Fluid Dynamics
Orchid, 2024
9/10
The violinist Rachel Lee Priday and pianist David Kaplan come together for these world premieres of commissioned works that take inspiration from the oceanographer Georgy Manucharyan.
Gabriella Smith’s “Entangled On A Rotating Planet” starts the listen with the quivering strings making for much ambience, and “Waterworks”, by Paul Wiancko, follows with a distinct mood of intricate strings that swell with emotion and energy.
Further along, Timo Andres’ “Three Suns” is an intimate moment of beauty that builds into a dizzying execution of acrobatic violin, while “ko’u inoa” is an animated bout of string manipulation via the Leilehua Lanzilotti selection.
The final piece is where Kaplan enters. Christopher Cerrone’s “Sonata For Violin And Piano” blurs the atypical strings with Kaplan’s rich keys that can hit low registers, too.
A technical effort that meshes classical sounds with visual poetry, Priday’s performance is as exceptional as we’re used to from the artist, and Kaplan’s contributions only add more allure.
Travels well with: Karen Slack/Michelle Cann- Beyond The Years; Christopher Cerrone- Beaufort Scales