Matt Malsky (b. 1961)

The Archipelago of Regrets (2011)

Matt Malsky occupies the George N. and Selma U. Jeppson Professorship in Music at Clark University, where he has taught since 1998. As a composer, Mr. Malsky writes for both electronics and traditional acoustic instruments. His compositions have been performed widely, both nationally and internationally, and his scholarly research encompasses ethnomusicology, cultural studies, and film.

Written for the Albany, NY-based Capital Trio in 2011, Mr. Malsky’s The Archipelago of Regrets is a piece that in the composer’s words “explor[es]…the emotional landscape of disenchantment.” Cast as a set of variations, the work is meant (to again borrow from Mr. Malsky’s program notes) to “represent a possible facet of this experience: disappointment and dissatisfaction, frustration and defiance, repentance and remorse.” In the course of its near-twenty minutes, the music becomes increasingly agitated and abstract before resolving on a somewhat more hopeful note.

© Jonathan Blumhofer

Reproduction Rights: This program note may be reproduced free of charge in concert programs with a credit to the author.