1942 was a pivotal year for Harry Partch. After more than a decade of obscure but steadfast devotion to his unique musical vision, his bold move from the idyllic isolation of California’s Big Sur to the busy streets of Chicago brought him new recognition, putting him before a series of audiences across the Northeast. Those performances were the springboard that soon catapulted him onto the stage of Carnegie Hall, the pages of the New York Times, and eventually secured his place in the pantheon of great 20th Century composers.
Luckily, one presentation of his radically new “Speech Music” was recorded at the Eastman School of Music. These long lost direct-to-disc recordings reveal not only a charismatic lecturer but also a powerful performer, able to transform his arcane theories into captivating music. These are the earliest recordings of this unforgettable repertoire—including Partch’s only solo recording of his famed hitchhiker saga Barstow—captured in stunningly intimate detail. The Grammy winning author & producer traces the composer's arduous steps, aided by facsimiles of his letters, scores, and rare photographs, revealing Partch's tenacious wit, dark sense of humor, and above all, his unfailing creative genius.

1 True Vs. Tempered

Music that operates as debris, coalescing, floating by, snagging on itself, assembling, gathering, dispersing, and eventually receding. Time is not an arrow - locations are in flux, and the music never stands still. Featuring Aron Kallay, Genevieve Feiwen Lee & Vicki Ray.

9) Rohde - Altromondo - IX

8) Rohde - Altromondo - VIII

7) Rohde - Altromondo - VII

6) Rohde - Altromondo - VI

5) Rohde - Altromondo - V

4) Rohde - Altromondo - IV

3) Rohde - Altromondo - III

2) Rohde - Altromondo - II

1) Rohde - Altromondo - I

GRAMMY® winning & triple nominee producer John Schneider and GRAMMY® nominated pianist Aron Kallay, themselves critically acclaimed performers of ‘microtonal’ music, created MicroFest Records to share their love of exciting repertoire that is simply unavailable anywhere else. Releases include world premiere studio recordings, as well as live performances from two decades of California’s celebrated MicroFest:

“World Class…” – Alan Rich, LA Weekly

“Performers were of a caliber that kept this listener in a state of continual astonishment.” – Mark Swed, LA Times

“After prolonged exposure to the rich, kaleidoscopic world of microtones, returning to equal-tempered music was like going back to black and white after spending a weekend immersed in color…” – Wall Street Journal

1 True Vs. Tempered

MicroFest Records

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