Los Angeles Times critic Mark Swed writes: “It is almost easier to think of Paul Chihara as several different composers.” Chihara’s variety of styles can be heard in this panoramic survey of the composer’s recent chamber and orchestral music.
The Piano Trio Ain't No Sunshine is based on a blues ballad; the Piano Quintet is based on an Italian World War II diary; Minidoka is based on Chihara's memories of his childhood years spent at Minidoka, the American WW2 camp for Japanese/Americans, and An Afternoon on the Perfume River, commissioned by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, takes its title from a poem by a North Vietnamese poet. Chihara has brought together a number of today's leading performers in this moving, superbly played recording.
