Frederic Rzewski is most celebrated for his virtuosic variations for piano, The People United Will Never Be Defeated! (8.559360). The Four Pieces began as a sequel to that breath-taking work, but whilst sharing certain similarities – Andean dance rhythms and tremendous drama – it occupies its own very distinct sound world, offering a compound of intense lyricism, shattering darkness, and hints of revolutionary fervor. The Housewife’s Lament is a set of variations on an anon. 19th c. tune with strong influences of Beethoven. The punning title Hard Cuts refers to cuts both budgetary and musical, and Rzewski’s signature elements appear throughout: folk rhythms, pointillist clarity, minimalism, and unique craftsmanship.

Ives Lincoln the great commoner, gould Lincoln legend, harris abraham Lincoln walks at midnight, bacon ford's theatre, copland Lincoln portrait, McKay to a liberator, turok variations on an American song: aspects of Lincoln and liberty, persichetti a Lincoln address.

Peter Scott Lewis is based in San Francisco, and his deeply expressive music is much in demand across the world. Performed here by renowned artists, The Four Cycles collects his complete vocal music to date. Where the Heart Is Pure depicts the natural world around the Skagit River in Washington State where the poet Robert Sund, a close friend of the composer, made his home. Themes of light and love are embraced by the rich sonorities of a vocal quartet, while the Three Songs From Ish River examine the history of the Pacific Northwest.

For all Charles Wuorinen' longstanding reputation as a modernist, his musical career has more in common with those of Brahms and Beethoven than with any contemporary model.

Although he is a prolific composer of operas, symphonies and concertos, songs lie at the core of Daron Hagen’s output. With over 350 published art songs, he has embraced and extended the great lineage of American song exemplified by Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein and Ned Rorem, and is now considered one of the foremost twenty-first century composers for the voice. The meticulously crafted and wholly idiomatic examples included here have been recorded under the composer’s supervision with his chosen performers, members of Lyric Fest, Philadelphia’s renowned song series.

More spare, yielding chamber music is found on the new Naxos disc. The 2005 Mosaic is Carter at his most inviting, in a program showing how even his minor works have a strong reason for existence. That disc comes with a bonus DVD documentary on the composer, not the best ever made, but at least providing face time with a composer who is as congenial as he is great.

Winner of the coveted 2002 Grawemeyer Award and one of the youngest composers ever to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize, Aaron Jay Kernis is among the most distinguished musical figures of his generation. Conceived as a concerto for toy piano and orchestra, and with touches of Indonesian gamelan, French lyricism and jazz, Three Flavors appears here in it's final version, adapted by soloist and long- term collaborator Andrew Russo. Commissioned for renowned violinist James Ehnes, the introspective Two Movements (with Bells) is a memorial to the composer's father with echoes of blues singing and improvisatory impetuousness, while the virtuoso Superstar Etude No. 3 is his homage to Gershwin and the blues. The Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960) studied composition with American heavyweights John Adams, Jacob Druckman, Morton Subotnik and Charles Wuorinen. He has developed a truly eclectic musical language over time, initially rigorous but evolving toward a new transparency and emotional eloquence. He incorporates influences of Latin rhythms, jazz and rap into his work as willingly as the harmonic worlds of the Romantic masters, the Renaissance and Hildegard von Bingen.

Armida was composed as a vehicle for the legendary soprano Isabella Colbran – Rossini’s lover at the time. She changed the composer’s view of what was possible with bel canto – her dynamic force inspiring Rossini’s dramatic intensity. This acclaimed Rossini in Wildbad performance features soprano Ruth Iniesta in the title role and tenor Michele Angelini as the heroic Rinaldo.

Albert Roussel’s chamber works are relatively unknown, yet he composed a significant body of masterful works. The majestic Violin Sonata No. 1 and the dynamic neo-Classical Violin Sonata No. 2 are coupled with the String Trio, Roussel’s last completed work. Violinist David Bowlin and pianist Tony Cho are both highly regarded soloists and faculty members of Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, where the album was recorded.

REVIEW:

All three chamber music works are characterized by skillful craftsmanship. The First Sonata is the most extensive of all Roussel's chamber music works and is markedly serious. The Second Violin Sonata is only about half as long, but just as determined. The String Trio, his last completed work, is a striking example of his late style.

The musicians offer the works with an extremely positive commitment that immediately engages the listener. Each of the three pieces has its own character that makes it unmistakable and the performers bring this out skillfully. They form lively narratives in tones that breathe life into the largely unknown in a delightful way. In terms of design, they explore the music in all directions and know how to integrate the details into the overall picture, creating a cohesive form from the first to the last note. We can be grateful that they have taken on the works in such a convincing way.

-- Pizzicato

Volume 62 of the Liszt Complete Piano Music Series focuses on transcriptions of religious works by Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, von Goldschmidt, and Liszt himself. Prize-winning pianist Martin Cousin returns to the series (he is the pianist on Volume 61 / 8.574545) for this selection of spiritual and mystical pieces.

German-American composer Lukas Foss transformed the Buffalo Philharmonic into an adventurous and world-renowned orchestra during his tenure as music director, and he was a mentor to the orchestra’s current music director, JoAnn Falletta, at the start of her career. This album celebrates the 100th anniversary of Foss’s birth with four works, including the lyrical Symphony No. 1 and the Renaissance Concerto.

REVIEW:

Foss's music is much like the man, full of charm, brilliance, playfulness, deep seriousness, and bewildering variety. This resonant, well-filled recording gives us three early works from the 1940s, with colorful solo playing by flautist Amy Porter and violinist Nikki Chooi. The Ode, an expression of grief and admiration for men who died in World War II, begins with a funereal tread but builds in excitement, with a soaring climax showing off the excellent Buffalo brass and ending on a serene major chord.

A delightful contrast is The Renaissance Concerto, a neo-baroque piece based partly on Rameau and Monteverdi. The Three American Pieces, influenced by what Foss calls the “open-air” sound of Copland, display Foss’s lyricism and fondness for jazzy syncopation. The latter also erupts in the scherzo of his Symphony 1, which is based on classical form and has a satisfying symmetry. The finale, which exudes youthful confidence and optimism, revisits motifs from the opening movement, launches an exciting fugue for strings, and builds to a majestic culmination on an ecstatic major chord, ending a winning album with a bang.

— American Record Guide

"Heiko Quinto" is the sixth album release on Naxos by the award-winning composer Daron Hagen. Composed for Duo YUMENO, the piece is based on the Japanese medieval text "The Tale of the Heike." Scored for Japanese koto, cello, and two voices, the work presents a compelling and expressive narrative. World premiere recording.

Meyerbeer completed L’Africaine on the day he died and after he had changed its title to Vasco da Gama. A performing version was prepared for the premiere under its original title after the composer’s death but the new critical edition of the score recorded here reflects Meyerbeer’s original intentions. This Oper Frankfurt production features tenor Michael Spyres in the principal role, conducted by Antonello Manacorda.

This latest instalment in the Great Composers series focuses on the life and times of Richard Wagner. Written by Davinia Caddy, narrated by Nicholas Boulton and featuring excerpts from Wagner’s best-loved operas and more.

Cellist Gerald Peregrine and pianist Antony Ingham are joined by violinist Lynda O’Connor for more poetic 20th-century and traditional miniatures from the British Isles. Includes works that Peregrine presented during his more than 2,000 ‘Covid Care Concerts’ performed at health care settings during the pandemic. Volume 1 can be heard on 8.574035.