UNM Music’s Dr. Kristin Ditlow celebrates the release of her CD Passages, 18 pieces of music which trace a journey

“Kristin has a new recording out which I highly recommend. Her solo recording on the Affetto label is titled, “Passages — solo piano works inspired by opera and song.” The recording (I have it on CD) is sonically breathtaking and her playing ranges from intimate pianistic thoughts to thundering room-shaking outbursts. She is a consummate interpreter.”
—Harry Musselwhite

Dr. Kristin Ditlow of the UNM Department of Music spent June of 2022 recording an album that acts as a portrait of her life. The repertoire includes her own arrangements of folk tunes, great works of opera, music by Béla Bartók and Franz List, and music inspired by works of poetry.

The repertoire recorded traces her career so far as an accompanist, vocal coach, and soloist. All of the works on the CD are based on either opera or song. Many of the works on this album have rarely – or never – been recorded, making this the first time many listeners will be able to hear them. Four of the transcriptions are her own, including Carreño’s “Norma,” an unfinished or partially lost piece of music. She finished the piece, and then recorded it in full.

Dr. Ditlow writes: “This project originally had a different title, but, after a long day of practicing, I was reflecting on the Italian word passaggio (passageway or pathway). Just like that, the “right” title for the disc came to be. Its significance is threefold:

1. Tricky technical parts of a piece music are often called “passages” or “passagework.”

2. The passaggio in vocal and operatic training is a part of classical vocal study in which singers must connect from their “middle voice” into the “head voice.” This is a particular challenge with all singers as they train towards classical vocal and operatic careers.

3. The music reflects my own passage – solo piano, choral accompanist, vocal accompanist, coach, conductor, and continuing to be a solo pianist alongside a conductor and collaborative artist.

I certainly do not see this disc as a conclusion, but rather, a beginning or seedbed of projects in the future. These eighteen works serve as cairns on a hike. They have marked my way thus far, with each stone somehow balancing on the one beneath it, and supporting the stone above.”

Passages was made possible thanks to a UNM Research Allocations Grant. It was previewed in concert by Dr. Ditlow at St. Michael’s Church, 5 Rue d’Aguesseau, Paris, France, on March 17, 2023, and released by Affeto Records on April 21, 2023.