In an article in the New Yorker, Civitellians Wang Lu (CRF 2016) and Fred Hersch (DG 2013) ‘s new songs are recommended to listeners.
From the article:
On Lu: “I’ve listened at least a dozen times to the composer Wang Lu’s new album, “Urban Inventory” (New Focus Recordings), and remain happily lost in its riotous maze of ideas and images. Every moment is vividly etched, drenched in instrumental color, steeped in influences that range from ancient Chinese folk music to the latest detonations of the European avant-garde. A starry array of ensembles, including the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Alarm Will Sound, and the International Contemporary Ensemble, bring the music to rambunctious life. The flow of events is so rapid and so variegated that nothing settles into the groove of the familiar.”
On Hersch: “Sessions at the Village Vanguard have always made for my favorite recordings, and the album seemed like one of the more private conversations a listener could have with Hersch. There’s no accompaniment; it’s just him, live, playing a smattering of classics and original compositions.”