2004 – Walter Simmons

Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas: A Romantic Opera for the Twenty-First Century

wswebmaster on November 24, 2018

Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas:A Romantic Opera for the Twenty-First Century Classical music has always led a precarious existence in the United States. With historical roots in European aristocracy, it has served as a symbol of wealth and prestige for those …

Picks of the Year: 2004

wswebmaster on November 24, 2018

Another year has gone by, the mainstream classical music world continues to degenerate into terminal fluff, the number of retail stores selling classical recordings continues to dwindle, yet exciting repertoire continues to appear in superb recorded performances in sufficient quantity …

PASATIERI: Letter to Warsaw

wswebmaster on November 24, 2018

PASATIERI Letter to Warsaw • Jane Eaglen (sop); Gerard Schwarz, cond; Music of Remembrance • NAXOS 8.559219 (70:34) For those readers to whom the name of Pasatieri is unfamiliar, let me offer a brief summary: Now in his late 50s, Thomas Pasatieri …

ORBÓN: Three Symphonic Versions. Symphonic Dances. Concerto Grosso

wswebmaster on November 24, 2018

ORBÓN Three Symphonic Versions. Symphonic Dances. Concerto Grosso • Maximiano Valdés, cond; Asturias SO • NAXOS 8.557368 (66:17) Julián Orbón was born in Asturias, Spain, in 1925. His mother died while he was a boy, so Julián and his father—also a …

KURKA: Symphony No. 2. Serenade. Music for Orchestra. Julius Caesar

wswebmaster on November 24, 2018

KURKA Symphony No. 2. Serenade. Music for Orchestra. Julius Caesar • Carlos Kalmar, cond; Grant Park O • CEDILLE CDR-90000 077 (64:00) Well, here we go again: Just a few issues back (Fanfare 27:6) I was reviewing an Albany Symphony miscellany in which …

CORIGLIANO: Symphony No. 2. The Mannheim Rocket

wswebmaster on November 24, 2018

CORIGLIANO Symphony No. 2. The Mannheim Rocket • John Storgårds, cond; Helsinki PO • ONDINE ODE-1039-2 (56:02) John Corigliano has enjoyed one of the most successful careers of any American composer of his generation. Now in his mid 60s, he began more …

BERNSTEIN A Jewish Legacy

wswebmaster on November 24, 2018

BERNSTEIN A JEWISH LEGACY • Various performers • NAXOS 8.559407 (55:47) PSALM 148 (1935). HASHKIVEINU (1945). REENAH (arr. 1947). SIMCHU NA (arr. 1947). YIGDAL (arr. 1949). FOUR SABRAS (c. 1950). SILHOUETTE/GALILEE (1951). ISRAELITE CHORUS (1958). THREE WEDDING DANCES (1960). THE DYBBUK (1974): Invocation and Trance. HALIL (1981). YEVARECHECHA (1986). ARIAS AND BARCAROLLES (1988): Oif Mayn Khas’ne. VAYOMER ELOHIM (c. 1989) This release belongs to Naxos’s American …

BARBER Vanessa

wswebmaster on November 24, 2018

BARBER Vanessa • Gil Rose, cond; Ellen Chickering (Vanessa); Andrea Matthews (Erika); Ray Bauwens (Anatol) et al; National SO of Ukraine • NAXOS 8.669140-41 (2 CDs: 120:59) Samuel Barber’s Vanessa is one of the greatest American operas, and a masterpiece of the …

Program Notes: Psalm 130 By Vittorio Giannini

wswebmaster on November 24, 2018

Program Notes Psalm 130By Vittorio Giannini Vittorio Giannini (1903-1966) was one of the many Italian-American composers who flourished during the 20th century, contributing to a distinguished repertoire shaped along traditional tonal, formal, and developmental lines. However, the extent of Giannini’s …

PANUFNIK Symphony No. 2, “Sinfonia Elegiaca.” Nocturne. Rhapsody

wswebmaster on November 24, 2018

PANUFNIK Symphony No. 2, “Sinfonia Elegiaca.” Nocturne. Rhapsody • Robert Whitney, cond; Louisville O • FIRST EDITION FECD-0017 (51:40) Aficionados of 20th-century music in the United States owe a considerable debt to Robert Whitney and the Louisville Orchestra for their role in …