Reviews

2024 Style Weekly, Richmond, VA, Week of February 26

This was an amazing invitation and description of Fuse Ensemble’s Both Sides of the Mirror at our upcoming Firehouse Theatre performance (2/26/2024) in Style Weekly in Richmond, VA by Peter McElhinney, who said this: “It is a unique opportunity to connect with locally based, widely recognized, and progressively iconoclastic artistic innovators in an intimate black box performance space, with no shortage of very smart things to listen to, look at, and play with. Read the full article here and scroll down to find us. Thank you, Peter! We love you, RVA!!

2022 Reviews of Mind and Machine, Ravello Records

Take Effect Review EXCERPT:

Gina Biver’s The Inner Landscape Of A Cabin In The Woods brings fixed audio and Biver’s improvised electric guitar to a sublime intimacy.

“Another exciting chapter of this highly distinct series, the 5 composers present make an indelible impression with their inimitable electro-acoustic ideas and flawless execution.”

2021 New Reviews of Fuse Ensemble NIMBUS:

Take Effect Reviews EXCERPT:

“My Priest Father’s Words” starts the listen with both jumpy and cautious keys as elegant, expressive singing guides the quick opener, and “The Clouds Above My Childhood Street Were Mountains” follows with vivid storytelling, where a light chamber setting unfolds amid the poetry.

“Crossroads” resides near the middle, and offers a key focused display of dreamy song craft, while “Near The Pyrenées” is a light and airy delivery of charming flutes amid eloquent spoken word. “Fish Dinner With Oysters Stripped Of Their Pearls” exits the listen, and recruits strategic percussion and woodwinds in a very precise and memorable finish to an extremely unique effort. 

A listen that benefits much from Greg Hiser’s violin, Ethan Foote’s bass, Scott Deal’s percussion and Jennifer Lapple’s flute, to name a few, Nimbus is a quick listen, but one that makes a sizable impression in the area of chamber music. Full review here.

Review Graveyard Nimbus Review EXCERPT:

“The commingling of forbidden sex, lust and religion are laid bare in these unapologetic poems that become richer as they subtly manifest the poet’s young life spent longing for the lost embrace of her family. Colette Inez (1931-2018) was a celebrated poet and longtime faculty member at Columbia University.

I'm no lover of poetry but there was something about this album that really hit home for me. I think it's partly the wonderful ambient settings that Biver presents us with, that makes it feel like we're abroad, visiting the streets and religious buildings, but more importantly it's Biver's wonderfully engaging music that sweeps us up and transports us to another world. Quite frankly, this is breathtaking work. Read the full review

Darren Rea

TopRelaxMusic INTERVIEW with Gina 2021

https://toprelaxmusic.com/exclusive-interview-gina-biver/

Kathodic Webzine Review 2021:

The composer Gina Biver dedicates, through this Ep licensed by Neuma Records and entitled Nimbus, a brief and incisive musical portrait of the life and works of the poet Colette Inez . The music, excellently performed by the Fuse Ensemble , shows a remarkable stylistic mastery, capable of condensing, in this sixteen-minute suite, Stravinsky rhythms, captivating melodies, remnants of speech music, surprising harmonic modulations. Solutions that are effectively placed at the service of a narration that makes use, in some tracks, of the recorded voice of Inez herself, as well as the singing of the soprano Tula Pisano. —Filippo Focosi

Inactuelles, Musiques Singulieres,

This is a lovely, in-depth review in French. How fitting it was the first one we received on NIMBUS. Writer Dionys Della Luce even translated Colette’s poems. Read it here: http://inactuelles.over-blog.com/2021/03/fuse-ensemble-nimbus.html?fbclid=IwAR2aQlnLOLBJlOUFmsvf6496Ad7M2qp0CGIiUvLErG69T5b1S-8ba66VnnA

Jazz Weekly: IS ELECTRONICS THE NEW RHYTHM SECTION? Esther Lamneck: Sky Rings, Gina Biver: Nimbus

by George W. Harris • March 8, 2021

We’ve come a long way from the days of electronic music pioneered by Brian Eno to  create sounds of “ambience”.

It seems like the last few years that more and more artists are incorporating electronic sounds into their recordings, be it in the studio or in concert. Particularly in this day of “social distancing”, a musician has to look to other venues for support and framework.

Here are a pair of artists who have taken the next logical step in this musical adventure. Clarinetist Esther Lamneck melds her sounds with various plugged-in minded composers, while composer Gina Biver brings her poems and lyrics to the front of various electro-acoustic chamber ensembles. The results are fascinating, pointing to a rich and uncharted land.

