Violinist Augustin Hadelich embarks on an American Road Trip, travelling the musical highways and by ways of his adoptive homeland in the company of pianist Orion Weiss. The duo perform works by a melting pot of American composers, writing in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries and drawing on a diversity of idioms, influences and inspirations... from European Romanticism to revivalist hymns; from blues and jazz to bluegrass; from the banjo and ukulele to Jimi Hendrix's guitar, and from a little Mexican star to exquisite Japanese carvings. Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ives and John Adams take their place beside Amy Beach, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Eddie South, Howdy Forrester, Manuel M. Ponce and - flying the flag for today's composers along with Adams - Daniel Bernard Roumain and Stephen Hartke. Augustin Hadelich, born in Italy to German parents, moved to the USA at the age of 19 to study at New York's Juilliard School and became an American citizen in 2014. In the words of The Strad magazine, "Hadelich's playing brings together the best qualities of both American and European playing: passion, Polish and coherence, but also thoughtfulness, expressivity and nuance."

A unique collection of American romantic piano music, written largely in the last third of the 19th century, by Foote, Whiting, Paine, Chadwick and Nevin. In a period where in Europe piano music was in the hands of towering virtuosos like Liszt, Anton Rubinstein and later Rachmaninoff, the American scene was notably less tormented, focusing on tone painting idyllic landscapes, rural scenes and charming dance forms. These genre pieces share the same delightful characteristics as their European pendants by Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Grieg, Gade, Sinding and others. Young pianist Artem Belogurov (born in Latvia, grew up in Odessa/Ukraine and now lives in Boston) is a former student of Peter Serkin. For this recording he plays a beautiful period instrument, a 1873 Chickering piano. Chickering was one of the most respected and successful piano builders of the 19th century; Hans von B�low premiered Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto in Boston on a Chickering, and Franz Liszt owned two of their instruments. The booklet contains extensive liner notes on the music and composers, an artist biography and information and photos of the instrument.

Initiated by Hunter College’s conductor Reuben Blundell, this project features premiere recordings of turn of the century works for string orchestra. The works included on this album are by composers such as Carl Busch, Horatio Parker, Arthur Foote, and many more. Reuben Blundell conducts the Gowanus Arts Ensemble for this recording.

“American Romantics III” is the third volume in a project initiated by conductor Reuben Blundell after he discovered several scores of previously unrecorded works by 19th century American composers through the Fleischer Collection. The composers represented were either native born or recently immigrated. Blundell leads the Philadelphia area Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra on this recording of premieres, some of which draw on Americana melodies while others reflect the prevailing Central European compositional style of the day. The Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1946 to provide music for the First Presbyterian Church of Lansdowne. By 1951 the orchestra had become Lansdowne’s community orchestra. One of the most distinguished community orchestras in the world, the LSO performs a regular season of five concerts at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center, and other various projects. Led by its sixth music director, Reuben Blundell, the orchestra continues its traditions of musical excellence, service to the community, and promotion of area talent.

“American Romantics II” is the second volume in a project initiated by conductor Reuben Blundell after he discovered several scores for string orchestra through the Fleischer Collection. These scores were all written by American composers during the last decades of the 19th century, both native born and recently immigrated. "American Romantics" presents the premiere recordings of these pieces, some of which draw on Americana melodies while others reflect the prevailing Central European compositional style of the day. Blundell’s recent release, “American Romantics, Volume I,” with the Gowanus Arts Ensemble, received glowing reviews, including Gramophone Magazine, and American Record Guide: “I was completely mesmerized by this lovely recording, one of the best I’ve heard in some time.” The album continues to be played regularly on WQXR and other stations across the US. He is a voting member of The Recording Academy (responsible for the GRAMMY Awards).

