FANFARE Magazine March/April 2011
“These performances are extraordinary…Violinist Shem Guibbory’s tone is arresting from note 1. His intonation is exemplary, and his rhythmic acuity brings all the flavors of Gabriela Lena Frank’s Sueños de Chambi…to the fore. His performance of the Shostakovich is on the same level as that of Oistrakh himself, and of Yuri Bashmet’s recording of Shostakovich’s Viola Sonata…
I found the sound of this CD exceptional… Few CDs, however, have the warmth and detail of this offering. Reading its [liner] notes, I realized that it was produced by Shem Guibbory. What a revelation! A CD actually produced by a musician and not a run-of-the-mill record producer.
…Frank Daykin eloquently sets forth the underlying agenda of this release, titled Voice of the People, in his liner notes. He posits that humanity, universally, desires to live in societies that provide a modicum of security and well-being…that totalitarian regimes have always feared the power of artists of all disciplines in communicating, on a host of levels, the aspirations of the people at large…”
—William Zagorski, FANFARE Magazine March/April 2011
The Art of Noise 2013
“This beautiful collection of music is like a horn of plenty out of which flows an endless stream of vivid, fresh beauty. Vibrant, nutrient-dense (? I can’t think of a better phrase right now), musically enrapturing.
CAVEAT: This is NOT for the fragile Baroque soul accustomed to foppish candy-coated delights. There is no skippity-skipping of iambic pentameter to comfort you until the (overly) predictable resolve. Instead, the music draws you into an inner world of colorful emotion and passionate, deep insight. It is far from predictable, far from comforting, very far from “dessert music” !
Beyond these vagueries I will elect to remain quiet. Ultimately I think that deeply crafted music is ineffable, and there is little we can say about it except to try to identify what it isn’t.
Recorded with vivid reality, depth and presence, and dynamic range that will occasionally startle, “Voice Of The People” is a CD that we highly recommend.”
—Grego Edwards, The Art of Noise
More Reviews:
At first glance, Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich and young American composer Gabriela Lena Frank appear to have little in common. Shostakovich’s Soviet-era portraits are a world away from Frank’s depictions of Peruvian indigenous culture. But violinist Shem Guibbory thinks the two are a perfect match…… Read the rest of the City Arts Review of Festival here.
Not long ago, violinist Shem Guibbory introduced me to a recording which he produced through his project, Innovative Music Programs, Inc. Read the rest of the Lynn Horton Review here.
JUNE 2010
Innovative Music Programs (IMP) is proud to announce that two artists featured on its new CD entitled Voice of the People have been honored with Latin Grammy Awards: prolific American/Peruvian composer Gabriela Frank won for Inca Dances (Manuel Barrueco & Cuarteto Latinoamericano) [Tonar] and Brazilian/American pianist Sonia Rubinsky for Villa-lobos Complete Piano Music Albums #10 and #11: Suite Infantil Nos 1 & 2 (Nikolaos Samaltanos, Producer) [Naxos]. Read more…