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| Title |
Composer(s) |
Performer(s) |
Length |
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| SIMAKU |
Kevin Puts
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Antares
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7:35 |
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| Antares |
Carter Pann
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Antares
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5:41 |
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| Eclipse |
George Tsontakis
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Antares
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21:52 |
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| Breakdown Tango |
John Mackey
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Rebecca Patterson
Vesselin Gellev
Eric Huebner
Garrick Zoeter
|
8:57 |
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| dodecaphunphrolic |
Stefan Freund
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Antares
|
3:36 |
|
| Buzz |
James Matheson
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Antares
|
6:43 |
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Antares is not just a distant star in Scorpio, but four rising ones very close to our home planet (New England to be precise). Winners of the 2002 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, they are launching themselves head first into the wild blue yonder with Eclipse, their first CD. This encapsulates their commitment to commissioning hot young (and less young) composers while also giving credence to the Chicago Tribune’s claims of their “powerful virtuosity and striking razor-sharp ensemble playing.”
The playing of this piano-clarinet quartet has the energy of an afterburn thruster. Catch them now before they reach supernova status.
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Gramophone Magazine
The New England-based ensemble have two things going for them: their instrumentation and a frealessly irrepressible energy. Both traits serve them well here. One would be hard pressed to find a better piece than John Mackey's Breakdown Tango for bursting out of the starting gate. The best thing about this collection is the gropup itself. Antares have the gift of making whatever they are playing seem the most important piece in the world. And as long as they keep playing, I'm tempted to believe them.
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by Ken Smith
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Splendid Magazine
The second movement of the multi-part "Eclipse" will be instantly accessible to fans of Canadian post-rock, as the agitation of the strings, woodwind and piano build in intensity to numerous orgasmic highs. As a special bonus, it culminates with a full-on Rachmaninoff-style chord-heavy piano assault. Other delights follow, including the playful "Dodecaphunphrolic" and the amazing, multi-part "Antares" suite. Yeah, they play music they commissioned that's named after them. Truly bad ass.
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by Brett McCallon
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The Juilliard Journal
Antares's debut recording makes a bold statement, featuring six colorful, eclectic, and often jazzy works... [Carter Penn's] music shifts through a kaleidoscope of moods and styles, from a manic ragtime number to a lilting cello melody to a tarantella riddle with musical allusions to spider bites. [Kevin Puts:] a shimmering minimalist work influenced by Asian music... John Mackey puts Antares through its paces, with two virtuosic, driving sections surrounding a sultry, klezmer-tinged tango.
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by Brian Wise
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