Music of Richard Festinger

Music of Richard Festinger (b. 1948)

Peripeteia (1999) for clarinet, violin and cello
Variations for Piano (1988), Margaret Kampmeier, piano
Triptych (1979) for unaccompanied flute; Tara Helen O’Connor, flute
Construction en metal and bois (2001)
After Blue (1998) (17:08) (flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion)

Performed by the New Millenium Ensemble

BRIDGE 9245

Click here for an mp3 sample

Richard Festinger studied composition at the University of California in Berkeley with Andrew Imbrie. Before turning to composing, he led his own groups as a jazz performer. Festinger has received international attention and acclaim for the elegance and expressive power of his many compositions.

The music that appears on this disc was composed over a span of more than two decades, from the solo flute piece Triptych, written in 1979 to the 2001 piano-percussion duo Construction en metal et bois. The virtuosi of New Millennium have performed many of Festinger's works, including the three ensemble pieces recorded here. Their committed and passionately virtuosic performances make a great impact on this, the first complete recording devoted to Festinger's music.