April 26, 2017

  • Winter's Warmth: New Orchestral Music

     Winter’s Warmth: Contemporary Works for Orchestra
    Karel Martinkek, organ. Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra/Petr Vronsky
    St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra/Vladimir Landa
    Navona Records 6091
    Total Time: 59:06
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

    Winter’s Warmth is a collection of recent orchestral music by five composers.  There are six pieces on the albu, with a larger one for organ and orchestra kicking things off.  is a organ concerto.  It in some respects serves as a companion to an early collection of orchestral miniatures on the label, Sparks.  Though here, the Moravian Philharmonic is the primary orchestra.

    The album opens with the more substantial Falling Man/Dancing Man that incorporates an organ into the texture.  It is not a concerto as such, though the work is cast in three larger movements where the instrument does assert itself from time to time.  The organ tends to float often above the texture with fascinating colors paralleled in the orchestral writing.  Ideas are often transferred across the ensemble and soloist.  The piece deals with some rather serious subject matter.  Australian composer Andrew Schulz wanted to explore the reactions to war and was struck by a couple of photographs that would inspire the piece.  The first is the image of a falling man from the World Trade Center attacks.  This surreal image can be heard explored in the opening movement, and perhaps more emotionally in the central movement.  The other is a celebrating man at the end of WWII.  This forms the basis for some of the rapid passage work in the final movement, “The Laughing Man.”  There is a nice central lyrical section in this movement with delicate winds ideas fluttering about.  Overall, this is a very strong work which was originally commissioned for the new organ at the Melbourne Town Hall.  Listeners will be struck by its moments of lyrical, almost Copland-esque beauty.  The organ adds an extra semi-religious gravitas as needed, but also has plenty of interesting commentary along the way.  The overall shape makes this a nice addition to the literature for organ and orchestra.  The piece itself would recommend this album to fans of modern music in a more romantic idiom.  But there are four more works to explore.

    At the center are two orchestral miniatures by American composer John A. Carollo.  The first is a more patriotic-style work, Let Freedom Ring.  It is rather fascinating as, while somewhat celebratory, it is set in a minor key.  There is an ongoing arpeggio (that seems like an extension of the work’s original guitar setting).  The motifs tend to move through the orchestra in blocks with different solo lines entering.  The music works toward some rather intense dissonance as it moves towards its climax gaining in intensity. The second provides a more descriptive program apparent from its title, The Transfiguration of Giovanni Baudino.  As one might expect then, the piece explores the transformation of material and is scored for piano and orchestra with the latter being more integrated into the orchestra.  Different threads are cast about the ensemble in this little ten-minute work that feels like it could be part of a larger triptych of pieces.  The musical language in both pieces tends to modernist style with slightly more dissonance.  There are some hard edits in the recording of the latter suggesting the piece is a bit more difficult than one might suspect at first.  The transitions from denser to lighter textures is rather interesting throughout though the ending sort of runs out of steam a bit (hence the thought of it needing to be part of a larger work).

    Russian Winter is a brief movement from an earlier suite by R. Barry Ulrich.  The music is an interesting depiction of the landscape of the Russian steppes.  Ulrich was a middle and high school band director, and now retired to Oregon.  This is a really gorgeous work for strings that has an almost cinematic feel from its opening bars.

    The final work on the album is a work for piano and orchestra by Iowa composer J. A. Kawarsky.  Episodes explores asymmetrical meters in the opening portion that recalls Prokofiev, or perhaps some Brubeck, with the second section being a more lyrical idea referencing a Jewish melody.  The shift there is quick and rather stunning with its Romantic-tinged piano solo.  The third episode picks up on the opening clarinet theme and also references a piece by Gerald Finzi.  This is really a rather fascinating piece that should hold up well with repeated hearing.

    This is true really of all the works on this excellent album.  One would certainly hope that there are some conductors and ensembles out there listening to certainly consider these pieces in their programs.  If you are someone who enjoys discovery of new musical voices, this is certainly a must-have disc.  Each of the works here represent pieces that would fit well in any modern orchestral program.  Each also tend to find ways to show off different orchestral solos and sections which is certainly a help for consideration.  The recordings are all quite good with excellent sound and committed playing.