Roméo Records 7344

Aleck Karis has performed recitals, chamber music, and concertos across the Americas,Europe, Japan, and China.
As the pianist of the new music ensemble Speculum Musicae
he has participated in over a hundred premieres and performed at major American and European festivals.
His appearances with orchestra have ranged from concertos by Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin to those of Stravinsky, Messiaen and Carter. His other solo discs on Roméo Records are
Music of Philip Glass and Late Chopin.
His seven solo discs on Bridge Records are:
Chopin/Carter/Schumann, Mozart, Stravinsky, Cage, Feldman/Weber/Wolpe, Poulenc, and Debussy.

He worked with Arthur Balsam while studying composition at the Manhattan School and with Beveridge Webster while at Juilliard. His friend and teacher William Daghlian has been his most important mentor. He is Distinguished Professor of music at
UC San Diego.

The following review for another Romeo release with Madeleine Forte, is typical of the glowing reviews
Madeleine has always received for her performances, both live and recorded.

"What is most striking is her exceptional control of textures. Not that her playing is in anyway dry:
The ‘Rêve d’amour,’ in fact, for all its quickish tempo, is alluringly luxurious, and the third movement of the Barber has a paradoxically ominous opulence that builds to a crashing climax. Still the transparency is remarkable. Whether in the voicing of the theme in Beethoven’s second movement, or the delineation of the polyphony in the Allegro that launches the Barber, or the remarkable transparency of the thorny fugue that ends it, Forte’s fingers keep the competing strands from congealing in the thickest music.

"But there is far more here than clarity. Forte is a notable colorist, too fully alert to the shadings of the music, and (an even rarer skill) able to trace out the mood swings of the program...without turning either fussy or melodramatic. Even at its peak of high-romantic intensity, the playing remains refreshingly direct...this recital can be warmly recommended." - Fanfare