Still Life: Chamber Music by Karen Amrhein

1	Sonata for Trumpet and Pi
2	Sonata for Trumpet and Pi
3	Sonata for Trumpet and Pi
4	Event Horizon
5	Event Horizon
6	Event Horizon
7	Sonata for Violin and Pia
8	Sonata for Violin and Pia
9	Sonata for Violin and Pia
10	Sonata for Euphonium and
11	Sonata for Euphonium and
12	Sonata for Euphonium and
13	Concerto for Guitar "Hami
14	Concerto for Guitar "Hami
15	Concerto for Guitar "Hami
16	Concerto for Guitar "Hami
17	Concerto for Guitar "Hami
18	Concerto for Guitar "Hami
19	Sonata for Clarinet and P
20	Sonata for Clarinet and P
21	Sonata for Clarinet and P
22	Sonata for Horn and Piano
23	Sonata for Horn and Piano
24	Quartet for Strings no 1
25	Quartet for Strings no 1
26	Quartet for Strings no 1
27	Missa humanis
28	Missa humanis
29	Missa humanis
30	Missa humanis
31	Missa humanis
Still Life: Chamber Music by Karen Amrhein
1.	Sonata for trumpet & piano 4:30
	Composed by Karen Amrhein
	Performed by Soyoung Ryoo and James Sherry
2.	Event Horizon, for clarinet & chamber orchestra 15:12
	Composed by Karen Amrhein
	Performed by Richard Stoltzman and Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
	Conducted by Kirk Trevor
3.	Sonata for violin & piano 5:33
	Composed by Karen Amrhein
	Performed by Nicholas Currie and Lisa Rehwoldt
4.	Sonata for euphonium & piano 6:37
	Composed by Karen Amrhein
	Performed by Alex Rovang and Karl Schultz
5.	Hamilton Street Concerto for guitar & chamber orchestra 12:26
	Composed by Karen Amrhein
	Conducted by Kirk Trevor
	Performed by Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra and Oscar López Plaza
6.	Sonata for clarinet & piano 5:45
	Composed by Karen Amrhein
	Performed by Kyle Coughlin and Lisa Rehwoldt
7.	Sonata for horn & piano 3:56
	Composed by Karen Amrhein
	Performed by Benito Diaz and Jésus Gomez
8.	String Quartet No. 1 7:14
	Composed by Karen Amrhein
	Performed by Nicholas Currie, Catherine Frey, Asako Kuboki and Todd Thiel
9.	Missa humanis, for chorus & chamber orchestra 10:26
	Composed by Karen Amrhein
	Conducted by Kirk Trevor
	Performed by Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra

All Music Guide

Because Karen Amrhein composes in a straightforward and unpretentious manner with an aim toward practicality and intelligibility, many of her chamber pieces resemble Hindemith's Gebrauchsmusik in their directness, yet often seem epigrammatic in their conciseness. On her 2003 album Still Life, Amrhein's lean, utilitarian style is best represented by her numerous short sonatas for solo instruments and piano, which are compact essays for equal partners, as indicated in the titles ("Trumpet and Piano Sonata," "Violin and Piano Sonata," etc.) However, Amrhein reveals a more relaxed, neo-Romantic side in "Event Horizon for clarinet and chamber orchestra," and in the "Hamilton Street Concerto for guitar and orchestra"; lushly interpreted by clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, guitarist Oscar López Plaza, and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kirk Trevor, these pieces are expansive and substantial works, and quite accessible in their open tonality and vibrant color. The "String Quartet No. 1," rather dryly played by violinists Nicholas Currie and Asako Kuboki, violist Catherine Frey, and cellist Todd Thiel, is an extremely concentrated work that makes its points simply, without extraneous effects or showiness. The "Missa humanis," sung by the SRSO's chorus, is the most assertively modernist work on the program, and may remind some listeners of Charles Ives' audacious choral music in its pugnacious rhythms and harmonic complexity. MMC's sound quality is generally fine, though slightly uneven due to the different venues. Blair Sanderson