Disc Details

Contents

Work Title	Composer
Petals	Kaija Saariaho	Listen
The Song of Songs	Karen Tanaka

Reviews

• Her reading of Karen Tanaka's moving Song of Songs is worth the price of admission.
  George Robinson, The Jewish Week, 01 April 2005
• A compilation of works for cello and electronics is a simple-enough programming concept, but Madeleine Shapiro has taken it as her central focus and then run a large circle around the point. The resulting disc is a polystylistic collection of pieces that individually push both instrument and technology in unique ways. Taken as a whole, however, the album feels focused and cohesive in a way that classical recordings of mixed authorship rarely do.
  
  Karen Tanaka's lush, occasionally saccharine The Song of Songs, a layering of soulful cello motifs over tinkling bells and a chorallike drone, eases the listener into Shapiro's sonic world. Works by Kaija Saariaho [and others] take a turn toward the intellectual and show off Shapiro's technical ability.
  Molly Shridan, Time Out New York, 03 March 2005