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

“More than 20 years ago, the music critic John Rockwell described Ben Johnston in the New York Times as “one of the best non-famous composers this country has to offer.” What has changed is that Johnston is now, I’d suggest, our BEST non-famous composer.” – Mark Swed, LA Times
In this exquisite chamber music recital, Ben Johnston sets the provocative texts of Rumi [the medieval mystic Sufi poet] in the pure tunings & modes of the Middle East. While THE TAVERN tells of an initiate, intoxicated with the possibilities of a new spiritual life, PARABLE offers a delightful story about a Mouse & a Frog. Rumi uses the time-honored technique of teaching by example, using the relationship between these two tiny creatures, one of the land and the other of the water, to reveal truths about the human experience.
REVISED STANDARDS – Inspired by the midcentury songbook of Billie Holiday, Johnston tells us, “In jazz improvisation, the soloist has very great freedom to play with intonation…In my just-tuned jazz, spontaneity is disciplined in a new way so that all players are creating both melodic and harmonic microtonal innovation that can vary greatly in how it affects the listener, but always innovates in both melody and harmony.”
All of these premiere recordings are performed in Just Intonation.
“Stunning” — LA Times

Ben Johnston - The Tavern | A Children's Game

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

Ben Johnston - The Tavern | A Children's Game

MicroFest Records

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