Garlands for Steven Stucky
Gloria Cheng, piano
BRIDGE 9509

Best of 2018 - Sequenza 21

Garlands for Steven Stucky is a tribute to the late-American composer, Steven Stucky.  The project was spearheaded by Grammy-winning pianist Gloria Cheng, who has recorded the 32 new pieces that make up this star-studded “garland”.  In addition, Ms. Cheng is joined by soprano Peabody Southwell and oboist Carolyn Hove in a recording of Mr. Stucky’s Two Holy Sonnets of Donne (1982).  Musician royalties for the sale of this recording go to the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s “Steven Stucky Composer Fellowship Fund.”

Reviews:

"Thirty-two new piano pieces composed in tribute to the late Steven Stucky, imbued with the anger, confusion and sorrow of grief, and the joy of memory. Intense and eloquent.” - BBC Music Magazine

“This recording is a remarkable collection of utterances by composers old and young; ultimately, it will bring Stucky’s work to a wider audience.” - theWholeNote

“The sheer number of composers and variety of styles is a testament to the spectrum of classical professionals who were influenced by Stucky and affected by his passing. The album ends with a 1982 work by Stucky...it is a moody, expressive work, easily the high point of the album. Its theme of transcending death at the very end of the second sonnet is a moving way to end the record.” - American Record Guide