AMERICAN SALUTE

“AMERICAN SOUL: from Broadway to Paris” is the title of Duo Rosa’s second opus, featuring art songs, Broadway melodies and cabaret tunes. In this new project, the two musicians maintain a concept that was one of the keys to the previous album’s success: a blend of classical and popular music in a varied, accessible programme that pleases audiences of all ages, regardless of whether they are classical music lovers or not. Concertgoers were mesmerized by the energy exuded by Duo Rosa on their first tour — Return World Tour — and by the theatrical effects with which they infused classical melodies and Latin American popular songs. Thus it is only natural that they would now turn to North American repertoire, in all its flamboyance, to present a recital brimming with emotions: happiness, nostalgia, humour, sadness…and many other surprises! To grasp the audience’s attention and hold them spellbound, the duo has selected a series of highly popular songs combined with less well-known classical melodies. They perform famous Broadway tunes such as I feel pretty and Somewhere by Bernstein from West Side Story, or Gershwin songs including The man I love and I got rhythm from An American in Paris. The cabaret genre is likewise present, with numbers by Kurt Weill (Buddy on the nightshift and Je ne t’aime pas) and William Bolcom’s humorous Amor. Léna Kollmeier also displays her skill as a solo pianist in two attractive, demanding pieces filled with imagery.

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Anthony McGill, New York Philharmonic principal clarinet and 2020 Avery Fisher Prize winner, and the multiple Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet join forces on an album illuminating the diversity of the American experience through works by Richard Danielpour, James Lee III, Ben Shirley (all three world-premiere recordings), and Valerie Coleman. McGill describes it as a project driven by the desire to “expand the capacity for art and music to change the world.” Clarinetist McGill and the Pacific Quartet’s previous collaboration on Cedille Records, Mozart & Brahms Clarinet Quintets, garnered widespread critical acclaim and continues to be a staple of classical radio programming. “The pure, gorgeous tone and expressive musicianship of the clarinetist Anthony McGill meshes with the talents of the excellent Pacifica Quartet for thoroughly enjoyable readings” (The New York Times).

REVIEWS:

The stories in question here are wide-ranging, often concerned with issues of social justice and racial intolerance which, however noble in concept, can’t really be expressed in absolute musical terms–never mind as works for clarinet and string quartet. Fortunately the music works perfectly well on its own, and it’s stunningly played and recorded, so you can either ignore the externals entirely or take them for what they’re worth.

Richard Danielpour is a composer whose ambition often exceeds his grasp, never mind his titles, but Four Angels is a sensitive, single-movement piece that would have been better had it simply been called “Elegy for Clarinet and String Quartet,” or words to that effect. James Lee III’s Quintet makes reference to Native American music and history in its four concise movements, which you may or may not notice and which makes little difference one way or the other. The music is fresh, appealing, and extremely well-crafted. Ben Shirley’s High Sierra Sonata does exactly what its title suggests: this is music about nature, wide-open spaces, and interior reflection. Heard in the context of the program as a whole, it constitutes a moment of relative repose, even though it has a central movement marked “Angry Secrets.”

Last, but certainly not least, Valerie Coleman’s “Shotgun Houses” is the first in a triptych of works inspired by the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali. Its third movement, “Rome 1960” features a musical boxing match, no less, and does it rather well. Again, it’s not really necessary to know any of this to enjoy the music, and Coleman deserves credit for avoiding any suggestion of parody or silliness. Of course, much of the credit for the success of this program belongs to the performers. McGill, with his colorful range of timbres and effortless virtuosity, brings his instrument to life in the most expressively direct way, while the Pacifica Quartet plays as well as any chamber group active today. Cedille’s sonics are positively luminous, and every work (Coleman’s aside) is a world premiere recording. In short, a remarkable achievement by all concerned.

-- ClassicsToday.com (10/10; David Hurwitz)

Here is an interesting album of contemporary American music played by veteran clarinetist Anthony McGill, who has worked as a soloist with various American orchestras as well as being an active chamber musician. He is paired on this album by the well-known Pacifica Quartet.

First up is the best-known composer of the four, Richard Danielpour, who tends to write in a tonal, accessible style yet who always seems to include in that music elements of subtle yet advanced harmonies to make it interesting. Four Angels, composed specifically for McGill and the Catalyst Quartet, is no exception: a lyrical, melodic theme that suddenly morphs a couple of minutes into the piece as edgier harmonies and rhythms suddenly erupt. Yet the music always seems to return to its lyrical roots as it continues to develop.

