter Rome Prize in Composition from the American Academy in Rome; he has written a four-movement tour-de-force for Duo Damiana.
Barth, a founding member of the contemporary powerhouse ensemble Eighth Blackbird, and Dieter Hennings, of the Eastman Broadband, both prolific in their individual projects, come together to provide what will surely be a referential recording in its field. Barthis Associate Professor of Flute at the University of Oregon and Hennings is Associate Professor of Guitar at the University of Kentucky.
Playing with friends is music-making at its best, and this new musical endeavor is the ultimate!
The Zohn Collective already has recorded its first CD under the label Oberlin Music, which is expected to be released in spring of 2018, and is booked for various upcoming engagements, including a collaboration with the internationally recognized puppet company, La Coperacha, at the II Bienal Internacional de Teatro in Mexico.
Check it out: https://zohncollective.com/
Those of you who could not attend my May 13 David Lang CD release concert at National Sawdust can now take in much of it at the link provided here! Happy viewing (individual pieces tracked for your ease of perusal), and you can purchase the album at one of these sites:
http://bangonacan.org/store/music/thorn
http://cantaloupemusic.com/albums/thorn
I am thrilled to be able to share the EXCELLENT NEW CD that Cantaloupe Music has released! Thorn features the music of David Lang, and what a treat it was to get all of the performers together to make this CD a reality!
http://cantaloupemusic.com/albums/thorn
And I love the fact that I am a Cantaloupe artist. What a fantastic collection of music and musicians under one label:
http://cantaloupemusic.com/artists/molly-barth
Steve Smith reviewed the CD the day it was released:
I am proud to invite you to view my new music video. I am performing “Cantiga del Merolico II” by Ricardo Zohn Muldoon, with Darren Stevenson of PUSH Physical Theater.
Cantiga del Merolico II (1990/rev. 2014)
composed by Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon
This work is a tribute to the merolico, an exhuberant type of vendor that is often found in open markets in México. In order to attract customers, the merolico improvises florid and incessant monologues extolling the virtues of his merchandise, while ingenuously interspersing swift compliments to beautiful señoritas passing by and satirical remarks against those who ignore him. The merolico is able to adapt to his audience with a speed and accuracy that would make a chameleon die of shame.
Molly Alicia Barth, flutist
Darren Stevenson, dancer
Avi Pryntz-Nadworny, videographer
Lance Miller, audio recording engineer
Avi Pryntz-Nadworny, Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon and Molly Alicia Barth, producers
Molly Barth has received a Career Opportunity Grant award from the Oregon Arts Commission.