The album of the Albanian composer Thoma Simaku "Solos & Duos" which was released by the record company "Naxos Records" in 2019, has been selected in the top ten best albums of the year by the critic James H. North in the ranking of the prestigious magazine "Fanfare" in America.
This list includes albums of works by Beethoven and Bartok, as well as two other 21st century composers from the Netherlands and the USA.
Listing the Albanian composer among the great composers of the XXI century, the American critic writes: “Every work of the Albanian-British composer Thoma Simaku is amazing.
This is his second album on Naxos, and this is the second time he has been selected on my list. "A number of other works found on YouTube and elsewhere are just as stimulating."
The four English instrumentalists: Peter Sheppard-Skaerved, Roderick Chadwick, Joseph Houston, and Chris Orton have extensive international activity.
Among other works, this album includes the Arbëresh song "Moj e Bukura More" in the violin & piano version, as well as the work Soliloquy V - Flauto Acerbo which won the 'Composer of the Year' award from the British Academy of Composers (BASCA), which the jury described as rated by the jury as visionary and completely original.
The music of the Albanian composer has been performed all over Europe, in the USA, and beyond for three decades, and has been awarded a series of international awards for its expressive qualities and the special combination of musical intensity and modernity.