I was not previously familiar with James Lee III (b. 1973), who studied both composition and conducting. Lee’s music is rather interesting, using unusual rhythmic and harmonic figures including a fair amount of syncopation (but not really jazz syncopation). It is a joyous work in the end, but in a quirky, irregular meter as if danced by someone with wobbly legs!

Shotgun Houses by Valerie Coleman, another composer I was not previously familiar with, is described as the first of “three installments that celebrate the life of Muhammad Ali. The three movements, titled “ShotGun Houses,” “Grand Ave.” and “Rome 1960” refer to places and incidents in his early life. Coleman’s music...struck me as some of the most creative in the entire album—creative in the sense that it sounded much more the product of inspiration and not merely working out themes in one’s mind. Coleman captures her moods as well as Danielpour and Lee, but the musical progression is more varied and unusual. It’s quite an inventive as well as a thrilling piece!

This, then, is a very nice album, the kind one can use to take a mental break from the more convoluted modern music out there. McGill has a rich, luscious tone and outstanding musicianship. The sound is also outstanding, giving a bit of natural room reverb to the instruments without having them wallowing in an echo.

-- The Art Music Lounge (Lynn René Bayley)

The Bergmann Duo is made up of pianists Marcel and Elizabeth Bergmann. “Always adventurous, the married couple combines virtuosic dedication with the instincts of professional entertainers who love their music.” (Showtime Magazine) Performing works by Chick Corea, Leonard Bernstein, Pat Metheny, and other American composers, Michael Bergmann has arranged all of these works for he and his wife specifically. This release is a wonderful example of the duo’s continuously evolving musical dialogue, reflecting upon the passion the group has for jazz and improvisation.

Classical Music

When American composers began writing symphonies around the mid-1800s, their works were very much in the European tradition. During the first half of the 20th century, the great innovator Charles Ives injected a recognizably American sound into the genre, however, and since then the American symphonic legacy has been both wide and varied. With the present release, conductor Lance Friedel strikes a blow for three fellow American composers, with the help of the eminent London Symphony Orchestra. The album opens with Walter Piston’s Symphony No. 6. It was completed in 1955, by which time many regarded Piston (1894–1976) as clinging to tradition in the face of modernism. When Samuel Jones (b.1935) presented his Third Symphony ‘Palo Duro Canyon’ in 1992, the pendulum was swinging back, however, and traditional music built of melody, harmony and rhythm was no longer considered hopelessly outdated. The work nevertheless begins in a rather non-traditional fashion with the recorded sound of the wind of the Texas plains, where the Palo Duro Canyon is situated. Jones’s slightly younger colleague Stephen Albert (1941–92) was just completing his Second Symphony when he was killed in a car accident. The work had been commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, and the orchestration of it was completed by Albert’s colleague and friend Sebastian Currier.

REVIEW:

Maine-born Walter Piston’s Symphony No. 6 was written for Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony, who premièred it in 1955. The somewhat mournful start to the first movement, marked Fluendo espressivo, soon gives way to a lighter tread. One senses a degree of formal rigour in the writing, but it’s all clad in colorful raiment. The LSO play with their usual skill, the jaunty, ear-catching scherzo so nimbly done. The deeply reflective adagio is well shaped and projected, the quietest moments—and that gorgeous harp—unerringly caught. It’s capped by a fresh, freewheeling finale, witty and warm. One to add to my roster of recent ‘finds’.

Mississippian Samuel Jones seems to have a three-pronged career, as a composer, conductor and pedagogue. His small discography includes a Schwarz/Seattle recording of the Third Symphony and Tuba Concerto, which Bob Briggs and Rob Barnett both reviewed in 2009. As the title implies, the symphony is inspired by Palo Duro Canyon, near Amarillo, Texas. In six continuous movements—helpfully cued in this release—it begins with highly atmospheric wind sounds that morph into music of uncommon thrust and thrill. Yes, the work’s traditional in the sense that it’s straightforwardly programmatic, but there’s a strength and consistency of imagination here that makes for a gripping listen.

