SOLO/COMPOSER RECORDINGS

 

Cover photo by Michelle Smith-Lewis

COMING SOOn!

MICHAEL JINSOO LIM: KINETIC

Planet M records presents Kinetic, a dance-themed collection of solo violin pieces performed by violinist Michael Jinsoo Lim, praised by Gramophone for playing with “delicious abandon” and described by the Los Angeles Times as a “conspicuously accomplished champion of contemporary music.” The album includes multiple world premieres, of music by Lim’s wife, violist and composer Melia Watras, as well as by Paola Prestini and Leilehua Lanzilotti, along with music of John Corigliano and Astor Piazzolla.


Cover photo by Michelle Smith-Lewis

Play/Write

Planet M Records presents Melia Watras’s Play/Write, a showcase for the violist as both performer and composer and celebration of creative friendships, with all but one of the works marking a world premiere recording. In addition to Watras’s performances and compositions, the album highlights the poems of Herbert Woodward Martin, and features compositions by Frances White and Pulitzer Prize finalist Leilehua Lanzilotti. Performers include violinists Rachel Lee Priday and Michael Jinsoo Lim, harpist Valérie Muzzolini, narrator/vocalists Sheila Daniels and Carrie Henneman Shaw, and the Brazen butterfly ensemble conducted by David Alexander Rahbee.


Cover art by Ron Arad

PARTITA PARTY

Partita Party is the brainchild of Atar Arad. It is a new collaborative composition for solo viola based on J.S. Bach's Partita No. 2 for solo violin. Atar asked four of his friends (and former students) to write movements inspired by Bach's masterpiece and his own Ciaccona, which he wrote for the 2021 Hindemith International Viola Competition. Joining Atar are Duncan Steele (Allemanda), Yuval Gotlibovich (Corrente), Melia Watras (Sarabanda), and Rose Wollman (Giga). This innovative new work was recorded by the composers at Indiana University in October 2023.


Cover photo by Michelle Smith-Lewis



STRING MASKS

Melia Watras, viola
Charles Corey, Harmonic Canon and Bass Marimba
Sheila Daniels, actor/director
Frequency: Lim, Watras, Thorsteinsdóttir
Jose Gonzales, actor
Michael Jinsoo Lim, violin and voice
Rhonda J. Soikowski, actor
Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, cello and voice
Bonnie Whiting, Cloud-Chamber Bowls

Works by Melia Watras

Planet M Records (2022)


Rose Wollman: Loop: Ligeti’s

inspiration & Legacy

Rose Wollman, viola

Melia Watras: Blue Rose for viola solo (2021)

Acis Productions (2022)


Cover artwork by botanicalLightning


MELIA WATRAS: 3 SONGS FOR BELLOWS,

Buttons and Keys

Jeanne Velonis, accordion

Planet M Records (2022)


Cover photo by Michelle Smith-Lewis

FIREFLY SONGS

Frequency: Michael Jinsoo Lim, violin and voice; Melia Watras, viola and voice; Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, cello
Atar Arad, voice
Arturo Alto, voice
Catherine Connors, voice
Vina Vu Valdés, voice

Works by Melia Watras

Planet M Records (2021)


Cover photo by Michelle Smith-Lewis

Cover photo by Michelle Smith-Lewis

SCHUMANN RESONANCES

Melia Watras, viola
Galia Arad, voice
Winston Choi, piano
Matthew Kocmieroski, percussion
Michael Jinsoo Lim, violin
Cuong Vu, trumpet

Works by Schumann, Watras, Karpen, Vu

Planet M Records (2019)


Cover photo by Collin Rae

Cover photo by Collin Rae

26

Melia Watras, viola
Atar Arad, viola
Garth Knox. viola d'amore
Michael Jinsoo Lim, violin

Works by Watras, Arad, Karpen, Knox

Sono Luminus (2017)


Cover photo by Collin Rae

Cover photo by Collin Rae

ISPIRARE

Melia Watras, viola
Galia Arad, voice
Winston Choi, piano
Valerie Muzzolini Gordon, harp
Matthew Kocmieroski, percussion

Works by Arad, Berio, Ran, Rochberg

Sono Luminus (2015)


Cover photo by Mikel Watras

Cover photo by Mikel Watras

SHORT STORIES

Melia Watras, viola
Kimberly Russ, piano

Works by Clarke, Enescu, Jolas, Ligeti, Porter, Vieuxtemps, Visconti, Waggoner, Weesner, Wieniawski

Fleur de Son Classics (2012)


Cover photo by Langston Watras

Cover photo by Langston Watras

PRESTIDIGITATION

Melia Watras, viola
William George, tenor

Works by Davids, Karpen, Pampin, Taube, Thome

Fleur de Son Classics (2008)


Cover photo by Langston Watras

Cover photo by Langston Watras

VIOLA SOLO

Melia Watras, viola

Works by Arad, Bach, Corigliano, Penderecki, Prestini, Stravinsky, Waggoner

Fleur de Son Classics (2004)