Meyer Kupferman features, together with Ludmila Ulehla, Louise Talma, and Ron Herder, among Binette Lipper's mentors, and you will discover in her music htat same streak of independence we find in Kupferman's works. At the same time it is the Classical era that provides the ancestry for her works, the basis of melody being the essential part of her ability to communication with today's audiences. If there is an influence, however unrecognized by the composer, it is the freedom of expression we find in the music of Ravel. Update Ravel's Tzigane to the style of our time and you have Lipper's "Horizons."

Sadly, the very brief notes that accompany the disc are totally inadequate to present the music of a composer with a slender international exposure. For three of the works they do not even extend to the dates of composition, though one would presume they were all written in the 1990s. The most recent work, and the most extensive on the disc, appears to be "Horizons" for unaccompanied violin, premiered by Matitahu Braun in April 1999. It is in one continuous movement, described as "representative of the human voice, speaking out from a broad rangee of emotions." there is an almost rhapsodic freedom of expression, the work just stopping short of virtuosity for the soloist but providing a searchingtechnical challenge. It is a work whose dramatic moments come in contrast to the introspective three interludes--"Fantasy," "Recollections," and "Flight." These musical cameos were composed as a reflection of personal experiences, the composer asking ther listener to adapt the music to his or her own imagination and experiences. Scored for flute, violin and cello, all three are givenan equal status, the music essentially lyrical and imaginatively scored. "Trialogue" is a dialog, but for three instruments-flute, clarinet, and bassoon. It is a most absorbing use of instruments, the thematic material passed around the three players, at times garnering argument, and at other points creating harmony. Lipper casts the bassoon in its conventionally gruff role, only in the final bars comiing to terms with his two companions. The "tring Quartet"is three relatively short movements, the scherzo-like central movement followingan opening Moderato, with an elaborate fugue completingthe score. The whole has an easy attraction to anyone who counts the Shostakovich quartets among his or her favorite works. It does demand a high degree of performing skill, Lipper's frequent use of pairs of instruments, either in the melody or accompanying mode, requiring very exact intonation, a commodity readily provided by the excellent musicians.

The performers are drawn from the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and leading New York freelance musicians. The string quartet is an extremely fine group. I also greatly enjoyedSandra Church's silvery-toned flute, and the fruity quality of Ernst Schefflin's bassoon in "Interludes."

The recording quality is very good, and you end up wishing tht Musicians Showcase had not been so parsimonious in the quantity of Lipper's music it offered. A relative newcomer to the catalog needs every minute he or she can obtain.