Peter Margasak, Reader staff writer
Morton Feldman’s Triadic Memories New York pianist Karl Larson performed this late Morton Feldman masterpiece at Constellation in November as part of the new-music series I program there. It was transcendent to finally hear this gorgeously meditative work in the flesh: I lost all sense of myself in its gradual cascade as bass tones collided with upper-register plinks in delicious slow motion. I have a few recordings of it, but I’ve been returning to my favorite, a 1983 version by Japanese pianist Aki Takahashi.
Marcos Balter, composer, coordinator of composition at Columbia College
Stevie Wonder, Innervisions I never get tired of revisiting this album—it’s definitely among my all-time favorites in any genre. With its imaginative arrangements, audacious harmonies (“Visions” still gives me chills), and impeccable lyrics (“Living for the City” is about socioeconomic and racial injustice in the U.S. in the 70s, and still relevant), Innervisions is Stevie at his very best, both as a singer and as a songwriter.
Jordi Savall, La Folia: 1490-1701 Spanish viol master Jordi Savall is one of the most prolific classical recording artists alive, and this 1998 album has been in my rotation for more than ten years. The album traces the origins and history of the famous tune “La Folia” from the 15th through the early 18th century, but more important, the performances are full of astonishing precision and spirit, with imaginative improvisations and artful variations on the familiar melody.
