Phoenix

Loosely framed by the haunting, panoramic soundscape “M,” Phoenix appeals to music lovers across genres. But jazz fans will appreciate pianist Kevin Hays’ solo on the up-tempo, Latin-flavored “The Bird Dances,” Zimmerli’s extended blowing on “Summer Passes,” and the warm, understated rendition of “How Insensitive.” Electronic-music enthusiasts will groove to the interplay of electronic and acoustic instruments on such pieces as “Away from You,” “Feel,” “Clouds and Machines,” and “Gnosis Crisis.” And tours-de-force such as “Wunderlichen Stadt,” the minimalist-influenced “Only Surround,” and the menacing “Beginning” point in new compositional directions for classical music. Each piece has its own mood and combines its influences in quite different ways, and each is given a passionate and committed performance.

Says Zimmerli: “I would call this my most experimental record to date.…The idea that to be experimental music can’t be appealing sonically, that it has to exist within a narrow tradition of dissonance and heightened expression, is itself long out of date….This record has elements of popular music, a genre I can’t escape from and in any case wouldn’t want to. There’s so much interesting stuff going on in pop music, so many committed people doing things in an idealistic, visionary way. The record partakes of that, and I’d love it if it strikes a chord with people who are into pop as a result. What I’m aiming for, in all these pieces, is a contemporary, aesthetically viable, pan-stylistic art music. That to me is a music that feels good, that is rich and inviting in its sound and harmony, that draws a listener into its emotional journey, but that at the same time doesn’t lapse into predictability, that remains fresh and vital and intellectually alert. It’s such a difficult thing to achieve, that balance between listenability and interest, between tradition and novelty. But it’s the quality that all the very best music from every genre past and present possesses.”