Nuove Musiche
Rolf Lislevand

Review by: Robert Zierolf

Much interesting music is being made in Northern Europe these days. On Nuove musiche, Rolf Lislevand performs and leads an international ensemble of seven musicians improvising on Baroque period instruments. Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century compositions are faithfully rendered while simultaneously offering opportunities for intuitive elaboration.

Performers embrace the printed pages to the extent that only careful listening reveals derivation from the extant scores. "Remixes" and "smashes" of existing music, usually at high volume and computer-manipulated along with abstract video projections, are all the rage in some circles these days. Nuove musiche likewise takes existing music and "remakes" it with mild, tasteful improvisation, bringing a fresh, attractive approach to the repertoire. If you want to start with an acoustic "remix" trend, this is the ideal initiation.

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Robert Zierolf is Professor of Music Theory and History and Division head of Composition, Musicology, and Theory at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. He is also a freelance writer on classical music.