Like an Ansel Adams landscape, Jones’s striking piece presents nature in all its raw inspiring beauty. Pursuing the photographic connection, Friedel displays a keen eye for outlines and contrast, the resulting ‘image’ intuitively—and dramatically—framed. The playing is rich and full bodied, especially in those broad, craggy perorations; it helps that engineer Fabian Frank gives the orchestra all the space they need. What a pleasure it is to hear the LSO out in the open as it were, and not constrained by the acoustic limitations of their usual venue. I simply can’t imagine the symphony’s splendid tuttis expanding in that hall with anything like the ease or tactility that they do in this one. All of which makes this another ‘find’.

New Yorker Stephen Albert’s Symphony No. 2 was unfinished at the time of his death in 1992. Orchestrated by the composer and pedagogue Sebastian Currier, the work has a brooding, rather Sibelian first movement. And while the writing isn’t as explicit or as extrovert as that of the other pieces here—textures are denser, colors more subtle—it’s not without spikes of excitement. The expansive climax at the end of the first movement is particularly impressive. The middle movement is both animated and colorful, its internal conversations and asides a delight. The finale, more equivocal, reveals a fine orchestral blend, beautifully caught by this very truthful and transparent recording. So yes, another ‘find’. (Good notes by Friedel, too.)

-- MusicWeb International

American Tapestry by the Calidore String Quartet weaves together a panoramic portrait of American musical expression across the 20th and 21st centuries. The programme spans Samuel Barber's lyrical String Quartet No. 1, featuring the iconic Adagio; Wynton Marsalis's jazz-inflected At the Octoroon Balls; and John Williams's With Malice Toward None-here in it's world premiere string quartet version. The album concludes with Erich Korngold's radiant String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, written in postwar Los Angeles. Together, these works reveal a vibrant continuum of American artistry-a sound world both richly diverse and deeply unified in spirit.

Excellent program serves as recording debut of a new wind band.

The excellent Wind Band Classics series from Naxos continues here with the recording debut of the Lone Star Wind Orchestra, under the baton of Eugene Corporon, best known for his work at the University of North Texas. This recording could have been titled “American Optimist” or something similar, as the excellent program is dominated by cheery major-key music, balancing shorter and longer works in an excellent flow. Indeed, the selection and pacing of repertoire is one of the highlights of the disc.

Among the older pieces, the Hanson is the least likely to be familiar to band aficionados, and the band’s performance of this work is possibly the finest on the disc. It’s thoroughly convincing, and rewards repeated listens.

Donald Hunsberger’s arrangement of the Gershwin is excellent, and the piece is a natural for winds. There weren’t many places where I really missed the strings, though the arrangement does highlight some aspects of the score which tend to get buried in other recordings, lending the performance a unique sound. Overall, the interpretation is slower and more leisurely than other performances I’m familiar with. In the light of so many other excellent available recordings, I can’t see myself returning to this performance too often – it’s more of a curiosity than anything else, though not without merit.

Steven Bryant’s “Radiant Joy” struck me as the most successful of the newer repertoire; an accessible piece in the post-John Adams mold which somehow manages to feature the hi-hat cymbals without sounding inane. The appeal of the piece is primarily rhythmic, as it owes a clear debt to the complex syncopations of funk or jazz fusion. Catchy melodic ideas and extensive use of some less-common colors (piano, vibraphone, and soprano and baritone saxophones) add to the interest as well.

There are points where I wish the recorded sound was just a bit closer. Some of the vigor of the playing sometimes gets lost, as if the band is coming from a bit too far of a distance, especially on the Bennett. However it’s a subtle complaint, and the overall balance is excellent, including on the Gershwin.

The occasional discrepancies in intonation or ensemble are so minimal that only the most critical ear would know from the aural evidence that this is an all-volunteer ensemble. Their accomplishment is completely stunning when you keep that in mind. I look forward to hearing more from this group, which had only been together for a year when this recording was made.

