Mina Gajić, YuEun Kim, Coleman Itzkoff - Sonic Alchemy (2023) [DSD & Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Balta Ainava (White Scenery)
02. Fratres
03. Fantasia in D minor, K. 397
04. Mozart-Adagio (after Sonata K. 280)
05. Fantasia in C minor, K. 475
06. Castillo Interior (Interior Castle)
07. Spiegel im Spiegel



It is sometimes said that time is as old as humankind, but of course it isn’t. It’s just something we created out of a need for... what exactly? Earliest known evidence suggests we were measuring time already 5000 years ago. That way we could create predictability, for example concerning planting and harvesting. From there on we could more easily schedule and organize, which then helped us building a more sustainable life. When we had found a mutual understanding of what we would call time then other systems could be developed, kind of like a third-party software. Music notation works as a fine example.

Today our life is synchronized “to the beat.” Not only is every single footstep kept track of by our telephones or every breath by our smart wrist watches – even our thoughts are as good as monitored as we scroll casually through advertisements on social media. Without us even realizing, the idea of time and synchronicity is apparently encrypted so deep in our consciousness that the thought of viewing the world without it is beyond our comprehension. That doesn’t change the fact that time as we understand it has not always been the same. Our ideas on time have changed throughout the centuries and will most probably continue to do so. The works on Sonic Alchemy are of composers who offer a new perspective on how we can perceive time, each in their own way. (Páll Ragnar Pálsson)

“Playing in exquisitely perfect consonance and with quiet elegance violinist Yuen Kim, pianist Mina Gajić, and cellist Coleman Itzkoff bring out the haunting quality of Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks’ Balta Ainava (White Scenery) and Castillo Interior (Interior Castle) and the minimalist meditative serenity of Mozart-Adagio and Fratres, and the restlessness of Spiegel im Spiegel by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, in an album that combines the discipline of Mozart’s Classical chamber music and the compositional daring and Nordic coolness of Pēteris Vasks and Arvo Pärt. Outstanding!” (Rafael DeAcha, All About The Arts)

YuEun Kim, violin
Coleman Itzkoff, cello
Mina Gajic, piano

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [flac]

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [Hi-Res]

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [DSD] part1

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [DSD] part2