I shared November’s performance recording of Vignettes with the composer, David Avshalomov. Look what he had to say in an email he just sent!

Wow, a good performance indeed, so many nice things. I particularly liked:

1. The great dynamic range in Our Leader
2. How the accompaniment nailed the rhythmic feel of the overdots/quintuplets in Grotesko
3. The lyricism in Snowy Mountain–the drawn-out long tones and long phrases, the smoothness of the expression. What a sound!
4. The surprisingly brisk tempo of Robots–I’ve never heard or imagined it at that speed–but it worked (except perhaps for the sixteenth-note solo figure in clarinets at the end). I had thought this movement was too long (at the original tempo) and have already done a revised version that cuts a half minute–but I may have to rethink that. Also, the dynamics were great, and the articulations, and the long swells. Oh, and your tom-tom soloist was terrific, really got the feel (clearly had fun . . .)
5. The oboe transition of MoonSong, fine player, nice feeling.
6. Dragon dance was crazed and wonderful, right to the last held-over tamtam ring at the end. A little fast, but it still worked.
7. News/Weather was tight and just right.
8. The phrasing/placement of the ending of Valentine.
9. The controlled frenzy of Ice Wars, you really brought that off. (The tight percussion helped.)

If you ever want to play them again, I could provide a few notes (little things here and there). Also revised versions of a few movements.

Best,
D A