City Scape/Cto For Orch [Import]

Jennifer Higdon's concerto for Orchestra is one of the most exciting pieces of the 21st century. Her music is solidly crafted, colorful, energetic, brimming with enthusiasm and imagination. One can hear the influences of Bartok's masterwork of the same genre, but with equally great dramatic impact and instead of merely featuring sections in the style of concerto grosso, it is spotlights highly virtuosic passages for solo instruments throughout the orchestra, including both first chair as well as all other players in the section. This concerto is truly a celebration not only of the orchestra but of orchestra players, who seem to relish the considerable technical challenge her piece presents. Anyone who appreciates contemporary music will appreciate this, one of the first 21st century masterworks for orchestra.

Jennifer Higdon is one of the finest of America's contemporary composers, and someone who has demonstrated that contemporary classical music doesn't necessarily have to be atonal or repetitious. And here on this recording by Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, she proves it in two tremendous works that received their world premiere recordings--the "Concerto For Orchestra", and the three-movement tone painting "Cityscape"

The Concerto For Orchestra was composed by Ms. Higdon in 2002 for the Philadelphia Orchestra, which gave the work its official world premiere performance in June of that year as part of its centennial celebration. It is structured along the lines of Bartok's similarly-named 1945 masterwork, with various solo instruments or groups of instruments standing out amidst the big orchestral sound produced Although the movements are marked only by Roman numerals as opposed to evocative titles or even tempi indications, they all flow seamlessly together in the work's half-hour running time. "Cityscapes", meanwhile, was inspired by the first ten years of life that the Brooklyn-born Higdon spent in Atlanta. It is a highly evocative piece, a sort of modern equivalent of such past American composing legends as Samuel Barber, William Schuman, and Aaron Copland. The three movements of the work depict certain aspects of this great Southern city, whose orchestra and conductor gave the work in November 2002. "Skyline" is self-explanatory; "River Sings A Song To The Trees" is about the natural beauty along Peachtree Creek"; and "Peachtree Street" is about the main surface thoroughfare that runs through the city.

Both works are performed splendidly by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, which has boasted conductors like Yoel Levi, Donald Runnicles, Louis Lane, and, in its growth during the years 1967 to 1991, the late, great Robert Shaw. Robert Spano has added his own personal and welcome stamp to the orchestra, particularly in this recording, made in September 2003. For anyone interested in contemporary American music, this is a must-have recording.

I heard City Scape on the radio and was impressed enough by what I heard to order the CD. For me the music is hard to categorize as "who it sounds like." I think that Jennifer Higdon has her own voice and this is reflected in the works recorded here, a Grammy nominee.

The Concerto for Orchestra, written for the Philadelphia Orchestra, is structured after Bela Bartok's work of the same name. This Concerto begins with chimes and timpani and goes on to give the strings quite a workout with spiraling scales before moving onto the woodwinds and brass sections. The second movement is for strings alone and is a Scherzo in tempo. It starts with a pizzicato theme and gradually all of the players move to the bow beginning with the concertmaster. The middle movement turns to the entire orchestra with each principle player having a solo before the entire orchestra, moving from woodwinds to strings to brass and percussion. The fourth movement belongs to the percussion and is perhaps the most inventive music pitting the various drums and timpani in a battle against each other. The use of a harp, piano and celesta added a mysterious quality to their part of the movement but this music, for me, explored this section of the orchestra as completely as no other has. The final movement is for the full orchestra. It begins with strings alone but soon the orchestra is playing over the perfusion, carrying on their "battle" from the prior movement.

The same orchestration is reflected in City Scape. The first movement, representing downtown Atlanta, is heavy with percussion. It depicts the changing skyline of the city as it grows and become bolder. The middle movement, depicting nature is pastoral. It is a journey through the parks and green landscapes of Atlanta: a quite movement that slowly builds to the entire orchestra and resumes a quiet, meandering exploration. The find section recalls Peachtree Street, a main road in the city. The music recalls the busy nature of the street and the motion of those walking and those driving along. The music depicts the changing nature of the street with a quick, rhythmic theme played by the orchestra. The bustling nature of the music slows and becomes quieter for a brief section before returning to the busy, bustling theme.

I felt engaged by Ms. Higdon's music: it is not abstract, atonal music (like Luciano Berio, for example) but tonal and filled with interesting ideas. The Concerto for Orchestra allowed her to juxtapose the sections of the orchestra and present some interesting effects. City Scapes presents an interesting picture of a growing metropolis. Anyone curious about current day composers should find this CD of interest.