Composer: DAVID LOEB (USA, b. 1939)

Information:
ClassiQuest has presented a number of Mr. Loeb's recordings. Some of these recordings have featured non-Western instruments, but here is a disc of music for the standard pairing of violin and piano.
Ancient Legends is not based on any particular legends but should be listened to as if being related by a storyteller. White River Winter Journey depicts a trip made in January to the Shirakawago (White River Commune) in mountainous Central Japan. The Sea, Darkening follows in the traditions of Schubert and Brahms and Mahler transforming a song into a chamber music setting. Sonata Asiatica blends diverse Asian musical traditions- Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Indonesian- into a standard four-movement Western sonata form. Finally, Gli Spiriti Infernali takes its name from the hosts of infernal spirits of the Orpheus legend.
David Loeb studied with Peter Pindar Stearns at the Mannes College of Music in New York. He currently teaches at Mannes and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
Among Mr. Loeb's many awards are prizes from the Viola da Gamba Societies of the UK, US and Japan, and from the Andres Segovia Centennial Competition in Spain. David Loeb's thesis on Japanese koto music was published by Columbia University Press.