RESISTANCE
Garth Baxter, composer / Navona Records
Stream or Buy: Apple Music / Spotify / YouTube
Resistance is an instrumental chamber recording by Garth Baxter, released by Navona Records on February 8, 2019. The album features works for flute and piano, violin and piano, saxophone and piano, solo piano, string quartet, guitar duo, and piano trio, performed by Melissa Wertheimer, Andrew Stewart, Nicholas Currie, Diana Greene, Kenny Baik, Bonghee Lee, the Azimuth String Quartet, Arabesque Duo, and West Shore Piano Trio. Centered on Baxter’s modern traditionalist commitment to lyrical melody, formal clarity, tonal grounding, and contemporary harmonic color, the recording presents a varied collection of chamber works shaped by Romantic expression, narrative impulse, and clear musical craft.
The Silver Run: I. Idyll — 3:51
Melissa Wertheimer, flute; Andrew Stewart, piano
The Silver Run: II. Cascading — 4:40
Melissa Wertheimer, flute; Andrew Stewart, piano
Could You Dream What I Dream — 6:31
Nicholas Currie, violin; Diana Greene, piano
Des Larmes Encadrées — 7:55
Kenny Baik, saxophone; Bonghee Lee, piano
Resistance — 6:40
Andrew Stewart, piano
MacPherson’s Lament — 7:48
Azimuth String Quartet
Romance Without Words — 6:27
Andrew Stewart, piano
Il Y A Longtemps — 5:14
Nicholas Currie, violin; Diana Greene, piano
Ballade For A Princess — 9:25
Andrew Stewart, piano
Edgefield — 8:56
Arabesque Duo
From The Headwaters — 9:13
West Shore Piano Trio
“Each setting is a balance of the tradition of classical music’s cannon of forms and developments all presented with a balanced approach to modern harmonies and melodies that draw deeply from the tradition while still pushing forward. Baxter’s case for ‘Modern Traditionalism’ is spot on with Resistance. Each of the 10 compositions have modern harmony, voicing and melodic colors, but they are all lyrical and easy to follow and understand. —-Each of Baxter’s compositions have a common theme of being immediately and intuitively accessible to the listener and that gives each piece the power to evoke sincere emotions with Baxter’s ‘Modern Traditionalism.’ That’s the short of it!”
“With all the elements lining up perfectly, this is what listening was once all about. The kind of set that newbies and moldy figs can meet and agree over, it’s a wonderful listening experience.”
“Resistance is a beautifully conceived recording that evokes beauty and complexity in a gorgeous soundscape. This is classical music that represents the history of the tradition while moving it forward.”
“Resistance is an interesting choice of title for this latest collection by Garth Baxter simply because the recording presents no barrier to impede listeners from warming to its euphonious sounds. – It is undeniably accessible, and it is also music of integrity and power.—-words such as romantic, pastoral, folk-tinged, compact, and lyrical come to mind as Resistance works its magic for almost eighty minutes. One pictures Baxter being delighted by this presentation of his artistry, as a more flattering portrait of the composer would be hard to imagine.”
“The album is a stunning soundscape that is both romantic in quality dramatic in exploring the sonic possibles of each instrument color. The ability for Baxter to create music that sounds and speaks naturally from such a vast array of instrumental colors is indicative of a true master. Baxter’s compositional style is full of tradition as he steps out as an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques and developments of the Classical masters. Baxter is outstanding in his craftsmanship of meticulous structures that are adorned with deeply romantic motifs.”
“Resistance displays Baxter’s ability to combine Romanticism with elements of 20th and 21st Century classical sounds. Baxter’s music employs a unique system of melodies that are memorable through harmony that is tonal and expands the usual diatonic patterns. Baxter composes melodies that do not confirm themselves to outline major or minor triads. His compositions have elegance and a sense of adventure and that is what makes them so exciting to behold.”