Persichetti CD Praised at Audiophile Audition

Our new Persichetti CD recently received a fine review at Audiophile Audition. They conclude:

"An important reissue: Ellen Burmeister's performances are authoritative, and Starkland's remastering serves them well."

Read more about Starkland's Persichetti CD.

Phil Kline: Unsilent Night: 2010

Phil Kline's Unsilent Night, a wonderful participatory moving sound sculpture, will take place in more than 20 cities around the world this December, adding for the first time Hong Kong, Oxford, UK and Charleston, WV.

Cities include: Asheville, Baltimore, Boulder, Charleston (SC), Charleston (WV), Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Missoula, Montreal, New Haven, New York City, Oxford (UK), Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Traverse City, and Vancouver.

Details for each city's meeting place and time can be found here.

This free, outdoor sonic event consists of many individual parts, recorded on cassettes, CDs, and MP3s, and played through a roving swarm of boomboxes and pod-docks carried through city streets every December. People bring their own diverse playback devices and drift peacefully through a moving surround-sound environment which is different from every listener's perspective. Some have even brought their laptops hooked up to large speakers mounted on a wagon.



Since its debut in 1992 in New York, Unsilent Night has become a cult holiday tradition, drawing crowds of up to 1,500 participants. It has also grown into a worldwide annual event that has been presented in over 45 cities and on three continents.

The New York Times writes, "Unsilent Night immerses the listener in suspended wonderment, as if time itself had paused inside a string of jingle bells.”

Time Out writes, "Kline's luminous, shimmering wash of bell tones is one of the loveliest communal new-music experiences you'll ever encounter, and it's never the same twice."

FYI: The only surround sound recording of Phil's spatial music is his Around the World in a Daze DVD, described by The New Yorker as "an audio-visual feast that balances hipster zen with the seriousness of Bach and Wagner."

Persichetti Piano CD Released by Starkland

This new Starkland CD of piano works by Vincent Persichetti offers the only available recordings personally approved by the composer of his substantial Tenth and Eleventh Piano Sonatas. Performed by Persichetti specialist Ellen Burmeister, this long out-of-print reissue also presents the only current recording of the composer’s simple but charming Serenade No. 7.

It's available at Amazon, CD Baby, iTunes, and more.

Reviews of the original 1985 release praised the music, performance, and sound:

“Ellen Burmeister… exhibits a rich understanding of the composer’s mode of expression… The recorded sound is superb.”
– American Music

“A significant record… A welcome addition to the recorded catalogue of an important composer.”
– Audience

“Ellen Burmeister… plays with a warmth and delicacy… The superb recorded sound… offers a flattering showcase.”
– Fanfare

Persichetti was an ardent fan of the “wonderful pianist” Ellen Burmeister, writing, “I am pleased not only for her talents but also by her sound musicianship and dedication.” Upon hearing the original master tape, Persichetti sent an enthusiastic note of approval to producer Tom Steenland, noting that Burmeister “has done a fine job.”

The new CD’s booklet reissues the full LP notes on the music from both Persichetti and Burmeister.



Persichetti was one of the major figures in American music of the 20th century, both as a teacher and a composer. Among some 100 commissions were those from the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the St. Louis and Louisville Symphony Orchestras, Martha Graham Company, and the American Guild of Organists.

During his nearly four decades teaching at Juilliard, his students included Philip Glass, Thelonious Monk, Peter Schickele (P.D.Q. Bach), and Einojuhani Rautavaara.

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