Gina Biver, coming from an 80s rock band background, uses her ep to expand musical horizons.  She features six musical vignettes  ranging from 1 to just over two minutes, with voice and spoken word sung by Tula Pisano or spoken by either poetess Colette Inez or Biver herself. Besides Biver’s work on “live audio”, there is an acoustic supporting team of Scott Deal/perc, Jennifer Lapple/fl, Angela Murakami/cl, Greg Hiser/vi, Erin Snedecor/cel, Ethan Foote/b and Ina Mircheva Blevins/p mixed and matched throughout.

Pisano’s rich soprano is nimble around Blevins’ pretty piano on “My Priest Father’s Words” while cheery parlor ivories are teemed with a recitation on “Fish Dinner With Oysters Stripped of Their Pearls”. Old World strings and clarinet meld with sounds of ocean and waves around the spoken “The Clouds Above My Childhood Home Were Mountains” with percussion adding a lilt to the chamber group and spoken words  on the gentle “Father Song”. A liturgical recitation teams with church bells, creating a push/pull tension with the percussion on “Part Bull, Part  Priest” while birds chirp in a Grieg fashion to the woodwinds and spoken words on “Near The Pyrenees”. Stories of voice and sound.

https://www.jazzweekly.com/2021/03/is-electronics-the-new-rhythm-section-esther-lamneck-sky-rings-gina-biver-nimbus/

2018/2019 REVIEWS OF FUSE ENSEMBLE 3, THE MUSIC OF GINA BIVER:

Inactuelles, Musiques Singulieres, a French music blog that reviews contemporary, electroacoustic and experimental music.
"I am [enchanted] by the steps of the composer, who invents a different path for each piece."
http://inactuelles.over-blog.com/2019/09/gina-biver-the-fuse-ensemble-3.html?fbclid=IwAR2QfkmvDQ-KBVUNlJpl0bb912ebig1_EfvDT7ENm1ZOqKKU-c8I7A8M7Wg

From the New Music Website I Care If You Listen
“Biver creates a playground for internal exploration that is both fascinating and deeply effective….The best of Biver’s music lies in the layers; the moments where one instrument feels too close, or too separate, or where the listener questions whether the tapping and clicking audio tracks are coming from the album or from somewhere outside. Fuse Ensemble’s 3: The Music of Gina Biver demonstrates the enormous possibilities that come with composer-engineer crossovers–and it is just so much fun to listen to.” -Hannah Rosa Schiller
https://www.icareifyoulisten.com/2019/01/space-identity-audio-3-the-music-of-gina-biver-ravello/

GRAMOPHONE REVIEW “Gina Biver is a musical force of nature…”
Read the full review HERE.

Review for 3 from Review Graveyard online
http://reviewgraveyard.com/00_revs/r2018/music/18-08-10_3-gina-biver.html

Review from Textura:
”A rebel of sorts, or at the very least a provocateur.” Read the full review HERE.

Review for 3 from Cinemusical online, awarding the album a perfect score for both the recording and performance:
Read the full review HERE.

Feature spot for 3 on the Classical Music Discoveries podcast. Listen to the full podcast interview HERE.

Review of our new album on Midwest Record, Entertainment News, Views, Reviews July 18, 2018
FUSE ENSEMBLE/3 The Music of Gina Biver: “She doesn't look like an art chick that would show up in a dress made of meat but I guess looks can be deceiving. A highly personal and unusual album that goes way beyond even hippie, drug fueled experiments of the 60s, it just show to go you that you'll never know where someone can have a dark side that pops out unexpectedly. A progressive classical side to shoe gaze pop, this is certainly not a date for the feint hearted. Prepare for a sonic walk on the wild side. (Ravello 7993)

2011 Washington Post Review of The Cellar Door:

Gina's work The Cellar Door, (2011) for piano, cello and audio was premiered at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC on April 17, 2011 by Washington's fabulous Verge Ensemble during their end-of-season performance. Read the Washington Post Review from Stephen Brookes here  

Earlier Reviews:

Another positive review from French New Music critic Dionys. Read it here: 

Gina was the featured composer on Richard Zarou’s podcast “No Extra Notes” on March 7, 2010 Listen to the podcast here

Fuse Ensemble’s newest CD was critiqued in a French blog by blogger Dionys. It was a great review on a fantastic blog about modern music. Check it out here (you can try a google translation)

Fuse Ensemble was featured in a new film entitled: “Alt-Classical.” The Video, created by Mike Kravinsky, can be seen here

 Gina was included in an article in the Washington Post regarding the Alt-Classical movement.  Read it here