Nico Muhly

It’s been a while since I heard from Nico Muhly. Not that this American contemporary classical composer slowed down in his prolific output. Muhly’s numerous ensemble, chamber, and choral works, along with film scores, operas and orchestral arrangements are celebrated in the classical community alongside Philip Glass, Max Richter, and Bryce Dessner. His collaboration with the American viola player, Nadia Sirota, titled Keep In Touch, appeared on the Icelandic Bedroom Community imprint, a Rekjavik-based label and collective which he formed with Ben Frost and Valgeir Sigurðsson; while his numerous compositions have graced such classical giants as Decca, Nonesuch, and Sony Classical. This October, Muhly returns to his “BedCom” family with a new score for a Japanese film by Hiroshi Kurosaki, Gift Of Fire. I mentioned Sirota earlier because she once again appears on the soundtrack, along with Justin Peters on percussion (and Muhly on the piano), for a suite of chamber music with just a touch of electronics to bring it all into a cohesive score. Add a mastering and mixing touch of the already mentioned Sigurðsson and this organic piece of music really brings the tale to life. There are some very stunning pieces on this album, like “Fairy Tales” and “I Have To Die,” but today I’m only teasing you with this premiere of “Runs To Setsu” which appears almost at the end of Gift Of Fire. It’s short but urgent, emotional and prompt, and in its span of barely a hundred seconds attempts to capture all the feelings of the hero in the film.