Coyly titled fred, eighth blackbird's newest disc is completely devoted to the beloved musical radical Frederic Rzewski. The premiere recording of Pocket Symphony, a piece written for the ensemble, opens the CD and gives each of the players plenty of room to show what they're made of.

By Timothy Mangan

By Wilma Salisbury
Classical Music Critic
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH)

Frederic Rzewski gives eighth blackbird the freedom to fly in “Pocket Symphony,” the showpiece he wrote five years ago for the virtuoso chamber ensemble. Founded at Oberlin College Conservatory in 1996, the six-member group rises to the challenge and creates a series of cadenzas that fit the American composer’s edgy style.

By Joe McLellan
Classical Music Critic Emeritus of The Washington Post

Composer Frederic Rzewski, whose music fills this delightful disc, admits that while composing "I never know what I'm doing," but he finds that "a good sign because it means at least I'm not doing the same thing." He is one of the most interesting and listener- friendly composers who have come out of the minimalist movement, and evidently he does not repeat himself from one work to another, though his works often use repetition as a structural principle.