Music with Mandolin

Gending

Composed by: Lou Harrison (1917-2003)
Adapted by: Felix Salazar

“Gending” is taken from the suite Varied Trio for violin, piano, and percussion (1987). It is the product of Harrison’s impassioned study of Javanese compositional form. While he... read more »

Implosion

Composed by: Mantle Hood (1918-2005)
Adapted by: Felix Salazar

Mantle Hood was a renowned ethnomusicologist who studied most of the great musical traditions of the world. Before turning his life's work to pioneering ethnomusicology, Hood studied compositio... read more »

Ladrang Siyem

Composed by: Traditional Javanese
Adapted by: Ben Harbert

In a feat of musical globe-trotting, "Ladrang Siyem" is a 1929 adaptation of a Western-influenced Thai tune – "Sanrasoen Phra Barami" – that has been reclaimed on el... read more »

Octet for Wind Instruments

Composed by: Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Adapted by: Ben Harbert

Originally written for flute, clarinet, bassoons, trumpets, and trombones, Igor Stravinsky’s Octet for Wind Instruments has been arranged for five electric guitars, one bass guitar, one bar... read more »

Octet, Op.11

Composed by: Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Adapted by: Ben Harbert, Felix Salazar

We'll never know if Dmitri Shostakovich would have written for electric guitar, but this arrangement of his double string quartet makes you wonder if he would have found voice for his early wor... listen »

Romance

Composed by: Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996)
Adapted by: Felix Salazar

With a body of piano work that spans 43 years, “Romance” (1949), is the earliest surviving piece by Toru Takemitsu. Unknown and unheard during his lifetime, it prefaces what would becom... read more »

Suite Mundial

Composed by: Randall Kohl (b.1960)
Adapted by: Ben Harbert, Felix Salazar

"Balinesa: El canto de los changos" and "Javanesa: Danza dorada del gamelán" are two short movements from Randall C. Kohl’s Suite Mundial. Both pieces are influence... listen »

The Perilous Chapel

Composed by: Lou Harrison (1917-2003)
Adapted by: Felix Salazar

Lou Harrison’s The Perilous Chapel (1948) – an accompaniment for a dance production written for harp, cello, and flute – was described by choreographer Jean Erdman as “a psy... read more »