Thursday, September 16, 2010

William Grant Still's 'Danzas de Panama' on CD 'Serafin String Quartet' Centaur 3050 (2010)


[Serafin String Quartet; Centaur 3050 (2010)]

A CD release party has just been held for the Centaur recording Serafin String Quartet, which includes Danzas de Panama of William Grant Still:

“To close the weekend, I attended Serafin String Quartet's CD Release & Send-Off Party, hosted at Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories in nearby West Grove, PA.” “The Serafins (violinists Kate Ransom & Timothy Schwarz, violist Ana Tsinadze and cellist Lawrence Stomberg) performed beautifully, as always. I do love to watch Ana play; she displays both intensity and gentle grace in performance. She introduced their first piece, Sachidao, as a 'wrestling folk song' from the Republic of Georgia, composed in 1947 by Sulkhan Tsintsadze as part of his Three Miniatures for string quartet. (Tsindaze herself also hails from Georgia.) The short, lively piece was a great opening selection, highlighted with plucking violin strings. They followed with Amazing Grace, by Pulitzer- and Grammy-winning composer Jennifer Higdon. They closed their performance with two movements from Danzas de Panama for String Quartet by William Grant Still, from the current CD. The first was in a Spanish style and the second an African style, which began with 'drum sounds' from the ensemble tapping on their instruments and ended in a fervent jaunt. The Quartet is off to their September 25 premiere in London, but will return to open the Calvary Community Series on October 10. Their CD is available at http://www.centaurrecords.com.”

Serafin String Quartet; Centaur CRC 3050 (2010)
Works of William Grant Still, Antonin Dvorak, Samuel Barber & George Gershwin
William Grant Still
Danzas de Panama for String Quartet (14:12)
1. Tamborito (3:47)
2. Mejorana y Socavón (2:25)
3. Punto (4:36)
4. Cumbia y Congo (3:23)
[William Grant Still (1895-1978) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, where a complete Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma is found.]
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