Michael Samis’ Reinecke Cello Concerto recording named a MusicWeb International Recording of the Month!
“Michael Samis’ debut solo album is as eclectic as anything we’ve seen in years. There’s a world-premiere of a major romantic concerto, another premiere of a romantic piece updated by a beloved conductor, and two works by important contemporary composers. We have Robert Schumann on one hand and a marimba duet on the other. … Carl Reinecke’s cello concerto is a pretty good one, unworthy of its obscurity. … You’ve heard things like it before but that won’t dampen your enjoyment, not when the music is this well-crafted, catchy and outstandingly played. … That’s especially because more than half of the album is even rarer and more eclectic. … How is such fantastic music so little-known? The Reinecke has never been recorded before; Samis discovered it himself. Ansermet’s arrangement of the Schumann piece is new to disc, too. … the “emerging” Gateway Chamber Orchestra from Tennessee, make for very good partners and the recorded sound is at the height of professional standards. Everything was recorded in one concert hall, so the solo pieces are surrounded by a little more reverb. Did I mention that Samis gives a truly heroic, attention-grabbing and, I hope, career-advancing performance in every single work? … So it’s an album built up from weird, unknown parts and worth much more than their sum. The twin threads of lament (Tavener, Bloch, Golijov) and romantic warmth (Reinecke, Schumann), plus the thrill of discovering over an hour of new stuff make this a major release.” —Brian Reinhart, MusicWeb International
Read the full review and breakdown on www.musicweb-international.com
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