Benn Martin, MusicWeb International

Classical Music

Classical Music

The unique qualities of the American trumpet tradition are celebrated in this wide-ranging disc. From the drama of Leo Eylar's dazzling Dance Suite to the wit of William McKinley's Miniature Portraits, virtuosity and brilliance are assured. The two songs from Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd, orchestrated by McKinley with the composer's consent, convey a quality of ardent determination. Jeffrey Silberschlag is the dedicatee of a number of these works and he carries on the illustrious lineage of American trumpeters. He is partnered by Gerard Schwarz, himself one of the great trumpeters of his generation, before turning to conducting.

Drawing from influences as disparate as the blues, jazz, Broadway, gospel, folksong and the wild west, the 'American vignettes' in this album merge popular idioms into a new canon of the repertoire for cello and piano, in a series of musical snapshots that are as varied as the men and women who composed them and yet all remain quintessentially American in spirit. The distinctive voices of six US composers, from the late twentieth and early 21st centuries, here come together to weave a virtuosic and colourful tapestry of Americana.

It's entirely possible that Cathy Basrak's name is unfamiliar; after all, there are very few violists from any age who have reached any plausible level of stardom (and I'm not even going to begin repeating any one of the vast number of viola jokes that make the rounds). In this instance, the ignominy of Basrak's fine instrument is completely baseless. She possesses a luminous, rounded tone and she is nimble and responsive in even the most technically trying passages. We're told that, having won numerous competitions and having performed as a soloist with Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia, among other orchestras, the 24-year-old Basrak currently holds the assistant principal chair in the BSO. I'm positive that a bright future awaits her, judging solely by the merits of this recording.

Aside from her considerable technical prowess, Basrak has thoughtfully assembled an intriguing and decidedly eclectic program. There is a trio of works from the 1940s to consider: Frederick Jacobi's muscular Fantasy for Viola and Piano; Alan Shulman's Theme and Variations, something of a standard in the scanty viola repertoire; and Quincy Porter's Speed Etude, an exhilarating ride for the soloist, dappled by radiant piano accompaniment. Two works from much later dates round out the disc. George Rochberg's 1979 sonata features a strikingly dark and moody Adagio lamentoso, and Lowell Liebermann's vividly colored sonata from 1984 is a recording premiere. The sound is rich and full, with excellent balance between Basrak and her two pianists, William Koehler (who appears on the Jacobi and Liebermann) and Robert Koenig (featured on every other work). [12/26/2001]
--Anastasia Tsioulcas, ClassicsToday.com

Violinist Rolf Schulte presents a program of great American violin works composed between 1947 and 2000. He is joined in two of them by pianist Ursula Oppens.

Includes work(s) by various composers, Henry Thacker Burleigh, Henry Holden Huss. Soloists: Rachel Barton Pine, Matthew Hagle.

Gramophone (UK):�A wonderful release that launches Berl Senofsky into the heady realms of collectable violin virtuosos.

This eclectic album includes works by Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Kris Becker, Rogers and Hammerstein, and more. The works included on this release all focus on American compositional vision. The pieces are recorded by pianist Ian Gindes.

REVIEWS:
American Record Guide (11-12/97, p.226) - "...Of the nine individual visions, the most rousing, rich, and flavorful are by Copland, Bernstein, Nelson, and McDonald. These are full of the zest, the tang and feel of the regions depicted....[Keith Lockhart's] work is deft, vigorous, and joyous. It is basically a lovely and loving portrait he has assembled, well crafted, well played, and well recorded."

The Concordia String Trio explores and expands the eclectic repertoire of an under-appreciated genre - the string trio. This versatile ensemble has built a reputation for it's exciting performances and innovative programs, juxtaposing pieces from the standard string trio repertoire with new compositions and little-known works of great composers. On this release, the Concordia String Trio performs a program of great American works for String Trio, including works by Walter Piston, Alan Hovhaness, Leonard Mark Lewis, John Harbison, Henry Cowell, and David Colson. The trio is made up of Marcia Henry Liebenow, concertmaster of the Peoria Symphony Orchestra and professor at Bradley University, Leslie Perna, respected artist and teacher, and Karen Becker, active soloist and avid chamber and orchestral player.

