Sierra: Kandinsky, Clarinet Sonata & 33 Ways to Look at the Same Object

Featuring

Renée Jolles
Kristina Reiko Cooper
Stephanie Griffin
Cheryl Seltzer
Moran Katz
Joel Sachs

Roberto Sierra

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Performer Biography

Continuum, directed by Cheryl Seltzer and Joel Sachs, is an internationally renowned ensemble acclaimed for its pioneering retrospectives and global perspective in introducing exceptional composers.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Roberto Sierra's music is driven by the folklore and popular music of the Caribbean, as he believes the survival of Latin American art depends on preserving its cultural identity.

Recording & Production

This album includes world premiere recordings of Roberto Sierra's "Kandinsky" and "Treinta y tres formas de mirar un mismo objeto."

Composer's Artistic Vision

A remarkable feature of Roberto Sierra's compositional career is that he constantly reinvents himself, making each work new terrain even if his style, like Afro-Cuban sources, is familiar.

Composer Biography

Roberto Sierra, born in Puerto Rico, received a broad education including studies with György Ligeti, who credited Sierra with influencing his own music by introducing him to Afro-Caribbean drumming.

Compositional Technique

Like Bartók, Roberto Sierra assimilates traditional material into his personal style rather than directly quoting it, deeply rooted in Western classical and modern music.

Composition History

Roberto Sierra's work "Kandinsky" was inspired by paintings of the Russian-born pioneer of abstract art, Wassily Kandinsky, and was commissioned by the McKim Fund of the Library of Congress.