Composers Recordings, Inc. (CRI)

[snyprrr]

I'm curious, is there anywhere on the net that I can get a list of CRI recordings, whether LP or CD, or whatever? The New World site wasn't the best the last time I visited.



I'm a sucker for these obscure, academic composers who sound like perpetuating Schoenberg is life's highest calling. I just got the Arthur Berger cd, which, of course, is a hoot, very American-late-Stravinsky. Also, the Seymour Shifrin has an interesting '60s SQ.

I love how these cds are such a mish mash of old recordings. No other label can transport me back to time and place quite as readily as these folks. It's almost as if there's some residual LSD seeping through, haha.

So far I have Lou Harrison, Berger, Shifrin, Charles Jones, Martino/Lerdahl SQs (Julliard), Sessions/Wolpe/Babbitt SQs (Julliard), Ruggles/Harrison, oh, I can't remember...

Do you have any guilty favs here, or just plain favs? The Berger disc was interesting. His 1958 sole SQ is one of those "the theme gets destroyed by the 'process' so that there can be no 'return' to classicism- death of music" type ruminations. Of course it sounds totally 1950s serial, but it has that creeping stasis which didn't really take hold until the '70s. In the last mvmt., the theme attempts to return again, but is basically "locked in ice" or otherwise calcified under the hazy buzz of the moderistic acid.

Thankfully I'm limiting myself to SQs; otherwise CRI is one of those incredible money pits!!! $$$ They are sooo groovy!