Episode Twenty - Paul Epstein

 Paul Epstein’s music is deceptive. What appear to be beautiful melodies set within easy-to-recognize harmonies that cradle traditional tonal centers demand careful listening. Those melodies and harmonies are tricky. They slip in and out of an aural context that’s been carefully designed by an artist who has carefully studied the music from Machaut to Stravinsky to Reich. As Kyle Gann has so beautifully written, “The music sounds simple, but actually it’s very intricate and tremendously inventive within small confines.”This episode features two works of Paul’s that were composed for the members of the Relache Ensemble. Paul was a close associate and friend of Relache for many years having composed ten works for the group and its members. We’ll feature two of those works, “Moving Voices” for two singers and flute and “Chamber Music: 3 Songs from Home” for singer Barbara Noska and the Relache Ensemble. To comment on Paul’s music, we’ve asked a former student of his in Philadelphia, Dustin Hurt to join us as we relive Paul’s music and life.