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Taliban Dances
(ERM5555)
Robert Ian Winstin

Kiev Philharmonic
Galyna Hornostai, violin
Yuri Kornilov, trumpet
Robert Ian Winstin, piano

1 CD
Complete Full Color booklet

$ 14.95
Extraordinary new recording features one of the most unusual and riveting
new works for violin & orchestra - the "Taliban Dances" by Robert Ian Winstin.

In the "Taliban Dances," Robert Ian Winstin has managed to fuse American
and Arabic elements into a uniquely "American" sounding work.  (Most notable
is the third movement, "Baghdad Bossa Nova," which features a slide whistle
("Incoming!") and the popping of balloons.

Also featured on this remarkable CD are Winstin's "Three Pieces for Piano" &
"Piano Attacks" (as played by the composer), "Normandy: June 6, 1944" -
Winstin's tribute performed at the 60th anniversary of D-Day at Omaha Beach
and "Le Voyage Dans La Lune."
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Audio File Excerpts (mp3)

Taliban Dances - (Winstin) Movement One: Flower of Youth

Taliban Dances - (Winstin) Movement Two: Lullaby: Peace

Taliban Dances - (Winstin) Movement Three: Baghdad Bossa Nova

Taliban Dances - (Winstin) Movement Four: Lullaby: Death

Taliban Dances - (Winstin) Movement Five: Call for Prayer - Finale

Three Pieces for Piano (Winstin) Movement One: Waltz Grotesque

Three Pieces for Piano (Winstin) Movement Two: Dolorosa Romantique

Three Pieces for Piano (Winstin) Movement Three: Scherzo Brisque

Normandy: June 6, 1944 (Winstin)

Piano Attacks (Winstin)

Le Voyage Dans La Lune (Winstin): Final Credits Music
RAVE REVIEW
Newbury Publications

This collection of works
by the American
composer Robert Ian
Winstin shows two
interesting and
contrasting periods of
the composer’s work.
Featuring piano works
from the 1980s played
by the composer, Three
Pieces for Piano and
Piano Attacks are
angular, knotty pieces of
piano music with intense
emotion. They are, in a
sense, a younger
composer’s works: full of
brash brio and brimming
with the urge to reinvent
form and make one’s
mark. They are also
playful and intriguing,
alluding to other
composers and forms
while surging forward.
There is a sense of
probing and questioning
about the music. The
remaining pieces are
performed under the
baton of the composer
conducting the Kiev
Philharmonic. A
broader, lusher
romanticism has entered
Winstin’s work, more
melodic, at times lyrical,
almost nostalgic and
reflective. Normandy,
June 6, 1944 for
Trumpet and Orchestra
sets the right tone for the
event which it
memorializes and is
beautifully presented by
soloist and orchestra. Le
Voyage Dans La Lune,
which quotes Berlioz
among others, is
inventive and
fascinating. But the
centerpiece of the
album is the Taliban
Dances featuring soloist
Galyna Hornostai on solo
violin. Hornostoi gives a
tour de force
performance of this
interesting piece of
music reflecting Winstin’
s musical commentary
on a present day state of
affairs. And like the
conflict to which it
refers, there is a range of
emotion and music
displayed, complicated,
sometimes contradictory,
complex but always
gripping. There is a lot
for the listener to digest
and enjoy, but without a
doubt what carries the
piece is the exquisite
play of Hornostai. There
is much to appreciate
and admire in this
collection of work by
Winstin.
"This is a Masterpiece!"
AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE
"... this type of recording could become the standard..."
AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE