Faster Still

Faster Still takes its name from the album’s second piece, in which the tempo accelerates and slows nearly constantly, turning time into a pliable plaything. Composer Brian Current finds, curiously, that the more continuous the acceleration, the calmer things become – fast and still, once opposites, can exist simultaneously. In Current’s first album of chamber works, time and texture are explored and transformed in ensembles ranging from two cellos (duet for cellos) to a small chamber orchestra with singer (Inventory). Featuring soloists Patricia O’Callaghan, Duo Concertante, the Blue Engine String Quartet, and the VC2 cello duo, Faster Still displays the breadth and depth of Brian Current’s dynamic writing for small ensembles.

Brian Current is the recipient of numerous awards, among them a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Barlow Prize for Orchestra Music, the Italian Premio Fedora for his chamber opera Airline Icarus, and the Azrieli Commissioning Prize. His works have been programmed by all major symphony orchestras in Canada and by dozens of professional orchestras, ensembles, and opera companies world-wide. Brian Current is active as a conductor and regularly conducts programs of contemporary music as performed by top professional ensembles. He is on the faculty of The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory where he conducts the graduate-level Contemporary Music Ensemble and teaches contemporary music performance.