Composer of the Month
In July, Naxos released its recording of Roy Harris’s Symphonies 3 and 4, part of a complete cycle of the composer’s symphonies..
Roy HARRIS: Symphony No. 3 and No. 4, “Folk Song Symphony”
Colorado Symphony and Chorus, Marin Alsop
8.559227
CD of the Month
Toru TAKEMITSU: A Flock Descends into the Pentagonal Garden, etc.
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop
8557760
Roy Harris: Symphonies 3 and 4
Podcast Feed
John Tavener: Lament for Jerusalem
Podcast Feed
Classical Music Spotlight presents a special interview with Maestro Leonard Slatkin
Podcast Feed
William Bolcom's Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Podcast Feed
|
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Marin Alsop Gets Deep
In a recent posting on her Sequenza21.com performer blog, Christina Fong writes that Marin Alsop's "genuine knowledge and passion for new music" displays a certain depth that other conductors don't have.
That dedication to contemporary music--and to American music in particular--is a huge reason to applaud Alsop's recent appointment as music director of the Baltimore Symphony as well as her winning a MacArthur Grant.
One thing that my time at Naxos has taught me is that there are a large number of people--not just new music heads, but classical music generalists--who actually crave contemporary music as a way to augment their musical experience.
Alsop has been instrumental in providing some of those new sounds for Naxos, with recordings of music by Michael Daugherty, Michael Torke, John Adams, and Philip Glass. She's also expanded our knowledge of composers' oeuvres , most recently with her Kurt Weill Symphonies 1 and 2 CD.
A disc of Bernstein's Serenade for Solo Violin, Facsimile, and Divertimento is coming from Alsop November 15th, as are Takemitsu and Roy Harris recordings in 2006.
So, while Alsop has shown a clear desire to demonstrate her skill with the standard repertoire, there's no sign that she will stop going deep into the the music of the last fifty years or so. And all music fans can be glad for that.
posted by Mark Berry
12:13 PM
|
| |
