Etude No. 1 for Balloon and Violin

I think it was Stockhausen who said that if you want to become a famous composer, only write pieces for snare drum. Eventually, you will become well known as the composer who only writes pieces for snare drum. Wittingly or not, Judy Dunaway has put this theory to the test. Turns out it’s true. The proclamation asserted by the album title sure seems accurate: Dunaway is the Mother of Balloon Music. While not the first to perform on this inflatable instrument, she certainly has pioneered a gazillion ways to make balloons sound. In the first moments of her Etude No. 1 for Balloon and Violin, it’s difficult to determine which instrument is which—an astonishing feat considering the centuries old development and refinement of the latter instrument, here played by Flux Quartet maven Tom Chiu.

—RN