Dawn Wohn & Emely Phelps - Unbounded: Music by American Women (2023)

Unbounded: Music by American Women builds on the success of Perspectives, Dawn Wohn’s premiere album that showcased music by women from around the world.

Unbounded features Amy Beach’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon’s “Smoky Mountain Air”. Works by two African American women, Dorothy Rudd Moore and Irene Britton Smith complete this exciting new recording.

Moore’s “Three Pieces for Violin and Piano” are succinct, condensed statements that juxtapose playful and serious exchanges between the players.

Jennifer Higdon’s “Smoky Mountain Air” is a rhapsodic piece by the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music and three GRAMMY® awards. Higdon is one of America’s most frequently performed living composers.

Irene Britton Smith’s Sonata for Violin and Piano is a substantial contribution to the repertoire. Neoclassical in style, the Sonata draws the listener in with its soaring melodies, wit, and charm. “Reminiscence,” an unpublished work, has a Romantic feel and highlights the composer’s melodic gift.

Dawn Wohn’s and Emely Phelps’ performance on Unbounded is virtuosic and sensitive. The album will bring recognition to two African American composers whose outstanding compositions are yet to be discovered by most listeners. Amy Beach’s expansive Sonata is given a superlative presentation. The album offers an engaging combination of music from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, vividly presented by two exceptionally talented instrumentalists.

Tracklist
01. Beach: Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 34: I. Allegro Moderato
02. Beach: Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 34: II. Scherzo, molto vivace
03. Beach: Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 34: III. Largo con dolore
04. Beach: Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 34: IV. Allegro con fuoco
05. Moore: Three Pieces for Violin and Piano: I. Vignette
06. Moore: Three Pieces for Violin and Piano: II. Episode
07. Moore: Three Pieces for Violin and Piano: III. Caprice
08. Higdon: Smoky Mountain Air
09. Smith: Sonata for Violin and Piano: I. Allegro cantabile
10. Smith: Sonata for Violin and Piano: II. Andante con sentimento
11. Smith: Sonata for Violin and Piano: III. Vivace
12. Smith: Reminiscence