# Inbal Segev - 20 for 2020 - Volumes I - IV - Contemporary composers document their responses to the challenges posed by the pandemic and social unrest



## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

This thread combines the documentation provided by Avie Records, an independent classical music label, paired with authorized complete recordings provided through YouTube.

These are contemporary classical compositions commissioned by cellist Inbal Segev - The sole intent of this thread is to provide them with a means of exhibition which allows them to be accessed by their intended audience - They are profoundly moving and deserve to be heard at least once... or more, if you are as impressed by them as I was.

The four volumes will be combined into a single digital release which will appear on November 18th, 2022.

Each composition ranges from 5 to 7 plus minutes in length - You are encouraged to listen to each of them at the time and pacing of your choice.

There are four volumes - each containing 5 selections - This is Volume 1 - The next volumes in the series will appear every third day.

You are encouraged and welcomed to provide any commentary you may care to provide but this isn't intended to be a homework assignment - You won't be chastised for not participating - and you'll pass the course even if you don't do anything other than show up - but you will receive extra credit if you actually listen to the compositions... or at least pretend that you did.











*SUMMARY:*
"The convergence of cataclysmic events of 2020 spurred cellist *Inbal Segev* to conceive a creative project like no other: commissioning 20 composers to document in music their responses to these challenging times, a gesture both to support her fellow musicians and to provide solace to audiences. The result, 20 for 2020, is an utterly inspirational and immensely varied palette of strong and distinctive compositional voices spanning a range of ages, genders and cultures, reflecting by turns the darkness of the pandemic, the BLM movement, isolation and contemplation. Collectively the works celebrate a stunning array of music for the soulful sound of the cello in the 21st century."

The first of four digital EPs to have been released over the past year, the range of styles and inspirations on Volume I is representative of the totality of 20 for 2020.


*FERNANDO OTERO* (b. 1972)
*1.* Concerto for Cello and String Orchestra: I. Molto appassionato
_with Brooklyn Rider Quartet and Bassist Xavier Foley_

Opening with Cello Concerto by two-time Latin Grammy Award-winner *Fernando Otero*, his work – scored for solo cello, string quartet and double bass – blends contemporary classical with music of his Argentinian homeland, infused with elements of tango and jazz. Joining forces with the Brooklyn Rider quartet was one of Inbal’s first collaborations after months of solitude.







*JAMES LEE III* (b. 1975)
*2.* Ekah for cello and piano
_with pianist Anna Polonsky_

"Michigan-born *James Lee III* contributes Ekah, meaning “how” in Hebrew as well as a reference to the bible’s Book of Lamentations. Scored for cello and piano, the work is Lee’s combined response to the pandemic and the killings and events of summer 2020, with the cello emulating the sensation of a mournful cry."







*TIMO ANDRES* (b. 1985)
*3.* Agita for cello and piano
_with the composer at the piano_

"Pulitzer Prize finalist, Brooklyn-based composer *Timo Andres*, who previously penned a cello concerto for Inbal, describes his Agita for cello and piano as “a compact, intense piece – a kind of intense little scherzo,” characterising it (tongue in cheek) as “perfect music for a relaxing evening at home sitting by the fire, maybe with a little scotch.”







*SOPHIA BASS* (b. 1996)
*4.* Taal-Naad Naman for cello, tabla and tanpura
_with Vivek Pandya on Tabla and Mari Tanaka playing the Tanpura_

"Fulbright Grant recipient, Chicago-based composer *Sophia Bass* draws on her mother’s Indian heritage for Taal-Naad Naman, a Sanskrit phrase meaning “the coming together of musical sound and rhythm to give pranaam (honour) to God.” Scored for cello, tabla and tanpura, the work finds Inbal improvising and utilising techniques typical of eastern music which remind her of her native Israel."







