KIRSCHNER, KENNETH - TWENTY TEN (3CD)

"Twenty Ten is the latest epic from Brooklyn-based composer Kenneth Kirschner, who is known for his decayed, dark and usually long-form takes on modern classical and found-sound composition. With only 4 pieces spanning a 3-CD set, and nearly 3 hours of music, Twenty Ten takes Kirschner's study of space and sonic focus to impressive new lengths. Following 2008's critically acclaimed double-CD Filaments & Voids, Twenty Ten sees Kirschner's use of real-world instruments become even more accomplished while still remaining steeped in conceptual outlines, meticulously married with computerized processes that emphasize the natural instruments' flaws. Like most of Kirschner's work, he starts the listener off easily, introducing the instrument or set of instruments for a particular piece with relative pragmatism. However, things don't remain so simple for very long, as the works' harmonic balance gives way to microtonal relationships and beautifully crafted computerized decay. By the end of his long compositions, you find yourself wondering how you got where you were, having been completely drawn into Kirschner's sound-world and thrown out the other side as if tossed into a churning sea." (label info)