“Oboist Kyle Bruckmann, founding member of the wind quintet Splinter Reeds, releases of rivers, a collection of vanguard music for the instrument that highlights its integration with electronics, improvisational practices, extended techniques, and microtonality. The album features music by Jessie Cox, Hannah A. Barnes, Helen Grime, Linda Bouchard, Christopher Burns, and Bruckmann himself. . .
With of rivers, Kyle Bruckmann has achieved something rare and prized in contemporary instrumental recordings. We hear Bruckmann’s voice as a composer, improviser, curator, and interpreter speak powerfully throughout the collection. In most other contemporary music genres, the “sound” of the artist and the album are paramount, while in contemporary concert music, we applaud the contribution a performer makes when releasing an album of varied pieces that can enter the repertoire, even if their artistic personality takes a secondary role. But when both missions are served at the same time, it is a special album indeed. of rivers is such a recording, an impeccable document of these compelling works, a landmark recording for the oboe/English horn repertoire, and a powerful artistic statement from a versatile artist who has cultivated a collection of pieces that strike an ideal balance between aesthetic focus and engaging variety.”
– Dan Lippel
“As someone who’s been listening to music of oboist Kyle Bruckmann for several decades, through different projects and styles, his mixture of rigor and humility have been constant. Although he’s a marvelous improviser, he’s been spending more and more time working with composed material, both in Dana Jessen’s Splinter Reeds and with solo work. Of rivers falls into this second category, with a variety of composers taking advantage of Bruckmann’s technical range and his willingness to aim for the impossible. “
– Peter Margasak, The Best Contemporary Classical Music on Bandcamp
Released March 15, 2024
Recorded by:
Charlotte Han (with assistant engineers Mary Denney & Mark Loya), Owen Hall Recording Studio, University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA), Oct. & Dec. 2022 (tracks 1-4)
Kyle Bruckmann, FeuerFroschHaus (Oakland, CA), Nov. 2020 (track 5)
Scott R. Looney, Studio 1510 (Oakland, CA), July 2010 (track 6)
Mixed & Mastered by:
Myles Boisen, Headless Buddha Mastering Labs (Oakland, CA)
Cover photo by: Dill Pixels
Interior photos by: Christina Deravedisian / Joel Filipe / Maxim Berg
Layout by: BMoen, Etch Image Co.