For the Record, Op. 36: Nuné Melik; Terry Riley/Tracy Silverman; Chloe Hanslip

November 9, 2017, 6:04 PM · Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening!

Hidden Treasure: Classical Armenian Music for Violin and Piano
Nuné Melik, violin
Michel-Alexandre Broekaert, piano

Since 2010, Canada-based violinist Nuné Melik has been on a mission to uncover the music of her Armenian and Georgian heritage, and this album is "a celebration of the survival spirit and creativity of the Armenian people," she said. Among the composers represented are the well-known Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978), as well as lesser-known composers such as Komitas Vardapet (1869-1935); and Arno Babadjanian (1921-1983). Melik's Hidden Treasures Project goes beyond this one recording; her research has taken her to Armenia three times over the last seven years and between her commissions and discoveries she has brought forth more than one hundred pieces of music from the Caucasus. Melik and Broekaert have presented these pieces at Carnegie Hall in New York, as well as little village churches in Canada; and in lectures - from Wayne State University in Detroit to the Russian-Armenian University in Erevan. Over the next few months Melik and Broakaert will take this music on tour across North America. Melik plays on a 1750 Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi violin on loan from the Canada Council Musical Instrument Bank. BELOW: Introducing "Hidden Treasures":

Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Vol.1
Chloë Hanslip, violin
Danny Driver, piano

Violinist Chloë Hanslip joins pianist Danny Driver for the first release in a three-volume, complete Beethoven Violin Sonata cycle. Hanslip plays on a 1737 Guarneri del Gesu. BELOW: "Rondo: Allegro molto" from Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 12.

Terry Riley: The Palmian Chord Ryddle & At the Royal Majestic
Tracy Silverman, Electric Violin
Todd Wilson, Organ
Nashville Symphony Orchestra; Giancarlo Guerrero conducting

Terry Riley is the pioneering composer who launched the Minimalist movement with his landmark 1964 composition "In C." Commissioned by the Nashville Symphony, The Palmian Chord Ryddle is a kind of musical autobiography in which electric violinist Tracy Silverman’s "one-man string quartet" sets the pace for sparse but radiant orchestration. "The Palmian Chord Ryddle leaped into my consciousness as a very spontaneous work," Riley said, "full of the things in music that I find colorful, dynamic, beautiful, challenging, humorous, loving, friendly, joyous, stark, and universally minded." The work is an outgrowth of Riley’s longstanding collaborative partnership with Nashville-based Silverman. BELOW: Terry Riley and Tracy Silverman working together on the project in 2014.

If you have a new recording you would like us to consider for inclusion in our Thursday "For the Record" feature, please e-mail Editor Laurie Niles. Be sure to include the name of your album, a link to it and a short description of what it includes.

You might also like: