Lullaby. Edmonton Symphony Orchestra: "A Concert for New York" (2013). 2014 Western Canadian Music Awards nominee for Classical Recording of the Year.Purchase.
"...gentle textures and flowing themes occasionally yield surprising harmonic turns and briskly changing meters." —Allan Kozinn, New York Times, on Lullaby
"...a work of quiet rapture and refined sensibility...elegant concision..." —Jack Sullivan, American Record Guide, on Lullaby
"...the most impressive music I have heard from Rival..." —Mark Morris, Edmonton Journal, on L'Aube
WHAT'S NEW
AUG 2020—I've received a Digital Originals grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to produce a remote video recording of my Cello Sonata, featuring cellist Denise Djokic and pianist David Jalbert, to whom the work is dedicated, and who gave the premiere at Scotia Fest in 2019. Look out for the finished product in early 2021!
AUG 2020—The multi-instrumentalist Irene Huang, who last month recorded my Six Pieces for piano, returns on violin with a recording of my Schubert Fantasy with her brother, Glenn Huang, on piano. Excellent ensemble work and lovely phrasing!
JUL 2020—I'm very pleased that the gifted, young Toronto pianist Irene Huang not only decided to learn my Six Pieces but also sought out my comments before posting a final version of the set—memorized and in one take. Enjoy her detailed, well-paced and wonderfully nuanced performance!
MAY 2020—After hiding in the archives for thirteen years, you can now watch the 2007 premiere of my children's piece Maya the Bee—or just listen to the complete audio track. Performed by narrator Colleen Sutton and the Ottawa Youth Orchestra, conducted by John Gomez.
OCT 2019—I'm thrilled to have been selected as one of three finalists in Chor Leoni Men's Choir C/4 Canadian Choral Composition Competition. I look forward to writing a new work for Artistic Director Erick Lichte and this fabulous choir whose blend of polish and expression I first encountered two decades ago. The work will be premiered in Vancouver on May 27, 2020. The other finalists are Katerina Gimon & Pierre Simard.
OCT 2019—Eight years in the making, out at last is Reflections on Malcolm Forsyth, a book I co-edited with Mary Ingraham on the life and work of the late Canadian composer.
Drawing from the perspectives of leading scholars, composers, and musicians, as well as on those close to him, Reflections on Malcolm Forsyth honours the rich life and cultural significance of this exceptional creative mind.
OCT 2019—I'm pleased that Toronto pianist and teacher Michael Esch, to whom I dedicated my Six Pieces (2007), has allowed me to post his complete recordings of the work, included in the RCM syllabus (ARCT). Read Esch's blog post on the set:
"The third piece is an absolutely gut-wrenching Elegy. This is Rival at his best: intensely poetic harmony and textural tapestry giving way to moments of exquisite lyricism."
