Press
| “This collaboration is what I’m in it for,” declared the clearly delighted soprano Ann Moss, with a sweeping gesture that took in her fellow performers and the audience at the Noe Valley Ministry on Sunday afternoon. ... CMASH, showcased in this delightful concert, stands for a collaboration between genres ... And sharing, it became evident, was essential to both preparation and presentation of the afternoon’s material, as entertaining as it was artful. ... [Ann] Moss, the sole vocalist, and present throughout the program, right away deployed the brightness and vibrancy of her instrument, handsomely accompanied by pianist Steven Bailey ... Wade’s own setting of three dream studies by CMASH poet in residence Lisa DeSiro provided Moss with the sort of dramatic material to which her striking Piaf-like physical presence and her secure, high-ranged singing voice are both extremely well-suited. The first of the program’s several tangos added spice to the Food dream, with [Alexa] Beattie stirring up a jazzy figure on viola. ... Delivering hypoglycemic grunts and cries and at one point channeling Frieda from the Peanuts comic strip, [Moss' solo performance of Stripsody] confirmed that her speaking voice is as clear and engaging as her singing, and that she can effectively tickle an audience’s funny bone. ... [Weslie] Brown (who was present) was properly applauded by the nearly full house for her attractive romantic lyric, her gorgeous melody, and her tasteful incorporation of guitar breaks and an exquisite extended coda. ... The piece de resistance was the final poem, “Recuerdo,” [Liam Wade, 4 Poems of Edna Millay for Soprano and String Quartet] with Moss at first accompanied only by the soulful Angela Choong on viola, then the other players entering stunningly in stages, later giving way to a lovely a cappella section for Moss, and finally springing a hilarious vocal count-off by violinist [Isaac] Allen. Wade’s luscious voicings brought to mind Kurt Weill and suggested that there’s no reason why good chamber music can’t also register as fine art song or splendid cabaret." ~ Jeff Kaliss, San Francisco Classical Voice, 4/11/10 (Read Full Review) |
| "... CMASH ... hit the boards of the San Francisco Conservatory’s recital hall Saturday with five song cycles and an Ave Maria by six composers, including Jake Heggie, the late John Thow, and four CMASH composers. ... there was a certain gleam in the eyes of the performers and composers when taking their bows, a joy, a freshness and openness that added extra energy to the occasion, as well as quality to the performance." ~ Jeff Dunn, San Francisco Classical Voice, 1/24/09 (Read Full Review) |
| "CMASH [brings] together musicians, composers, alternative venues and audience members. And by community-based, I do not mean amateur, but professional, world-class musicianship. The result is, I believe to be, something similar to the living room and salon performances of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries." ~ Jamie Freedman, Examiner.com, 12/12/09 (Read Full Review) |
| "What's not to like about the Cecilia String Quartet? Technically polished, musically sensitive ... the quartet seems destined for a comfortable career, playing flawlessly, hitting all the notes properly, all the rhythms precisely, and always in tune. Throughout the concert, their uniform ensemble work, warm tone, and precise intonation never faltered. ... [Liam Wade's String Quartet No. 2, "The Canadian"] owed much, it seemed, to Shostakovich (not the hysterical, paranoid Shostakovich, but the classicist aspect of that composer), as well as popular music. ... This is not to suggest that Wade's music is all sunshine and puppy dogs; the second movement of his quartet was angry and dramatic, with a lyrical, mournful contrasting section, and the final movement was laden with slow, octatonic gloom." ~ Christian Hertzog, San Diego Arts 2/13/09 (Read Full Review) |
| "Treasure was revealed in more ways than one at the Hi-Way Pentecostal Church on Tuesday afternoon by the Cecilia String Quartet during their third appearance at the Colours of Music. ... The third item of note was the performance of the String Quartet No. 3 by Liam Wade, a whimsical, entertaining and highly original work by the composer who had collaborated with the Cecilia Quartet in its creation. ... Every aspect of this recital, from the choice of repertoire to the demonstration of superior performance, was an exercise in grace, musicality and perfectionism." ~ Marilyn Reesor, The Barrie Examiner, 10/1/09 (Read Full Review) |
