"[Chris] Milmerstadt's compositions are full of rich sonorities and startling dissonance. He writes for piano, string quartets, and larger chamber groups, often employing multiple voices at once in labyrinthine textures through which scraps of melody glimmer and shine like shafts of sunlight through a dense thicket. Many of his compositions are based on themes from painting, literature or theater”. - Listen.com

'5 Piano Pieces -after Paul Klee' by Chris Milmerstadt
“Beautiful piece by Chris Milmerstadt. A must listen”! – MP3.com

'Cepheus' - from "Constellations for Orchestra" by Chris Milmerstadt

"Painting with sound -
. . . Where the silence becomes the sky, if you close your eyes. A single violin opens the piece, which at first sounds like the soundtrack for a silent picture. Piece by piece, he layers samples of cellos and violas, then horns, a single splash or crash symbol. These layers crescendo into a massive 'wall of sound' that represent, to me, each of the constellations from orion to the big dipper. And as the 'walls' collapse, a new constellation is discovered, one more brilliant than its predecessor, and the crescendo begins filling the air with a majestic onslaught of overwhelmingly eerie chord structures.

Very nice work; it's emotional and intensive. I am left with the knowledge of exactly how small we actually are.

It's a humbling piece."  - GODSofMUSIC.com

'Nocturne - for chamber orchestra' by Chris Milmerstadt
“Beautiful slow, spatial work by this contemporary composer”. – MP3.com

 

 

'Automne - for string quartet' by Chris Milmerstadt

“Extraordinary chamber piece based on the poem by Albert Giraud”. – MP3.com