Christopher Gunning is one of those composers who is quite comfortable in both the cinema and the concert hall. His TV and movie credits include “Agatha Christie’s Poirot” (a PBS mainstay for decades). The three symphonies on this release show another side of this composer. Gunning is skilled at creating movie themes and short music […]
contemporary classical music
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Dan Locklair – Symphony No. 2, “America” optimistic and hopeful
Dan Locklair is best known as an organist and a composer of works for his instrument. But there’s a strong correlation between writing for organ and writing for orchestra — just ask Anton Bruckner. Many contemporary choral and organ composers write tonal music, free from academic fussiness. Locklair certainly falls into that group. And while […]
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Michael Daugherty evokes Woody Guthrie — and more
I’ve said in previous reviews that Michael Daugherty is a national treasure. And this release adds credence to that argument. Daugherty regularly reinterprets aspects of American life and culture in his music. The works are complex yet accessible, blending classical and traditional music. They sound as American as Aaron Copland, yet as far removed from […]
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Steve Elcock Orchestral Music Vol. 2 maintains quality
To make an impact, always lead with your best material. In the case of a recording series, that can imply that the second (and subsequent) volumes are diminishing returns. Not so with the music of Steve Elcock. Elcock is something of an outsider artist. He’s a self-taught composer who wrote for his own satisfaction. His […]
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Bosphorus Trio showcase Turkish piano trios
In my opinion, the wonderful thing about classical music is its adaptability. Composers from all over the world have used the genre to create music of great beauty and substance. And in the process, bring something of their own culture in the cosmopolitan mix. And how much native music traditions should go into that mix? […]
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Vyacheslav Artyomov: Album XI – must-have for collectors
Tags: Albert Govman, Alexander Oseichuk, Alexander Timochin, Alexei Nbotov, Alexei Semionov, CD Review, Chamber music, Classical music, contemporary classical music, Divine Art, Igor Abramov, Illa Spivak, Karina Lisitsian, Lev Mikhailov, Oleg Tantsov, Piotr Meschaninov, Ruzanna Lisitsian, Sergi Kokhlov, Valery Popov, Vladimir Pakulichev, Vladimir Yeriomin, Vyacheslav Artyomov, Yuri SmirnovThe eleventh entry in Divine Art’s Vyacheslav Artymov series presents an assortment of chamber music. The recordings were made between 1970 and 1981, but many are receiving their first commercial release with Album XI. I’ve often described Artyomov as a crafter of sound clouds. Some of the early works here that aesthetic. The Hymn of […]
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What makes Harold Meltzer – Songs and Structures important
Some recordings are truly important — and I think “Song and Structures” qualifies as one. Every work on this Harold Meltzer album is performed by the artists who premiered them. In some cases, such as the song cycles, Meltzer composed specifically for the voice of the singer. That singer, tenor Paul Appleby also provides the […]
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Torbjörn Iwan Lundquist Symphonic cycle continues
This release is the third recording of Torbjörn Iwan Lundquist symphonies by Sterling, and the fourth overall of his music. The two symphonies here both have unusual origins. Lundquist wrote a work for the Kroumata Percussion Ensemble in 1976. The project inspired him to do something larger, using the ensemble. The result was his eighth […]
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David Monrad Johansen – Norwegian treasure
As I continue to explore the highways and the byways of the classical repertoire, I find that every country has its national treasure. Sometimes, as with Antonin Dvorak, that treasure is shared with the world. Norway’s treasure, David Monrad Johanson hasn’t been — so far. Johansen is Norwegian, but his taste is cosmopolitan. Mixed in […]