Continuing their ongoing series with Resonus Classics, the Saint Thomas Choir of Men & Boys, Fifth Avenue, New York, and conductor John Scott release an album of celebrated as well as more recent American choral music. Featuring music from the last seven decades, this engrossing recording celebrates the very best of American choral works with music from Leonard Bernstein, Randall Thompson, Aaron Copland, Nico Muhly, Samuel Barber, Daniel Castellanos, Ned Rorem, and former Saint Thomas music director Gerre Hancock. World premiere recordings from Muhly (Bright Mass with Canons) and Daniel Castellanos (Eternal Light) are featured on this release. The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys is considered by many to be the leading ensemble of its kind in the Anglican choral tradition in the United States. The Choir performs regularly with Orchestra of St. Luke’s or with the period instrument ensemble, Concert Royal, as part of its own concert series. Its primary raison d’etre, however, is to provide music for five choral services each week. Live webcasts of all choral services and further information including recordings can be found at www.SaintThomasChurch.org.

Classical Music

The multiple Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet continues its highly acclaimed recording series that explores the sounds of America with an album comprising string quartets incorporating elements of American folk music and spirituals by Anton Dvořák, Florence Price, and Louis Gruenberg, plus a new work by James Lee III.

Praised by The Telegraph as "nothing short of phenomenal,” Pacifica is known for its “remarkable expressive range and tonal beauty” (New York Times). With a career spanning nearly three decades, Pacifica has established itself as the embodiment of the senior American quartet sound.

Dvořák's String Quartet in F Major, Op. 96, “American” draws influence from the colorful sonic world of his American experiences; from the American spiritual, indigenous folk songs, to sounds evocative of American songbirds and rhythms reminiscent of American trains.

Florence Price was inspired by Dvořák's focus on American folk music in his “New World” Symphony, and while her String Quartet No. 1 in G Major does not explicitly reference specific folk influences, the origins for many of her original melodies and musical colors can be traced directly to the folk songs that she heard in her native Little Rock, Arkansas.

Louis Gruenberg, influenced by his time as a student in New York City when Dvořák served as director of the National Conservatory, wrote Four Diversions for String Quartet, Op. 32 infusing the traditional string quartet with the quintessential sounds and style of Prohibition-era America.

Praised by The Washington Post for his “bright, pure music,” James Lee III’s Pitch In for quartet and children’s choir — receiving its world premiere recording — features Chicago’s Uniting Voices conducted by Josephine Lee. The work incorporates American folk motifs and pentatonic scales echoing the essence of American Spirituals and Dvořák’s "American" Quartet; Pitch In is set to Sylvia Dianne Beverly's poem of the same title that addresses global poverty and food insecurity.

REVIEW:

American Voices, Pacifica Quartet’s fourteenth recording for Cedille Records, upholds the high standard of its 2021 Grammy Award-winning Contemporary Voices. With respect to set-list, violinists Simin Ganatra and Austin Hartman, violist Mark Holloway, and cellist Brandon Vamos have made a wise choice in augmenting works by Antonín Dvorák, Florence Price, and Louis Gruenberg with a thought-provoking new one by James Lee III. Melody factors heavily when the string quartets integrate elements of American folk music and spirituals into their frameworks, the result a recording of strong and immediate appeal. Even Lee III’s Pitch In, scored for quartet and children’s choir, includes an earnestly intoned theme, “People are hungry, yet people continue to waste food,” that stays with you long after the album ends. Any group that celebrates its thirtieth anniversary by forging boldly into the future with exciting new projects and partnerships is clearly not suffering from creative exhaustion.

— Textura

After four volumes exploring 20th century British works for cello and piano, the Watkins brothers come together again turning their attention across the Atlantic ocean and the American contribution to this repertoire spanning four decades of seminal compositional activity in the United States. The inspired performances of the Welsh sibling duo, both highly acclaimed in their musical endeavors further illustrate the confluence of the unique American influences with the development of early 20th century classical repertoire.

