Among America’s most admired, awarded and frequently performed composers, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, who celebrated her 70th birthday in 2009, remains young at heart.

Performed here by virtuoso pianist Jeffrey Biegel for whom it was written, Millennium Fantasy is based on a folksong that Zwilich’s grandmother sang to her as a child.

Images drew its inspiration from a number of paintings held at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington DC, including the Alice Bailly self-portrait reproduced on the cover of this disc.

Zwilich, herself featured in Charles M Schulz’s famous Peanuts® comic strip, returned the favour with a delightful series of musical portraits of Schroeder, Linus, Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Peppermint Patty and Marcie.

“When he has conducted my work I have found Alex to be a strong and charismatic conductor who can get inside the score, convey his excitement to the players, and raise the level of performance with each rehearsal.” - Ellen Zwilich on Alexander Jiménez