KAMRAN INCE: "Road to Memphis" (2009) for Viola and Piano

Özcan Ulucan, viola Kamran Ince, piano from Albany TROY1565 http://www.albanyrecords.com Composer Kamran Ince's father was Turkish and his mother is American. He grew up partly in each country and now splits time between Memphis, Tennessee where he is on the faculty at the University of Memphis and Istanbul, where he teaches at Istanbul Technical University. Ince is first and foremost a composer in the Western classical tradition, but he is not bound by that tradition. He is also well versed in Ottoman classical music and grounded in Turkish culture. In ways sometimes explicit and sometimes subtle, his music reflects that dual heritage. The many musicians Ince gathered to record the varied chamber pieces on this recording have in common not only the big technique his music requires, but also the wildness and intensity it demands. They are Ince's triumphant champions, and he is their inspiration. Contents: Kamran Ince, composer Asumani Neva Özgen, kemençe; Yelda Öztürk, cello Kamran Ince, composer Symphony in Blue Hüseyim Sermet, piano Kamran Ince, composer Far Variations Soh-Hyun Park Altino, violin; Anthony Gilbert, viola; Leonardo Altino, cello; Kamran Ince, piano Kamran Ince, composer Road to Memphis Özcan Ulucan, viola; Kamran Ince, piano Kamran Ince, composer Drawings Marie Sander, flute; Phillip Bush, piano Kamran Ince, composer Two Step Passion Cihat Askin, violin; Yelda Öztürk, cello; Kamran Ince, piano Kamran Ince, composer Requiem for Mehmet 3 Piano Project Kamran Ince, composer Abandoned Peabody Southwell, mezzo-soprano; Prizm Ensemble