“The fierce diversity of the tracks on this compilation is reflective of 20th century music as a whole, with its staggering range of innovation and expression. Discerning listeners will note the presence of such familiar touchstones as minimalism, serialism and polystylism, but there is nothing programmatic about their application in these pieces. The dissonant modernism in the third movement to Gloria Coates’ Symphony No. 15 is worlds away from the limpid warmth of Charles Wuorinen’s Renaissance-inspired Josquiniana. The angular contours conjured in John Corigliano’s A Black November Turkey find distinct counterpoint in the adagio of William Bolcom’s serene yet stealthily subversive Cello Sonata. José Serebrier demonstrates expressive melodic grace in his Fantasia for strings while Joan Tower marshals powerful rhythmic forces to dramatic effect in her aptly titled Tambor. The hard, trance-inducing repetition of Frederic Rzewski’s Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues is contrasted with the dark hued introspection of John Harbison’s
Piano Trio No. 1.”
-Dean Brierly

On August 26, Naxos of America releases Class of ‘38 (Naxos 8572087), a two-disc set of works by eight of America’s most compelling living composers: William Bolcom (Cello Sonata; II. Adagio semplice);
Gloria Coates (Symphony No. 15; III. What are the stars?); John Corigliano (A Black November Turkey); John Harbison (Trio, 1968); Frederic Rzewski (Four American Ballads: No. 4 Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues); José Serebrier (Fantasia for strings); Joan Tower (Tambor), and Charles Wuorinen (from Josquiniana). The second bonus disc contains podcast interviews with Naxos’ Raymond Bisha and composers Joan Tower, William Bolcom, John Corigliano, Charles Wuorinen, John Harbison, and José Serebrier.

Peter Schickele (aka P.D.Q. Bach) opened they year’s ASCAP Concert Music Awards with a sobering warning about string players being careful about their instruments being lost or stolen, “How do you keep your violin from getting stolen? Put it in a viola case.” Seven more viola jokes followed.

Each year ASCAP presents the Morton Gould Young Composers Award. It’s an opportunity for young rising star composers to win some prize money and a much valued boost in status. I attended the ceremony with composer Alex Kotch who was being honored that night. Of course the Concert Music Awards ceremony also honors established composers, musicians, and directors for their significant contribution to classical music. Among this year’s honorees were Joseph Jennings (composer and director of Chanticleer), David Lang (educator and composer), compoer John Corigliano and conductor JoAnn Falletta.

After receiving their medal the young composers had a short excerpt of their work played while each of the established honorees gave a short speech. Their speeches were just about the most gracious and touching I’ve ever heard. Falletta, a Naxos artist and conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic, told a particularly inspiring story about Corigliano, who was doing a one-week residency with the Buffalo Philharmonic during a brutal cold snap in March. During this time the orchestra premiered and recorded his “Three Hallucinations from “Altered States” / Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan”. Falletta recounted how the collaboration breathed new life into the orchestra and the city of Buffalo. She said the city was as excited about classical music as she’d ever seen.

The Corigliano/Falletta recording will be available from Naxos later this year. You can find albums featuring performances and music from such ASCAP award presenters as Schickele, Falletta, Corigliano, David Del Tredici, Steven Burke, Sebastian Currier, Stephen Paulus, and David Lang on Naxos.com and Classicsonline.com. However, there are no viola jokes.

John CORIGLIANO

The Red Violin Caprices; Violin Sonata

Virgil THOMSON

Three Portraits, arr. Samuel Dushkin; Five Ladies; Eight Portraits

Philippe Quint, violin; William Wolfram, piano

Naxos releases the world premiere recording of John Corigliano’s The Red Violin Caprices , featuring Grammy®-nominated violinist Philippe Quint and pianist William Wolfram. This much-anticipated release by Quint-who earned a Grammy® nomination in 2001 for his Naxos debut recording of William Schuman’s Violin Concerto-features John Corigliano’s 2002 caprices, reworked from the soundtrack of The Red Violin, for which the composer won a 1999 Academy Award. The disc also features Virgil Thomson’s series of ‘portraits’ for solo violin and piano: the 1947 version of Three Portraits arranged by Samuel Dushkin, Five Ladies (1930), and Eight Portraits.