*BRUCE WOLOSOFF* (b. 1955)
*5.* Lacrymae for four cellos

"Volume 1 of 20 for 2020 concludes with Lacrymae by Long Island-based composer-pianist *Bruce Wolosoff,* whose many works for cello include a Top 10 Billboard charting cello concerto. His highly poignant work fuses four cello parts, all of which Inbal plays and overdubs on the recording."


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

*VIET CUONG* (b.1990)
*6. Room to move* _for cello octet_ 04:14
octet overdubbed: parts 1, 3, 5, 7 cello by Francesco Ruggieri, 1673
parts 2, 4, 6, 8 cello by Carl Becker & Son, 1957

"In American composer Viet Cuong’s Room to Move for cello octet, Inbal overdubs all eight parts, sharing them equally between her two cellos – a 1673 Ruggieri and a 1957 Becker. The work’s title evokes the solitude and enforced distances of the past year. The music’s contrasting colours and hues echo around themselves, as if in a large empty room."







*AVNER DORMAN* (b.1975)
*7. Elegy for the victims of indifference *_for cello and accordion_ 06:25

"Inbal previously commissioned a large-scale concerto from Avner Dorman, who scales down to an intimate pairing of cello and the folk-like accordion in Elegy for the Victims of Indifference, a lament for lives lost that is expressive, pensive, and lyrical, and conjures nostalgia for the two musicians’ native Israel."







*VIJAY IYER* (b.1971)
*8. The window* _for cello and piano_ 09:58

"American composer-pianist Vijay Iyer, one of today’s most distinguished jazz musicians, is more accustomed to spontaneous improvisation than putting pen to paper. But he obliged Inbal with The Window for cello and piano, a work he describes as a “mini suite” that alternates between feeling adrift and imagining reclaimed promise for the future."







*CHRISTOPHER CERRONE* (b.1984)
*9. The pleasure at being the cause* _for cello and piano _06:28

"“The Pleasure at Being the Cause”, a phrase coined by German psychologist Karl Groos, inspired American composer Christopher Cerrone whose minimalist work plays various special techniques of Inbal’s cello (the cause) against his responsive piano (the effect)"







*ANGÉLICA NEGRÓN* (b.1981)
*10. Ruta Panorámica* _for cello, bandoneón and electronics_ 05:24

"The accordion’s relative, the bandoneón, features alongside electronics and cello in Ruta Panorámica (“Scenic Route”) by Puerto-Rican composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón. Her work is an exhilarating musical journey, reminiscent of more carefree times."


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

*JOHN LUTHER ADAMS* (b.1953)
*11.* A Weeping of Doves for 8 cellos 5.25

"John Luther Adams is a lifelong environmental activist._ A Weeping of Doves _conjures the plaintive cries of this avian species through eight cellos (each part overdubbed by Inbal), in a striking impression of the sadness and beauty of the birds’ voices."







*ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK* (b.1941)
*12.* Hora for cello and marimba 6.10

"Adolphus Hailstork’s _Hora _is a happy work that pays homage to the traditional wedding dance of Inbal’s native Israel, fused with Americana styles in a duet for cello and marimba."







*GLORIA COATES* (b.1938)
*13.* Berceuse for cello solo 2.46

"Gloria Coates’ _Berceuse_ is a lullaby, originally for solo violin, written for the composer’s grandson. Coates reveals, “This version for solo cello is written expressly for the sensitive cellist Inbal Segev, who elevates the simple melody to a universal and timeless expression with her innate warmth, musical intelligence, and noble tone colours.”







*AGATA ZUBEL* (b.1978)
*14.* Unisono III for voice, cello and electronics 6.10

"Renowned for her boundary-breaking sonorities, extended techniques and textures, and exuberant musical imagination, Agata Zubel creates a cutting-edge combination for voice, cello and electronics in _Unisono III,_ stretching the possibilities of the instruments in endlessly fascinating ways. Inbal’s vocal collaborator is the experimental music expert Charlotte Mundy."







