From Fanfare Magazine
July/August 2010 by Phillip Scott
If ever there was a CD to put on at the end of a trying day, accompanied by a glass of wine and one's favorite slippers,
this is it. I don't wish to demean the composer or performers
by using the term “easy listening,” but in the literal sense
that is exactly what they provide. In today's world it is a rare treat.
Robert Baksa (b. 1938) is an Arizona-raised composer based
since the 1960s in New York. He prefers to work on a smaller canvas: chamber music, art songs (including many settings of
Emily Dickinson), and choral pieces. His music is tonal, or more precisely modal, with the merest hint of cool jazz harmony woven into the neoclassical procedures. It demands the highest level of musicianship, which it certainly gets here, yet always sounds grateful to play. The other quiet achievement of Baksa's music
is that it doesn't sound derivative. Maybe the flute and viola writing
in the two-movement Journeys brings Debussy's trio sonata inevitably to mind—no criticism in my opinion—but generally
this composer's work is free from cliché, calculated effects, or second-hand gestures. It has real integrity, or perhaps the word
is humanity.
The first movement of Journeys, titled “Striving,” is the epitome
of joie de vivre. (If this is striving, it's striving with a light heart and little discernible effort.) By contrast, the arching, lyrical flute line
in the fourth movement of Celestials reaches an almost
transcendental level of calm. Guitarists should be delighted with
the two solo sonatas. Bright outer movements bounce along while the slow movements suggest a skilled, sophisticated improviser
at work, an impression reinforced by the mellifluous ease with
which Bret Heim plays them. Sample the Sonata da Giardino to
see what I mean.
In fact, it must have been a red-letter day for the Heim Duo when
it discovered Robert Baksa—and vice versa. The duo is totally
inside the composer's idiom, its instrumental skill matching the refinement of his craftsmanship. Violist Christine Bock is equally fine. In the areas of intonation and internal balance these
musicians cannot be faulted. The program is laid out so as to
provide maximum possible contrast: The flute and guitar duos bookend the solo sonatas, with the trio placed centrally. Sound
is warm and clear. The disc is recorded at a high level so an
initial volume adjustment may be necessary.
Reviews of Journeys
"Robert Baksa writes deceptively simple yet inherently beautiful music, as displayed in the new collection Journeys. The performances are by Annette Heim, flute,
and Bret Heim, guitar, two artists from Alabama who've taken an obvious shine to Baksa's music. The series of three sonatas has a fluent grace in the writing and a pitch-perfect ease in the performances.
In the disc's finale, Celestials, everything comes together into something more evocative, with movements that depict scenes of weather. Even Baksa's depictions of wind and rain storms are inviting."
Joseph Dalton, Times Union (Albany, NY) ~ Mar,21, 2010
"One of the great things about producing the Classical Guitar Alive! radio program is that I am always receiving
new recordings
to broadcast and scores for review... CD
by composer Robert Baksa, "Journeys." Features music
for solo guitar, flute/guitar duo, and flute/viola/guitar trio, performed by the Heim Duo with violist Christine Bock.
This is the kind of music that I am always looking to broadcast - smart, well-written, and accessible music.
The ease, melodicism and variety of Baksa makes it sound like he has a rare natural gift for composition. In this way, he somewhat reminds me of another precocious composer, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco."
Tony Morris, Classical Guitar Alive! blog ~ December 2009
“Striving” from Journeys was featured on
Classical Guitar Alive
Program ID# 10-D65-00003 Jan 20, 2010
The Flute/Guitar Sonata was also featured on the
Classical Guitar Alive program “Best New Releases”
Program ID# 10-D65-00005 Feb. 3, 2010
Visit Classical Guitar Alive, with Tony Morris