John Corigliano revisited his score for the 1997 film The Red Violin several times. The Red Violin Caprices make strenuous technical demands of the performer. The opening Theme is identical to that of the earlier Chaconne (Naxos 8559306); the First Variation is reminiscent of Paganini in its virtuosity; and the Second Variation features a sustained exploration of multi-stopping and vividly incisive passagework. The Third Variation is more restrained, with a folk-like feeling, which the Fourth Variation expands into an “aria” of rhetorical eloquence; finally, the Fifth Variation is a brilliant rhythmic conclusion to the cycle.

Now a staple in 20th century violin literature, Corigliano’s Violin Sonata (1962-63) is among his earliest acknowledged works. Originally titled Duo (because it treats the instruments as equal partners), the Violin Sonata was selected from 100 entries at the 1964 Spoleto Festival Competition for the Creative Arts by a panel of judges that included Walter Piston, Samuel Barber, Gian Carlo Menotti, Gardner Read, and Charles Wadsworth. It received its premiere at Spoleto with violinist Yoko Matsuda and pianist Charles Wadsworth. In 1965, the work received its American premiere with violinist Roman Totenberg and pianist Carol Rand. Shortly after, the composer’s father (and concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic for over 20 years), John Corigliano Sr., and pianist Ralph Votapek performed the work in New York; they later recorded it for the CRI label. The Sonata is in four movements (Allegro, Andantino, Lento and Allegro), of which the composer has written: “The Sonata … is for the most part a tonal work although it incorporates non-tonal and poly-tonal sections within it as well as other 20th century harmonic, rhythmic and constructional techniques. The listener will recognize the work as a product of an American writer although this is more the result of an American writing music than writing ‘American’ music-a second-nature, unconscious action on the composer’s part.”

From a very different musical background, and representing a very different aesthetic, Virgil Thomson displays a skillful assimilation of Gallic clarity and an American-derived nostalgia, with frequent use of hymn tunes and traditional songs. Thomson was a master of the miniature, and his ‘Portraits’ testify to his ability to capture the essence of a personality in music. The ‘Portraits’ date from the late ’20s until just before Thomson’s death. Many were published in seven volumes of Portraits for Piano Solo (1948-83), but he also composed numerous pieces for ensembles and orchestra, including the three collections on this release. The Three Portraits originated as piano pieces written in 1940 and were arranged for violin and piano by Samuel Dushkin in 1947. The collection of Five Ladies began as individual pieces written in the 1930s, and were only published in their present form in 1983. The Eight Portraits for solo violin were written from 1928-40 and are Thomson’s most substantial such collection outside those for solo piano.

In 1998 Philippe Quint won the Juilliard Competition for his captivating performance of Korngold’s Violin Concerto with conductor Kurt Masur. His recent recording of the concerto with Mexico’s Symphonica de Mineria and conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto is scheduled for a winter release; in June, he returns to the studio to record the complete violin works of Paganini, arranged by Fritz Kreisler, both for Naxos. Highlights this season include a Weill Hall recital in September and a debut with Weimar Staskapelle in Germany. The release of the Corigliano/Thomson CD is the culmination of a busy year for the St. Petersburg-born violinist, now living in New York. Philippe Quint’s 2007 appearances with international orchestras on tours in Australia, South Africa, Italy and France and throughout the U.S. garnered much praise and critical acclaim. The Durban Daily News commended his “elusive magnetism called star quality,” while his “bravura” interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto had the Cape Times marking Philippe Quint out as “undoubtedly a name for the future.” Following a recent U.K. performance of the Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto, the Guardian praised Quint’s’ “touching tenderness” and “Gypsy flamboyance … vividly evoking the style of Pablo Sarasate.” For updated information on Philippe Quint’s upcoming performances and recordings please visit www.philippequint.com.

An interview with violinist Philippe Quint as he talks about his new recording of The Red Violin Caprices by John Corigliano, and the Portraits by Virgil Thomson.

Quint also describes how he fell in love with American music when he first arrived in the United States.

Album details…
Catalogue No.: Naxos 8.559364