Albums
NPR Best of 2026
Canto Ostinato
Released Apr 3, 2026
Simeon ten Holt's landmark minimalist opus Canto Ostinato has a known magnetism — its captivating harmony and winding, open-form structure an adventurous enterprise for any like-minded players who embark down its path.
Metropolis Ensemble, pianist Erik Hall, and Sandbox Percussion expand ten Holt's piano manuscript into a large chamber arrangement for mallet percussion, woodwinds, strings, and piano — a hypnotic, ever-shifting journey through its looping cells.
- Sections 1-16 11:25
- Sections 17-30 7:28
- Sections 31-40 4:33
- Sections 41-55 3:32
- Sections 56-73 5:34
- Sections 74-87 8:36
- Sections 88-90 11:24
- Sections 91-94 5:40
- Sections 95-106 7:35
Credits & personnel
Composed by Simeon ten Holt (1976–79). Arrangements by Erik Hall, David Leon, Jonny Allen, and Ben Wallace. Performed by Metropolis Ensemble — Suliman Tekalli, Isabelle Ai Durrenberger, Madison Greenstone, Jennifer Liu, David Leon, Pauline Kim, Henry Wang, and Kristin Lee — with Sandbox Percussion (Ian Rosenbaum, Jonny Allen, Victor Caccese, Terry Sweeney), the New School Sandbox Percussion Summer Seminar, and Bergamot Quartet. Andrew Cyr, conductor. Produced by Andrew Cyr and Erik Hall; engineered by Mike Tierney; mixed by Erik Hall and Mike Tierney; mastered by Warren Defever. Artwork by Aaron Lowell Denton. Western Vinyl (WV294).
