Editorial Reviews

She makes the cello sing, cry, chatter, and squeal. She even hits it with mallets. On Kinship, Maya Beiser brings this most human of instruments to the composers of the world. A French-Argentinian Israeli who grew up listening to Brahms, tangos, and the call of the muezzin from neighboring Arab villages, and who then joined the avant-garde Bang on a Can ensemble, Beiser's background has prepared her to play whatever she pleases. Calling it either "world" music or "classical" would be too simple. Like the Kronos Quartet on their bestselling Caravan, Beiser maps out her own world: Creating alliances with probing composers from many backgrounds, she poses cross-cultural challenges to the boundaries of her instrument and her prodigious abilities. On his "Samai Nahawand," Palestine-born composer Simon Shaheen joins in masterfully on the oud, the Middle Eastern ancestor of the lute. Cambodian composer Chinary Ung's "Khse Buon" reflects his years of transcribing his homeland's traditional music. Glen Velez, Evan Ziporyn, and Nana Vasconcelos bring the sounds of India, Indonesia, and Brazil to the table. And the national borders get blurry, too. That piece that seems so English in a Gavin Bryars way turns out to be by the Brazilian Vasconcelos. That moody, Celtic-sounding piece came from the Caucasus. Label Beiser's music if you dare. The common denominator is her quest for the abundant beauty, pathos, humor, eeriness, and pure feeling her instrument is capable of. Beiser is out there touring a world that's getting smaller all the time, and she makes a most distinguished musical ambassadress. Emily King, Barnes & Noble

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