Simaku: String Quartets Nos. 2 and 3 / Soliloquy I-Iii

Featuring

Peter Sheppard Skærved
Mihailo Trandafilovski
Morgan Goff
Neil Heyde
Kreutzer Quartet
Thomas Simaku

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Composer Biography

Thomas Simaku, an Albanian-born British composer, worked as Music Director in Southern Albania after his studies, an experience that profoundly influenced his creative work.

Recording & Production

This recording was made at the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall at the University of York, UK, in December 2006.

Composer Biography

Thomas Simaku has received numerous prestigious awards, including the 1993 Lionel Robbins Scholarship, the Serocki International Prize, and the Lutosławski Award.

Performer Biography

The Kreutzer Quartet, the performers on this album, are dedicated to new music and have worked with many leading contemporary composers, including Michael Tippett and Hans Werner Henze.

Compositional Technique

The Soliloquy Cycle for solo string instruments by Thomas Simaku originates from a single 'sound-nucleus' that proliferates into the entire musical vocabulary.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Thomas Simaku's music explores the interconnection of modern and ancient expressions, particularly the relationship between modality and contemporary musical idioms.

Compositional Technique

Simaku's string quartets explore the static quality of drone-based linearity, a characteristic of ancient Balkan music, which can be traced back to primordial times.