By Tim Page, chief classical music critic
The Washington Post
original link

Tim Page chose "beginnings" as one of his Top 5 CD's for 2004

Beginnings

Daniel Kellogg may be the most gifted American composer under 30, and his "Divinum Mysterium," recorded by the new music ensemble Eighth Blackbird, is among the most immediately arresting pieces I've heard in years. Scored for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion, "Divinum Mysterium" lasts a full half-hour yet never comes close to wearing out its welcome. On the contrary: Such is the richness and fertility of Kellogg's imagination that one listens breathlessly, delightedly, to every passing inspiration, from the chimes and chanting that set the piece into motion through to its dynamic, ecstatic close. The disc also contains George Crumb's "Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale)," an evocative, if rather dated, work from a venerated master. But it is Kellogg who steals the show -- and, with any luck, he is just getting started.

Copyright © 2004, The Washington Post