Recordings

Top 10 Modern Composition Album of 2024 —The Wire

"Exceptional, gripping and timeless." —Tom Haugen, Take Effect

Vancouver-based Rodney Sharman (b. 1958) has been a primary force within the Canadian contemporary music landscape since the 1980's. None other than Louis Andriessen—one of his former teachers—characterized him as " the most distinguished Canadian composer of his generation," and his work has also been widely commissioned, performed, and choreographed to; he's even recorded by an extensive cast of distinguished artists.

Suffce to say that Vancouver pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa's forthcoming album of Sharman's music, Known and Unknown—his very frst portrait disc—is long overdue. The fact that she has been carefully preparing it since 2016 gives this assertion additional weight. 

Not only is the vast, outlandish array of music that Known and Unknown so lovingly documents a compelling testament to Sharman's wit, skill and depth as composer, it's also a showcase for Iwaasa's prowess and sensitivity at the keyboard. —Nick Storring, Riparian Media