| Program Notes | for Matt Haimovitz and the University of Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra, James Smith Director. Supported by the Arts Institute, UW Madison. *** On Albany CD 3 Works for Solo Instruments and Orchestra. *** -Review in Records International The cello concerto is a work of great drama, with a bold and intense, frequently ostinato-propelled first movement, a rhapsodic slow movement pitting the passionate solo line against highly original color-textures in the orchestra, a scherzo in which scraps of material seem to be thrown around the orchestra, and an active, propulsive finale, incorporating a virtuosic bell-accompanied cadenza. The vocabulary is a highly chromatic take on tonality, harmonically lush and richly textured. The violin concerto explores the contrast between tough, bravura material, bold and extrovert and full of harsh, stabbing accents, and soaring lyricism in clear, translucent textures. As in the cello concerto, the soloist has a near-constant flow of expressively and technically demanding musical argument. Waking Dream is a single-movement ‘poem’ full of shimmering, iridescent impressionistic textures and a sensuously meandering, ornamented singing line for the solo flute. -Review from Fanfare by Barnaby Rayfield “Yet another fine American composing talent, that I have only just encountered. Despite a long, award strewn career and some pretty hefty names, for whom she has written for, Laura Elise Schwendinger is only now starting to get discs devoted entirely to her music. With a forth coming album of her chamber works, High Wire Act and Nonet on the way, this current album is a neat programme of three concertos for different instruments, and it makes a fine first encounter to her purposeful but accessible style. Written between 2007 and 2009 these pieces share a very virtuosic, albeit pleasingly lyrical and expressive solo part, set to an often very harmonically complex orchestral score, although each work is very different in feel. What I find compelling about Schwendinger's writing is its unashamed lyricism, amidst the dissonance. Despite her evident love of lush textures and swelling chords to support the often restless solo writing, there is a forward momentum, a journey, or line, that any good composition has to have in my view. Despite her Professorship there is nothing stiflingly academic about any of the concertos here. Only Waking Dream was recorded live, but the performances of all three works feel tight, impassioned and, well, lived in, although I have no score to verify utter technical accuracy. Sound is clear and forward, with the soloists given quite an intense, closely recorded ambiance, which fits the vivid textures of the pieces well. Although reviewing from a download the PDF booklet points towards a typically thorough Albany release. This is ballsy, confident music making in both writing and execution and proves that serious contemporary music does not have to dumb down to be immediately accessible and emotional. Highly recommended” |
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