Mischa Zupko

Harpsichord Concerto

Jory Vinikour (harpsichord), Desirée Ruhstrat & Charlene Kluegel (violins), Margaret O’malley (viola), David Cunliffe (cello) Cedille CDR 3030 15:02 mins

Composer and pianist Mischa Zupko (b1971) hails from Chicago where, amongst other things, he teaches at Dupaul University – and is championed by Cedille Records, formed in 1989 as a non-profit to showcase performers and composers in and from the area. This short release offers a glimpse of why Zupko, the label and each of the five performers are multi awardwinning in their own right.

Performed by Jory Vinikour and a string quartet comprising equally brilliant soloists, Zupko’s Harpsichord Concerto was written in 2003 and gets a belated but beautifully balanced premiere recording. Each of the three movements is attacked with freshness and vigour, the whole seeming to flash past in an instant, yet suggestively so and befitting its material.

Both compact and impactful, the concerto seeks ‘to take the height of idiomatic writing for harpsichord into a modernday expression through the transformation of antiquated stylistic mannerisms.’ This translates to much polyphonic fun and no small musing on the interwoven nature of old and new in contemporary culture, inspired by JS Bach, Couperin, D Scarlatti and more, seen through a distinctly postmodern, post-stravinskian lens.

I ‘Preamble’ is a motoric experiment in phasing based on Bach’s Prelude BWV 847, while II ‘Whispers’ expands into more lyrical terrain, making Couperininspired ornamentation the structural centre rather than decorative adornment. Finally

III ‘The Dance’ is a playful take on ritornello forms and spiky, Scarletti-esque harmonic and rhythmic swerves, steering

just the right side of parody. Steph Power ★★★★