Recent Music from Stanley Grill

TRANSFIGURATION

Stanley Grill, composer
Brett Deubner, violas
Navona Records NV6355

I was introduced to Grill’s music with his string quartet, Afterwards, There were No More Wars.

So many associations present themselves during the course this new release, Transfigurations. Mozart, Beethoven, Appalachian music, bluegrass, Eleanor Rigby. Stanley Grill apparently composed this music drawing on nearly every conceivable historical style.

Yet unlike his forebears, Grill composed this collection of pieces specifically for one player, and one viola, to be layered through overdubbing.

During the COVID lockdown Grill and violist Brett Deubner collaborated via remote recording sessions to create this collection of multilayered works for viola. Deubner became a duo, a trio, or a quartet, as occasion required. 

The happy Sonatine for Three Violas, the multifaceted Sea and Sky for Two Violas, the deep and sometimes dark Transfiguration for Four Violas, join the rich and deep catalog of Grill’s ongoing work.