Michele Fiala is an oboe and English horn player based at Ohio University. Her latest CD titled Overheard offers new music for her instruments. There are pieces with wonderfully evocative titles: Alyssa Morris's "Four Personalities" labeled with colors, Susan Kander's "Postcards…" with three from Manhattan, Gilles Silvestrini's Duos inspired by French paintings and more.
Extra-Musical Values
"I don't necessarily see the images when I'm playing, but I do react to the feelings," says Fiala. "For instance, in Alyssa Morris's "Four Personalities" yellow is associated with cheerfulness. With Susan Kander's imaginary "Postcards," it's again not the images but the feelings of the young immigrant who writes back to his wife that I focus on. The paintings that Giles Silvestrini chose are lovely, but it's more the poems that he links with them that affect me. The pieces that I commissioned and those that I found all do have extra musical values that I thought made for nice connections,'
A Chance To Play With An Old Friend
The recording of Overheard gave Fiala an opportunity to work with her teacher Martin Shuring. "Yes, that was a special pleasure. Actually, he's also on my first CD. It was delightful to work with him again and I have to add that the pianists William Averill and Donald Speer added just the right touches to the project as well."