MUCZYNSKI: (arr. Kynaston) Saxophone Concerto; HEIDEN: Fantasia Concertante. Diversion; Arrangements of music by GERSHWIN, BRUCH, PUCCINI, and MASSENET.

wswebmaster on November 18, 2018

MUCZYNSKI (arr. Kynaston)  Saxophone Concerto.  HEIDEN  Fantasia Concertante.  Diversion  – Eugene Rousseau (sax); Frederick Fennell, cond; Winds of Indiana – DELOS DE 3188 (71:28) GERSHWIN (arr. R. Hermann)  Porgy and Bess Medley.  BRUCH (arr. Kimura)  Kol Nidre.  PUCCINI (arr. R. Hermann)  Tosca Fantasy.  MASSENET (arr. Curnow)  Thais: Meditation This is an attractive showcase for the artistry of Eugene Rousseau, one …

MUCZYNSKI: Symphonic Dialogues. GRIFFES: Three Poems of McCloud. BRANDON: Celebration Overture. OSBON: Liberty. KLESSIG: Don Juan: Meditation. LAMB J.B. II. FELCIANO: Overture Concertante

wswebmaster on November 18, 2018

MUCZYNSKI Symphonic Dialogues. GRIFFES Three Poems of Fiona McCloud1. BRANDON Celebration Overture. OSBON Liberty. KLESSIG Don Juan: Meditation. LAMB J.B. II. FELCIANO Overture Concertante – Paul Freeman, cond; Czech National SO; Louise Toppin (sop); Jean-Michel Bertelli (cl) – ALBANY TROY-322 (62:58) This recent release is a rather odd grab-bag of styles and periods in American music, from …

MCCARTNEY: Standing Stone

wswebmaster on November 18, 2018

MCCARTNEY  Standing Stone – Lawrence Foster, cond; London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra – EMI CLASSICS 7243 5 56484 2 6 (76:45) Here it is–the “classical” music mega-event of Winter, 1997-98: Paul McCartney’s four-movement “symphonic poem,” Standing Stone. Four years (1993-97) in composition, with the …

LEES: Piano Sonata No. 4. Fantasy Variations. Mirrors

wswebmaster on November 18, 2018

LEES  Piano Sonata No. 4.  Fantasy Variations.  Mirrors · Ian Hobson (pn) ·ALBANY TROY-227 (65:15) I recently (Fanfare 20:5, pp. 179-80)reviewed a disc (Albany TROY-138) featuring Benjamin Lees’s three violin sonatas.  There I expressed a certain ambivalence about the composer, asserting that he “has written some truly fine, …

LEES: Symphony No. 4, “Memorial Candles”

wswebmaster on November 17, 2018

LEES Symphony No. 4, “Memorial Candles” – Theodor Kuchar, cond; National SO of the Ukraine; Kimball Wheeler (mez); James Buswell (vn) – NAXOS 8.559002 (61:42) Naxos continues its ambitious and promising “American Classics” series with a new release devoted entirely to Benjamin …

KHRENNIKOV: Napoleon Bonaparte (Ballet)

wswebmaster on November 17, 2018

KHRENNIKOV Napoleon Bonaparte (Ballet) – Pavel Ovsyannikov, cond; Presidential Orchestra of the Russian Federation – RUSSIAN DISC  10 070 (69:08) For many years Tikhon Khrennikov was known in the West only as First Secretary of the Composers Union under Joseph Stalin, a position for which he …