"To my mind the playing on this album is as good as it gets - articulate, well-phrased, passionate and soulful. We hear the dynamic and explosive contrasted with tender moments of lyricism. Truly a landmark recording for the violin and guitar duo combination. It is a recording lovers of classical music will want to revisit for years to come – I know I will."- Philip Rosheger, master guitarist and composer"The Lyrical Strings Duo is a unique ensemble with elegance, a passionate sound, and extraordinary programs."- Tatiana Kolchanova, former first violinist for the Glinka State String Quartet and teacher at the Moscow Conservatory"These new arrangements, beautifully chosen and executed, are both intimate and exciting. Lucia's customary pathos in precise duet with Stephen's unambiguous guitar make this album a treasure."- Flora Sussely, writer and singer---------------------------------------------About the musicAt the heart of Evening Songs is dark, melodious and mysterious Romantic era music originally composed for solo piano. While this genre has been explored separately by the violin and by the guitar, the combination of these instruments delivers something new. With guitar accompaniment (rather than the traditional piano accompaniment), the violin can delve more deeply into the music's dark textures and intimate touch. Meanwhile, with the violin realizing the melodies, whole new areas of repertoire are opened to the guitar. The intimate interplay of the instruments is present from the start - with the violin's hauntingly lyrical melody flowing above guitar's ostinato harmonies in Chopin's Nocturne (posthumous) - the first of three Chopin Nocturnes that frame Evening Songs at the beginning, middle, and end. In between these Nocturnes, Evening Songs explores many musical worlds. The first half of the album features the Romanticism of Mendelssohn and Faure. Their Songs Without Words, Berceuse, and Prelude range from nostalgic purity to dance-like playfulness; from pained introspection to dramatic flair. The unabashed lyricism of these Romantic works sets the stage for some quite different works: Ponce's Mexican-folk inspired Estrellita and Kreisler's Iberian-infused La Gitana. In the second half of the album, Margola's more-modern Quattro Episodi picks up on elements of the late-Romanticism of Faure's Prelude. Then the meditative simplicity of Satie's Gnossienne I and Gymnopédie I brings the album back to the final Chopin Nocturne (Op. 27 No. 1) -- a work of great contrast in which the soft-spoken opening is furiously interrupted with a burst of energy before succumbing to a chorale-like coda that draws the album to a peaceful close.About the duoLucia was born and raised in the Czech Republic and is a graduate of the Prague Conservatory. She has appeared in both the United States and Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. Now based in Portland, she is the Concertmaster of the Willamette Falls Symphony, Assistant Concertmaster of the Salem Chamber Orchestra and the first violinist in many other regional orchestras and chamber groups. For over a decade Stephen has worked to take classical guitar to new places. As a student at the Yale School of Music – where he earned a Masters of Music in Guitar Performance – he collaborated with a wide array of artists, combining traditional guitar repertoire with dance, poetry, theater, and more. Recently he has focused on arranging Romantic era works for the duo, many of which they plan to publish in 2013. In 2009, Lucia and Stephen met through Classical Revolution PDX. In 2010 they formed the Lyrical Strings Duo, and they’ve been taking their music to the churches, parks, halls, and living rooms of the Pacific Northwest ever since.---------------------------------------------Detailed Track Information: Original instrumentation: Chopin's Nocturnes (track 1,9,17), Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words (track 2-5), Fauré's Prelude (track 8), Satie's Gymnopedie and Gnossienne (track 15-16) are originally for solo piano; Ponce / Heifetz' Estrellita (track 6) is based on a violin and piano arrangement of a song for piano and voice. Fauré's Berceuse (track 7) and Kreisler's La Gitana (track 10) are originally for piano and violin; Margola's Quattro Episodi (track 11-14) is originally for guitar and flute. Arrangements: All tracks set for guitar and violin by the Lyrical Strings Duo. In Margola's Quattro Episodi the flute part is performed as written on the violin. In Faure's Berceuse the guitar part is based on an Arthur Levering arrangement. In Chopin's Nocturne Op 9 No 2, the guitar part based on a Boris Bagger arrangement and the violin part based on Pablo de Sarasate arrangement