"Floyd Barnes, who studied composition at Queens and Old Dominion Universities, wrote his Elegy in 1985 as an in memoriam for his city’s arts chairman. Marian Turner, principal flutist of the Slovak RSO, makes a simply gorgeous sound.”

Carson Cooman’s ‘Joy of Humankind’ is brief and exhilarating. Válek’s players clearly relish the work’s energy. In gently pulsating contrast comes Elliott Miles McKinley’s April (A Meditation) of 1994. Chords shift into one another in a mesmeric tread of the utmost beauty.

Both Peter Bates in his booklet notes and Carl Vollrath in his brief note tell how the conductor of the premiere of Siciliano mistook the tempo and so the work lasted three times as long as intended on that occasion. Here it is, lasting the prescribed four and a half minutes and sounding appropriately siciliano-like in its gentle rocking rhythms. Peter Farmer’s ‘Quintet’ alternates sleep (the slower opening section) and dream (the more active later section).

‘About Time’ is an accurate title for J. Windel Brown’s five-minute orchestral piece that plays effectively with pulse (again, there is a solo flute here). According to the booklet notes, “If you listen closely, you might find the staccato style of rap music, which has always fascinated Brown.” The rhythmic antics do indeed make this a rather interesting experience.

The bittersweet harmonies of Norma Wendelburg’s ‘Warsaw Rhapsody’ are a notable feature of the most complex piece so far on the disc. This, of all pieces on the recording, rewards relistening. Conceived as a tribute to Warsaw and its people, it is inflected by Polish idioms without actually quoting Polish music itself. It is expertly scored.

Paula Diehl’s ‘Insiders’ is the most overtly modern-sounding (piece heard here). Fascinating.
Finally, Alfred Hoose’s ‘A Pondering’, a slow, meditative work for solo organ with sweetly tonal references. Hoose’s work is beautifully and musically played here by Margita Marková, a Slovakian organist making her debut MMC recording here."

- excerpts from Archiv Music review