Benjamin: A Mind Of Winter, Etc / Benjamin, Elder, Et Al
George Benjamin is a contemporary composer known best among small circles, but with a loyal international following. This recording contains five of his pieces, and they share a common style. Benjamin treats a composition as a landscape: a kind of blank, rolling panorama onto which he affixes musical ideas. His sound is very textured and evocative. 'Ringed by the Flat Horizon,' for example, portrays a storm that overtakes a vast open space. The music begins ominously and contains a variety of created sound effects along with rapid fire crescendos into huge orchestral crashes. 'A Mind In Winter' is contrarily a setting of "The Snowman" (a poem by Wallace Stevens), and yet is built upon the same sort of abstract picture-building and sweeping evocative gestures for the voice. Benjamin's vocabulary is developed from the modern schools of atonality, and his teacher Messiaen is a clear and strong influence on his work. For those attracted to the modern schools of classical composition, they will find a great many layers to be unveiled in this recording.
Product Description:
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Catalog Number: NI5643
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UPC: 710357564321
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Label: Nimbus
Composer: George Benjamin
Conductor: George Benjamin, Mark Elder
Orchestra/Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta
Performer: Gareth Hulse, Ishiro Nodaira, Paul Archibald, Penelope Walmsley-Clark, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Richard Blake, Ross Pople, Sebastian Bell
Works:
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A Mind of Winter
Composer: George Benjamin
Ensemble: London Sinfonietta
Performer: Paul Archibald (Piccolo Trumpet), Penelope Walmsley-Clark (Soprano)
Conductor: Mark Elder
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Ringed by the Flat Horizon
Composer: George Benjamin
Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra
Performer: Ross Pople (Cello)
Conductor: Mark Elder
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At First Light
Composer: George Benjamin
Ensemble: London Sinfonietta
Performer: Gareth Hulse (Oboe)
Conductor: George Benjamin
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Panorama
Composer: George Benjamin
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Antara
Composer: George Benjamin
Ensemble: London Sinfonietta
Performer: Pierre-Laurent Aimard (Keyboard), Sebastian Bell (Flute), Richard Blake (Flute), Ishiro Nodaira (Keyboard)
Conductor: George Benjamin