I first became aware of Robert Simpson through The Symphony. This two-volume work, edited by Simpson, was a collection of essays about the great symphonists and their music. Simpson not only knew how to write about symphonies, he knew how to write them. This release features two of his eleven symphonies, both dating from the 1970s. […]
London Philharmonic Orchestra
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Arnold Rosner Requiem — Timeless
Toccata Classics has done a real service to music with this recording. It’s one of Arnold Rosner’s most substantial works. And, unfortunately, one most likely to only be heard through recording rather than live performances. The Requiem is a massive work. It contemplates death through a variety of traditions: Zen Buddhism, the Jewish Kaddish, the […]
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Arnold Rosner Orchestral Music Vol. 3 – more, please
Toccata Classics continues their exploration of Arnold Rosner’s orchestral music. Volume Three presents three world premiere recordings. Each one a masterwork, and each (in my opinion) deserving more performances. Rosner was fascinated with Medieval and Renaissance music and often used pre-Baroque voice-leading and modal harmonies in his work. The 1978 Nocture is one such example. […]
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Arnold Rosner Orchestral Works, Vol. 2
This installment of Rosner’s orchestral music shows a wide range of emotional expression. The 1976 Five Ko-ans for Orchestra encapsulates the essence of Rosner’s style. The music’s mostly triadic, with chords resolving in delightfully unexpected ways. Rosner incorporated Renaissance modality and late Medieval counterpoint into his music. It’s no accident that the final movement of this work […]
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Barbara Harbach – Portraits in Sound
This volume brings listeners up to date with Barbara Harbach’s symphonic output. It features symphonies No. 7-10, composed between 2014 and 2015. Harbach is an economical symphonist — the works are uniformly short, focused, and efficiently orchestrated. All four symphonies follow a straight-forward 3-movement fast-slow-fast structure. Yet with all these constraints, Harbach shows a great deal […]