Five Melodies for Violin and Piano
What a melody—or rather, what melodies. Though I’ve never heard a performance of Charles Jones’s Five Melodies for Orchestra, and so cannot make a thorough comparison, I was quite amazed to discover that Five Melodies for Violin and Piano is a reduction of that score. I could not imagine adding or subtracting a note from the piece in its duo form. Curtis Macomber, as I’ve come to expect, turns in a breathtakingly accurate and energized performance. I’ve heard him play some very thorny repertoire in concert as if he were off on holiday. His joie de vivre does not disappoint here.
—MS