Kenneth Fuchs is one of America’s leading composers and his latest collaboration with award-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta and the London Symphony Orchestra – the first...

Kenneth Fuchs is one of America’s leading composers and his latest collaboration with award-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta and the London Symphony Orchestra – the first volume of which (8.559224) was nominated for two GRAMMY® awards – reveals the breadth of his achievement. Atlantic Riband evokes the struggle and ultimate victory of ocean-crossing immigrants to America in an orchestral showpiece of power and splendor. American Rhapsody is a lyrical romance for violin and orchestra, and Divinum Mysterium a single-movement viola concerto rich in expressive tapestry. Concerto Grosso shows Fuchs’s sheer energy, and Discover the Wild is an orchestral overture of lyricism and color. A champion of American music, JoAnn Falletta has presented nearly five hundred works by American composers including over one hundred world premières. Her Naxos recordings include the double Grammy Award winning disc of works by John Corigliano and Grammy nominated discs of works of Tyberg, Dohnányi, Fuchs, Schubert, and Respighi.

REVIEWS:

Fuch’s idiom is a most ingratiating mix of tonal harmonies, interesting sonorities and textures, and colorful writing.

...Atlantic Riband exudes optimism and affirmation of the indomitable human spirit throughout its 13-minute duration, even in its quietest sections. Some of the latter feature a prominent part for the piccolo. It doesn’t require too much imagination to hear the waves, the sea birds, and the gentle rocking of the ship in this work, which would work equally well on the serious concert stage or in a pops concert context.

American Rhapsody is described as a romance for violin and orchestra. This is consequently not a showy display piece, but a gentle exercise with beautiful flowing lines in both the solo instrument and the orchestra. The composer’s mastery of counterpoint is most evident in this work, as the violin soars and sings. The inspiration for the piece came from Fuchs’s own Second String Quartet, but the Rhapsody is not so much a transcription of that work as a continuation of it. The violin part is wide-ranging, with prominence given to the arpeggiated minor 11th chord. Harmonies in the orchestra tend towards pandiatonicism, and the piece, given its gentle sonorities and disposition, will instill in the auditor a sense of repose. The sweetly singing tone of violinist Michael Ludwig is all that one could ask for to bring this work off convincingly.

The CD closes with a brief concert overture, Discover the Wild, which draws heavily upon the intervals of the perfect fourth and fifth to make its dramatic impact. This is the most Coplandesque work on the CD—I hear a good bit of the Outdoor Overture in it—but that is to take nothing away from the skill of the writing and the effect of the piece.

All of these pieces are played with precision and commitment. Falletta makes a good case interpretively for these works, as do the various soloists. This is a thoroughly enjoyable CD, which should have wide appeal among the readers of this magazine. Fuchs has a good ear for color and sonority and the skill to put together convincing musical fabrics.

-- Fanfare