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"King Crimson meets Astor Piazzolla!"
| Dmitri Shostakovich (from 24 Preludes and Fugues for Piano, Op. 87) | |||
| 1. | Prelude 1 | Sarabande | |
| 2. | Prelude 8 | Stone Polka | |
| 3. | Prelude 17 | Mimi goes Me(n)tal | |
| 4. | Prelude 15 | Fireman's Waltz | |
| 5. | Prelude 14 | Gulag | |
| 6. | Prelude 18 | Hora | |
| 7. | Prelude 2 | Bit Part | |
| 8. | Prelude 7 | Gigue à la Mode | |
| 9. | Prelude 11 | Oy Gavotte | |
| 10. | Prelude 23 | Anthem | |
| Samuel Barber (from Excursions for Piano, Op. 20) | |||
| 11. | Excursions I | Get a Horse | |
| 12. | Excursions II | Baker's Dozen | |
| 13. | Excursions IV | Shack Up | |
| Igor Stravinsky (from L'Histoire du Soldat) | |||
| 14. | The Devil's Dance | ||
| Francis Poulenc | |||
| 15. | Mouvements Perpétuels, no. 1 | ||
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Produced by Evan Harlan
© 1996 Mark Set Go (BMI)
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On its debut CD, Excelsior declassifies composers fascinated with folk music -- Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Barber, etc. -- by arranging their music for accordion, electric violin, electric guitar, and drums. Their approach is both respectful and irreverent, giving the compositions their due, but liberally mixing in improv and unorthodox textures. The sounds are reminiscent of Astor Piazzolla's New Tango or the Berlin theater music of Kurt Weill, both of which blend high art with gut impact.Scroll on...
Named after leader Evan Harlan's squeezebox, Excelsior unites the talents of some of Boston's most respected musicians: violinist Mimi Rabson, guitarist Claudio Ragazzi, and drummer Grant Smith. They bring their extensive experience in classical, avant-garde, Irish, Klezmer, Balkan, Latin, jazz and rock music to Shostakovich's Preludes, Barber's Excursions, Stravinsky's L'Histoire du Soldat, and Poulenc's Mouvements Perpétuels.In addition to concerts in New England and New York, Excelsior has been featured on Art of the States, a monthly program of American music produced by Joel Gordon of WGBH radio, broadcast in more than 50 countries. Recently the group was also featured on both The World, co-produced by WGBH and the BBC, and WBUR's The Connection.
Excelsior's CD
is available in select record stores, and on-line at CD Alley.
You can also contact Excelsior directly:
(phone) 617-497-6213 or(email) excelsior@erols.com Press Contacts: Beth Potier