*CHRISTOPHER TYLER NICKEL* (b.1978)
*15.* Fractures of Solitude for cello octet and winds 5.50

"20 for 2020: Volume III is Inbal’s fifth release for AVIE and the label’s third featuring the music of Christopher Tyler Nickel. A decorated composer for film and television as well as an oboist, in his haunting _Fractures of Solitude_ Chris combines cello octet with oboe d’amore, two English horns and bass oboe, creating vast orchestral sonorities played by just two instrumentalists."


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Intriguing post, and music.
I reviewed a few of the pieces.
Afterwards, I made the mistake of sampling three at the same time, which my laptop had no difficulty playing. The result was fascinating. I'm now wondering what other combinations will reveal. I'm ready to explore.
Great post.


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

SONNET CLV said:


> Intriguing post, and music.
> I reviewed a few of the pieces.
> Afterwards, I made the mistake of sampling three at the same time, which my laptop had no difficulty playing. The result was fascinating. I'm now wondering what other combinations will reveal. I'm ready to explore.
> Great post.


I first became aware of cellist Inbal Segev through hearing her commission of Anna Clyne's "DANCE" a five movement composition written for cello and orchestra. Clyne is an exceptional talent - just superb - one of my favorite contemporary composers - I can effortlessly hear, with crystal-clear clarity, her distinctive "voice" - her unique way of giving expression to the thoughts, emotions, and ideas that's she attempting to convey to the listener through her music and Segev just perfectly captured the intent - the spirit - of the composition and it was as if four disparate elements - musician, instrument, composer, and work - became one harmonically unified entity.

The compositions within this thread, which were all commissioned by Segev, were, without exception, a genuine revelation to me - Somehow, in some way, they were exactly what I needed to hear when I most needed to hear them thus the creation of this thread in the hopes that someone may someday come across it and discover that they too may have found something - something that they needed to hear when they needed to hear it - discovering something even though they may not have been all that aware of what they were looking for or even that they were indeed searching, but upon hearing the music - the interaction between artist and composer, they may then experience the same sense of revelation that I did.

Enjoy!


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

*MOLLY JOYCE *(b.1992)
*16.* It has not taken long 6.09
_for cello & electronics_ 

"Volume IV of _20 for 2020_ opens with It has not taken long by *Molly Joyce, *‘one of the most versatile, prolific, and intriguing composers working under the vast new-music dome,’ (The Washington Post). Layered cellos and electronics highlight Inbal’s intensely lyrical and melodic playing, and the juxtaposition of new technology with Inbal’s Ruggieri cello built in 1673." 







*CAMILLE EL BACHA *(b.1989)
*17.* Dance Between The Worlds 7.21
_for piano trio_ 

"The orient and occident coalesce in Dance Between the Worlds, a piano trio by Arab-Jewish pianist-improvisor and composer *Camille El Bacha* in which heady rhythms support expressive melody."







*OSCAR BETTISON* (b.1975)
*18.* La Hija Del Neón 5.53
_for cello, piano & electric guitar_ 

*"Oscar Bettison*’s La hija del neón (“The Daughter of Neon”), for cello, piano and electric guitar, is a chamber concerto inspired by ideas of interference and the distorted buzz of old neon signs. Quarter tones, special effects, polyrhythms, and non-traditional effects all integrate seamlessly."







*IMMANUEL WILKINS* (b.1998)
*19.* Exhale 5.58
_for solo cello_ 

"Ground-breaking saxophonist, composer, educator, and bandleader *Immanuel Wilkins* composed Exhale for solo cello during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Technically challenging, the work nevertheless feels improvisatory and flows beautifully."







*STEWART GOODYEAR* (b.1978)
*20.* The Kapok 5.36
_for cello & piano_ 

"Pianist-composer *Stewart Goodyear* turned to Trinidadian folklore for The Kapok, inspired by a tree referred to as “The Castle of the Devil”. His collaboration with Inbal channels into a work that is devilish and defiant, yet ultimately hopeful and optimistic."


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