Evan Ziporyn, Ambient Orchestra, Maya Beiser - Bowie Cello Symphonic: Blackstar (2020)

Maya Beiser’s Bowie Cello Symphonic: Blackstar will be released by Islandia Music Records on January 10, 2020, the fourth anniversary of Bowie’s death. Beiser’s highly anticipated new recording succeeds as an important addition to two repertoires — that of the NY-based “cello goddess,” as well as the canon of works which honor the genius of David Bowie. “Lazarus” is the lead track from the album and will be released December 13.

A prodigiously talented musician and performer, Beiser describes her approach to recording Blackstar as introspective. “Invoking David Bowie with my cello, reimagining his brilliant, endlessly inventive artistry, is a monumental undertaking. I know this was a very personal album to him, and I went on my own personal voyage with this performance, and tried to discover and reveal new things in the music.”

Bowie Cello Symphonic: Blackstar was recorded with the Ambient Orchestra at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Area 52 studios. The cello concerto is a collaboration between Beiser and conductor/arranger Evan Ziporyn. Beiser has triumphed in performances of Blackstar with a full symphony (in Barcelona), with Ensemble LPR (at New York’s Central Park Summerstage), and now with the 30 piece Ambient Orchestra on this recording.

Beiser’s vast discography includes 12 solo albums and she has been featured soloist on many film soundtracks including The Happening; Snow White and the Huntsman; The Great Debaters; and Blood Diamond.

In describing how the statuesque virtuoso has come to be called “cello goddess,” the New York Times wrote: “She summons from her instrument an emotional power so strong that even the most stoic audience members risk turning into sobbing sacks of flesh.” The Washington Post dubbed her “the reigning queen of avant-garde cello“ and the Boston Globe termed her “a force of nature.” She is a featured performer on the world’s most prestigious stages and has collaborated with many great artists including Philip Glass, Brian Eno, and Steve Reich. Beiser consistently tops critics’ “best of” lists for her multi-media productions and is currently in the midst of a 20 city international tour for her landmark work THE DAY with dancer Wendy Whelan and legendary choreographer Lucinda Childs.

Tracklist:

01. Blackstar
02. 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore
03. Lazarus
04. Prelude to Sue
05. Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)
06. Girl Loves Me
07. Dollar Days
08. I Can't Give Everything Away