Marimba Sculpture (Rudiger Pawassar - Leander Kaiser - Matthias Schmitt)

Album review

Polish-German marimba virtuoso Katarzyna Mycka might not be a household name in the United States, but in Europe she's regarded as a major star of the instrument. Mycka is the founder of the International Katarzyna Mycka Marimba Academy, which sponsors an annual festival that attracts marimba fanciers from around the world. Marimba Sculpture is Mycka's fourth CD for Audite, and it is an exceptionally nice program, very well recorded in Surround Sound on a hybrid or super audio CD, although the disc will play on most conventional equipment, as well.
One should not take in the list of unfamiliar composer names and say "I don't recognize any of these people; perhaps this is not for me. " The toughest music on the disc is that by the most familiar name, being Nagoya Marimbas of Steve Reich. The opener, Rüdiger Pawassar's didactically named Sculpture 3 for three marimbas, is a charming piece that sounds like a jazz piano solo played on marimbas, although it should be said that Pawassar is a marimbist and not a pianist. The two compositions by Keiko Abe, Kazak Lullaby and Reflections of Japanese Children's Songs II, are both very nice pieces and have the additional benefit of being brand new. Abe's Reflections of Japanese Children's Songs II is intended as a sequel to one of her best-known pieces, Reflections of Japanese Children's Songs, and is one of the finest things included on Marimba Sculpture. The other works by Leander Kaiser, Ney Rosauro, and Anna Ignatowicz are also strongly appealing, although Matthias Schmitt's 3 Skizzen is the one item on Marimba Sculpture that hearkens back in a small degree to "academically correct" composition. Most of the music here is melodic, rhythmically punchy, and fun.
An immediate audience for this release should be apparent among marimba players and percussion teachers, and some audiophiles may want to get in on the action, as the surround sound is superb. Nevertheless, some non-expert listeners may find a lot to like in Katarzyna Mycka's Marimba Sculpture, as it is a collection of contemporary music that is not a hard pill to swallow, even in one sitting, and provides plenty of listening enjoyment.

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