SOLO/COMPOSER RECORDINGS
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.
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.
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.
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)
MELIA WATRAS: 3 SONGS FOR BELLOWS,
Buttons and Keys
Jeanne Velonis, accordion
Planet M Records (2022)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
PRESTIDIGITATION
Melia Watras, viola
William George, tenor
Works by Davids, Karpen, Pampin, Taube, Thome
Fleur de Son Classics (2008)
VIOLA SOLO
Melia Watras, viola
Works by Arad, Bach, Corigliano, Penderecki, Prestini, Stravinsky, Waggoner
Fleur de Son Classics (2004)