Contemporary Classics - January 22, 2019 Favorite Albums of 2018 Part 2

Suzanne Farrin describes  Dolce la morte  in her program notes : In 1532 Michelangelo met the young Roman nobleman Tommaso de' Cavalieri. Though the details of their relationship are unknown, we know that the meeting inspired the artist to compose intense poetry that deals with the joy and complexity of desire and spiritual fulfillment. The men became life-long friends and Tommaso was among those at Michelangelo's side when he passed in 1564. The poems cannot fully contain the overwhelming impetus of physical love, which at times becomes too much for the sonnets to bear. They stretch and are torn out of shape. They sing, shed their form and fall silent. In composing dolce, I hoped to create a sound world that inhabits the space between creation and being.”

Doctor Atomic is an opera by John Adams, with libretto by Peter Sellars. It premiered at the San Francisco Opera on October 1, 2005.  Here is a new recording of a concert version of the opera with Gerald Finlay, Julia Bullock and the BBC Singers & BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer John Adams.   Doctor Atomic is about the development of the atomic bomb and the personal life of its creator Robert Oppenheimer.  Tonight from a new concert version of the opera we have the Doctor Atomic: Overture with John Adams conducting the BBC Singers & BBC Symphony Orchestra from the album John Adams: Doctor Atomic

Bernstein’s Mass is less a religious work per se and is more of a theatrical mixture of jazz, blues and gospel. Commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy, it premiered on September 8, 1971, conducted by Maurice Peress, as part of the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.    Originally, Bernstein had intended to compose a traditional Mass, but instead in true Bernstein style wrote in a more innovative theatrical piece. Bernstein scored Mass for a large orchestra, choir, and rock band.  Although the liturgical passages are sung in Latin, the Mass also includes additional texts in English written by Bernstein, Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz, and Paul Simon.   You will be listening to a performance of Credo from Leonard Bernstein Mass recorded live at Verizon Hall in Philadelphia at concerts between April 30 and May 3, 2015 by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Street Chorus Cast, Westminster Symphonic Choir & Temple University Concert Choir and soloists and released last year.

The new album “re:member” from Olafur Arnalds features his ground-breaking new software, Stratus, which transforms the humble piano into a unique new instrument. The Stratus Pianos are two self-playing, semi-generative player pianos which are triggered by a central piano played by Olafur, and are the centerpiece of his new works. The custom-built software is born out of two years of work by the composer and audio developer, Halldor Eldjarn. The algorithms generated from Stratus were also used to create the innovative album artwork. On the album Olafur uses these methods reinvigorate the compositional experience, feeding back into the creative process in a completely new way. As Olafur plays a note on the piano, two different notes are generated by Stratus, creating unexpected harmonies and surprising melodic sequences.  The fourth official solo album by Olafur Arnalds takes the listener through varied moods and feelings, through different musical landscapes. You can hear every facet of his work the composition, the soundtracks, the pop bursting through, flowering. This is my breaking out-of-a-shell album, Arnalds says “This is me taking the raw influences that I have from all these different musical genres and not filtering them. I always have my hands in many different projects at once, and I feel that this album represents that.”   From this album is the title cut re:member           

Philip Glass’ Symphony #11 was commissioned by the Bruckner Orchester Linz, Istanbul Music Festival and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and was premiered on January 31st, 2017 in Carnegie Hall, New York with Dennis Russell Davies conducting the Bruckner Orchester Linz in celebration of Glass’ 80^th birthday.  Because of the warmth and pleasing thickness of Glass’ orchestration and the texture of the sound of his works, Glass has been called the Phil Spector of classical music (the “wall of sound” effect).  The 11^th Symphony displays not only his rhythmic drive but also his melodic craft.  Here is a performance of Glass’ Symphony #11 by the commissioning and premiering performers Dennis Russell Davies conducting the Bruckner Orchester Linz.

Bramwell Tovey’s Stream of Limelight is a lyrical piece that plays into the things that the violinist on this work Janes Ehnes does well.  Starting from a tonal sequence vaguely reminiscent of a Bach Partita, it moves forward somewhat like a early 1900s violin sonata.  There is a hint of Bartok’s urgency and density, the rhapsodic fervor of Janacek, and a touch of Elgar with the piano accompaniment sometimes in the spirit of Debussy. Here is a performance of Bramwell Tovey’s Stream of Limelight featuring James Ehnes, violin & Andrew Armstrong, piano

Tonight we are closing with a delightful short work for flute, Nicole Chamberlain’s “Chatter”.            "Chatter" is a flute duet which uses percussive extended technique such as beatboxing, flutter tonguring, pizzacato, and jet whistle to mimic incessant talk that is often shared between two people who have some exciting news to share. Each part seems to interject the others thought much like two friends who can finish each other’s sentences. Like a conversation between two friends, the emotional tone changes as the piece progresses. Once the excitment of telling the news is shared there is reflection and debate over the news. Two friends will often hash out how the situation could affect them and loved ones, but through encouragement and support the friends are able to help each other reach a positive outlook on the situation.  Here is a performance of Nicole Chamberlain’s “Chatter” featuring the Ithaca Flute Duo