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| Some awards & honors |
| Reviews |
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The Jan/Feb 2006 issue of the American Record Guide gave a terrific review to Above and Beyond, the new CD from the Los Angeles Flute Quartet. Christopher L. Chaffee writes, "I am especially taken with the Shapiro "Bioplasm," ... I hope other flutists play it too." The March 2006 issue of International Record Review glowingly praises Carolyn Beck's CD, Beck and Call, stating, "the disc opener [of Alex Shapiro's] "Of Breath and Touch" is delicate and nervous, like a fine race horse...". The May/June issue of Fanfare Magazine calls Alex's work for contrabassoon and electronics, Deep, "...texturally absorbing...", and the May 2006 issue of Gramophone says of Deep, "The blend of sonorities is ominous and magical." |
| In his May 2001 review for Music & Vision Magazine, Gordon Rumson writes: |
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"Don't
let look and location put you off (My gosh, she lives in Malibu!?!)
here's a first-rate, real composer. Her piano sonata is tough, tightly
controlled motivically in the manner of mid-century American serious
composers, but it is also musically tense and expressive. This is the
genuine article. |
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"...[Shapiro's music] is enough to give one hope for the contemporary music scene." |
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"[Alex Shapiro's Current Events] deserves circulation... Her title, by the way, refers to her hobby, which has something to do with “communing with the sea life at tide pools. It's music exceptionally well made ... I found it most attractive, especially in a long, beautifully unfolding slow movement." In her pre-performance talk [Shapiro] kept invoking the ghost of Brahms, but I think she sold herself short on that count; her string scoring had little of the thickness with which the good Doktor was often given to burying his best thoughts. I wonder if he ever caught the romance of a tide pool." —Alan Rich, L.A. Weekly, February 2005 |
| "[Alex Shapiro's Sonata for Piano]... jazz hued spikiness... The scherzo closer works surprisingly well, coming off as a slam bang coda in the way the last measures of Beethoven’s first Razumovsky quartet do.... a palpable level of motivic economy, confident and easy manner of melodic speech, and clear sense of crafty sophistication. " —David Cleary, New Music Connoisseur September 2003 |
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"This recital, consisting of music for percussion and piano opens with Alex Shapiro’s wonderfully descriptive At the Abyss. It is the longest work on the program, and is reflective of the composer’s concerns for current social issues including politics and ecology. Well constructed, and full of interesting sounds, the work reminded me of some of the more creative film scoring that I have heard. This is music that conjures images in the mind, and the joy of it all is that those images will vary from listener to listener." —Kevin Sutton, MusicWeb-International January 2006
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“...one of [Shapiro’s] most remarkable works is simply entitled Deep, written for contrabassoon and electronic soundtrack....The electronic timbres are so mystically sepulchral that they fold the contrabassoon into themselves, and you really have to watch the score to be sure what the soloist is playing and what’s on the accompanying sound track.... And the sound production is so superb that you could pass the piece off as a really outside-the-box pop record, like a long-lost Brian Eno track. Surely this is the best solo contrabassoon piece ever written...” —Kyle Gann, Chamber Music, May/June 2008 |
"This is not a "percussion" recording, but it is full of wonderful compositions, several of which make prominent use of percussion. This eclectic group of pieces by Alex Shapiro run the gambit from joyful, almost giddy moods to dark, somber colors that remind one of Bartok or possibly Berg... This inspiring recording is great to listen to regardless if one is a percussionist or not. But "At the Abyss" should be considered by any percussionists looking for great literature to perform." |
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"[Alex Shapiro's] Of Bow and Touch is a dramatic work with beautiful bass melodies and an intriguing use of harmony and texture... The piece begins with a striking introduction... The bass enters majestically... Rich quiet harmonies support a lyric bel canto, yet complex rhythms in the melody... A virtuosic cadenza marked "very freely, improvisation is encouraged" further embellishes the melody... Of Bow and Touch is a very effective and accessible work, with artful melodies and inventive use of harmonies and textures." —Hans Sturm, Bass World, December 2001 |
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"Listen Up! Don't ask any questions. Simply go to this page, and click on each of the three MP3 excerpts from a composition (a string quintet) titled..., Current Events. It will do wonders for your heart, mind, and soul, and convince those of you who regard the 21st century as a bleak one for worthy new classical music (among whose number I often count myself) that perhaps things are not nearly so bleak as they might at times seem... Needless to say, we're also adding Ms. Shapiro's blog to our exclusive Culture Blogs listing on the sidebar." ––from A.C. Douglas, Sounds & Fury, 4/21/06
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"... a perky and thoroughly delightful duet for flute and oboe by the local composer Alex Shapiro, was brand-new, and Shapiro was on hand to deliver a few words about her piece..." |
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"Alex Shapiro’s Music for Two Big Instruments, written for Norm Pearson (tuba player with the Los Angeles Philharmonic), is the perfect intro for an excellent CD! It is a very powerful piece..." —Sergio Carolino, Tuba News, September 2005
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"A month or two back, I ran across notes from the kelp, composer Alex Shapiro's blog, because of referrals to me (thank you, Site Meter!). She had a funny and challenging TAFTO Month contribution last week. And today, I listened to some of her music. You should, too; it is extremely beautiful and interesting..." ––from Lisa Hirsch, Iron Tongue of Midnight, 4/21/06 |
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"... I loved the dark, deep, almost gothic lyricism of the contrabassoon/pre-recorded track work "Deep," providing us with a truly unique and original composition for contrabassoon." ------— The Double Reed, April 2006 |
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"Gifted with an intuitive musical sense complimented by a warm and expansive personality, Alex Shapiro has achieved success in a field few women have even entered." —Peggy Hall Kaplan, Malibu Surfside News, October 2000
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| "The annual Delius Composition Award Concert always proves to be interesting and entertaining, with wide-ranging stylistic musical offerings. This year, I particularly liked Alex Shapiro's Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano... truly interesting and very lovely..." —Jeff Gower, The Delius Festival Report, April 1999 |
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| Contact and Press Kit |
To obtain a short program bio for print, please click here  |
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To obtain program notes for any of Ms. Shapiro's works, please click here |
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To download a high resolution photograph for print, please click here  |
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To download a .pdf of a complete bio/C.V. for print, please click here |
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To download a .pdf of the complete Activist Music catalog, please click here |
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To contact Alex Shapiro, |
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