In Review 2022 Orange Mountain Records:

Robert McDuffie & Elizabeth Pridgen's ‘ICONS: Philip Glass, John Adams, John Corigliano’

Orange Mountain Records’ ‘ICONS: Philip Glass, John Adams, John Corigliano’ is a new release by Grammy-nominated classical violinist Robert McDuffie and pianist Elizabeth Pridgen that honors three pivotal works for violin and piano. Available in a Dolby Atmos mix via Apple Music, on November 4th, 2022, ‘ICONS’ is an insightful collection of post-minimalism. 

Philip Glass’ ‘Sonata for Violin and Piano’ (2008) 

Philip Glass’ ‘Sonata for Violin and Piano’ confronts traditional composition with an abstract congruence that alleviates a listener’s expectations and focuses one on the inner-world of Philip Glass. This work is an innovative shift in Glass’ career that underlines his masterful ability to always know what to do in order to remain popular and distinguished, while maintaining connection to his own aesthete. Robert McDuffie and Elizabeth Pridgen’s interpretation of ‘Sonata for Violin and Piano’ celebrates Glass’ ideas in a special way. Both McDuffie and Pridgen bring a revitalized and energized precision of playing that creates excitement. McDuffie especially revels in the magic of Glass’ melodic flow for the violin. He expands his playing into a somatic experience at a very high level, in ‘Movement III.’ Pianist Elizabeth Pridgen is the perfect pairing for McDuffie. She weaves together the nostalgic bliss that Glass is so well-known for throughout his career. Her playing is full of life and enriches Glass’ repetitive structures. Together, McDuffie and Pridgen share a special language of deep insight and drive that makes this chamber work an intimate masterpiece.       

John Adams’ ‘Road Movies’ (1995) 

Adams composed ‘Road Movies’ when he was moving beyond formal minimalism and developing melodic ideas meant to be expanded upon. His textures and climaxes burgeon into a road map of the stories he tells as a passenger on a ride. Pianist Elizabeth Pridgen is a vessel for this journey that synthesizes McDuffie’s violin to the core of this work. She channels Adams’ climactic lines with a higher purpose. One can feel her love for ‘Road Movies’ in every note she plays. McDuffie is light and full of life in his playing. He fully blossoms in the third movement, ‘40% Swing,’ as he translates frenetic pulses into an array of brilliant tones that lift into the atmosphere. His bowing generates a melodic satisfaction that sparks the imagination. ‘Road Movies’ is spectacular. McDuffie and Pridgen are true masters of their crafts.

John Corigliano’s ‘Sonata for Violin and Piano’ (1962-63)

John Corigliano’s development of his own vocabulary as a composer began as a self-realization process while studying traditional American elements and better understanding his own composition process. Having a detrimental self-critical bias looming over his works and process was something he had to take on and move forward with at the turning point he made when composing ‘Sonata for Violin and Piano.’ It is this work that signifies his voice becoming an original guidepost for the coming works he would bring to life. ‘Sonata for Violin and Piano’ is the perfect conclusion to ‘ICONS,’ as it sends the listener off into a wondering of how post-minimalism began and would develop. McDuffie and Pridgen have their own language in this work that makes this truly a historical recording. ‘II. Andante’ is tender and transparent as McDuffie and Pridgen navigate Corigliano’s emotive lines. McDuffie’s violin sounds into a horizon of ever-approaching dawn and releases the slight tension of a story unfolding that seems to settle into itself. ‘IV. Allegro’ kickstarts the listener’s attention and humor with a classic American sound. Pridgen’s piano playing is buoyant and free while McDuffie floats above and transforms his tonal palette into a soundpainting. 

Press image credit: Lynn Savarese

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