This new release is the first recording to feature the Casavant Frères organ built during the early 1990s for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Orchestra Hall. The beautifully produced recording highlights four substantial and worthwhile American works written between 1943 and 1990, in brilliant performances by organist David Schrader with the Grant Park Orchestra (which offers summer concerts in Chicago), conducted by the Uruguayan-born, Viennese-trained Carlos Kalmar. Hence, this disc will be of great interest to aficionados of organ music, as well as to those with a special interest in American music or in these four Pulitzer Prize-winning composers.

Samuel Barber’s Toccata festiva was composed in 1960 to commemorate the installation of a new organ donated by Mary Curtis Bok Zimbalist to Philadelphia’s Academy of Music. (At a cost of $150,000, the Aeolian-Skinner was the largest movable pipe organ in the world at the time.) Her gift also included the commissioning of a celebratory piece of music for the occasion. Barber’s Toccata is one of his very few works that have the ring of a “potboiler” (although, in fact, Barber declined the fee offered by his devoted, long-time patron). That is, its fabrication of hearty good cheer seems a tad forced, as it works through material strongly reminiscent of previous successes, most notably, Knoxville (the justly beloved vocal work whose deeply reflective nostalgia is almost diametrically opposed to the extroverted character of this showpiece). Nevertheless, Barber’s workmanship was never less than meticulous, and the resulting composition fulfills its requirements with impeccable panache. As fine as this performance and recording may be, however, those listeners whose interest is limited to the Barber will probably be happier with the original recording that featured E. Power Biggs with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Ormandy. I believe that this rendition is still available on an all-Barber CD reissue.

Speaking of Biggs, Walter Piston’s Prelude and Allegro was commissioned in 1943 by the esteemed organist for one of his weekly radio broadcasts. The Prelude offers a warmly expressive, long-lined polyphony that calls Barber’s own style to mind; the Allegro cuts less deeply than the opening, and displays the briskly vigorous, syncopated counterpoint generally associated with its composer.

The music of Leo Sowerby (1895–1968), a prolific composer based for many years in Chicago, has never gained a strong foothold with the listening public, although there have been recent efforts to prompt a reconsideration of his output. From my perspective, Sowerby’s music, like that of many mid-Western composers, suffers from a neutrality of affect, untroubled by either spiritual or emotional conflict. This 18-minute Concertpiece, dating from 1951, is representative of such a characterization: a robust, full-throated fantasia-like piece that falls loosely into three sections. Simple modal thematic material is developed into rather elaborate, chromatic textures. Post-Romantic in its musical language, but abstract in structure, the work is unavoidably comparable to Howard Hanson’s Concerto for Organ, Harp, and Strings, completed just ten years earlier. The works cover very similar terrain, expressively and stylistically, although Hanson’s offers a stronger personal profile.

The most recent composition is Snow Walker, written in 1990 by Michael Colgrass. Colgrass, who turned seventy this year, lived for some time among the Inuit in northern Canada. “Snow Walker” is apparently an Inuit image that represents death and resurrection. In five movements, this 22-minute work was inspired by Inuit mythology and by the composer’s impressions of the Arctic. Like much music of the 1990s, Snow Walker is oriented around gesture and sonority, rather than by the dynamics of harmonic melody, meter, or tonality. For me, a little of this sort of thing goes a long way; each time I listened to the piece, my interest had waned by the fourth section. (Actually, I suspect that Colgrass’s interest waned by the fourth section.) However, the first three sections are quite compelling in their preternatural way. The first movement, “Polar Landscape,” is enormously evocative; the second attempts to simulate a type of Inuit singing that resembles an unearthly sort of laughter; the third, entitled “The Whispering Voices of the Spirits Who Ride with the Lights in the Sky,” is almost terrifying in its eeriness.

In summary, this will be a welcome acquisition for those whose interests embrace this repertoire.

-- Walter Simmons, Fanfare