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Editorial Reviews
Review
2011 GRAMMY award winner: Best Orchestral Performance, Best Classical Composition & Best Engineered Classical Album --National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, February 2011
Product Description
Inspired by the fiftieth anniversary of
Superman's first appearance in the
comics, Metropolis Symphony has been
performed by orchestras all over the
world. Hailed by the London Times as a
'Symphonie Fantastique for our times,'
Metropolis Symphony is a musical
response to the myth of Superman,
expressing the energies, ambiguities,
paradoxes, and wit of American
popular culture. Deus ex Machina is a
piano concerto inspired by trains of the
future and past: Fast Forward
re-creates the machine-like rhythms of
modern trains admired by the Italian
futurists; Train of Tears recalls
Abraham Lincoln's funeral train; Night
Steam evokes O. Winston Link's
historic photographs of steam
locomotives rumbling and whistling
their way into extinction.
Superman's first appearance in the
comics, Metropolis Symphony has been
performed by orchestras all over the
world. Hailed by the London Times as a
'Symphonie Fantastique for our times,'
Metropolis Symphony is a musical
response to the myth of Superman,
expressing the energies, ambiguities,
paradoxes, and wit of American
popular culture. Deus ex Machina is a
piano concerto inspired by trains of the
future and past: Fast Forward
re-creates the machine-like rhythms of
modern trains admired by the Italian
futurists; Train of Tears recalls
Abraham Lincoln's funeral train; Night
Steam evokes O. Winston Link's
historic photographs of steam
locomotives rumbling and whistling
their way into extinction.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This disc is fantastic: 2 energetic pieces by a gifted American composer, performed by an excellent orchestra under an exciting new conductor. Sonically, the performances are beautifully captured, top to bottom, and the recording sounds great on 5-channel surround. The nuances the composer points out in the liner notes are easily heard in the mix, and the Nashville Symphony's sound is balanced and full. Just a beautiful recording, and an excellent addition to a growing and impressive catalog from Music City's excellent orchestra.
As for the pieces themselves, the Metropolis Symphony, though not program music, certainly evokes images of the mythology to which it pays tribute: sounds of a busy city, soaring melodic lines, bright horns, and robust orchestration. It is beautifully and ably written.
The piano concerto, Deus Ex Machina, is another brilliantly rendered composition--in response, in the composer's words, to the world of trains. The highlight here is part II: The Train of Tears, "music for a slow-moving funeral train"--specifically, the train that carried Abraham Lincoln's body from Washington, DC, to its final resting place in Illinois. The movement is dark, brooding, lonely, and fatalistic. Terrence Wilson (piano) plays very well throughout the whole emotional and stylistic range of the concerto.
As for the pieces themselves, the Metropolis Symphony, though not program music, certainly evokes images of the mythology to which it pays tribute: sounds of a busy city, soaring melodic lines, bright horns, and robust orchestration. It is beautifully and ably written.
The piano concerto, Deus Ex Machina, is another brilliantly rendered composition--in response, in the composer's words, to the world of trains. The highlight here is part II: The Train of Tears, "music for a slow-moving funeral train"--specifically, the train that carried Abraham Lincoln's body from Washington, DC, to its final resting place in Illinois. The movement is dark, brooding, lonely, and fatalistic. Terrence Wilson (piano) plays very well throughout the whole emotional and stylistic range of the concerto.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
For some reason, I mistakenly connected Michael Daugherty with the Bang On A Can crew. He is post-modern, though, in the sense of using materials from everywhere. From Wikipedia, the background details most revealing about his music was that he learned to play piano himself ("Alexander's Ragtime Band") via the family player-piano, that he wanted to become a composer after hearing a performance of Sam Barber's Piano Concerto, studied with Charles Wuorinen, and had a stint at IRCAM where he encountered Gerard Grisey and Frank Zappa.
Leonard Bernstein told him to combine American popular with concert music. He worked on his Yale dissertation about the connection between Mahler and Ives, and Emerson and Goethe. Well-rounded is what I'm aiming at, musically and otherwise. Clearly you'd want to be seated next to him at a dinner party. But how goes the music?
Wonderfully! This will be on my 2009 Best List. The slipcase cover of Metropolis Symphony loudly declares its intent and content: a red-caped Superman-like character in rapid flight over a metropolitan skyline. The composition is in five movements, they are non-programmatic, and each may be performed (or, at home, played) individually.
"Lexx" opens with a police whistle; right away there's trouble afoot. There's only the broadest minimalist reference of a broadly repeating phrase, and just for a minute or so.
"Krypton" opens with a police siren, then darkly ominous strings, very realistically captured fire bells, triangles and other percussive materials. Think: Appalachian Spring gone askew thanks to spiraling string glissandi and Mary Kathryn Van Osdale's violin, ending with a siren going off in homage to Varèse's Ionisation.
"MXYZPTLK" is more chamber-like with its flutes and piccolo and ends with a crack. "Oh, Lois!" offers swirling strings and that wind-swirly-whistling thing (forgive my technical exactitude), following by a manic brass chase that starts to sound like the well-known bumblebee flight, then quickly shifts off into it's own wild-ride.
"Red Cape Tango" is appropriately slow and insinuating, with a reprise of the previous bells.
Deus ex Machina for Piano and Orchestra: It begins with Henry Cowell-like strums inside the piano, followed by an intricate, rapidly-ascending line that simultaneously recalls Nancarrow and ragtime. The orchestra with piano is truly grand without being grandiose or bombastic; a great accomplishment. The piano solos evoke tender emotions, until it thunders up spiral staircases to Hollywood action-film evocation. You hear Barber, you hear lots of Bernstein, some Rachmaninoff in the piano.
Each of the movements is meant to be "a musical response to the world of trains." You already know the famous works which do this.
The first movement, "Fast Forward," stands up to all of them. It's very loud, exciting stuff, inspired by Italian futurist painters. The "Train of Tears" uses "Taps," what the composer refers to as his own "ghost melody" and other elements to evoke Lincoln's funeral train.
The closer, "Night Steam," uses 20th Century American-style rhythms and speed in response to photographs of the motion of the last steam locomotives. Terrence Wilson does a fine job with the modernist piano part; I'd love to hear him tackle a Rachmaninoff concerto or the Barber sonata.
I'm not rushing this review for musical lack of quality, but rather, the adrenaline each work brought out in me forces me to walk away from the keyboard now, sit in front of the audio system, and enjoy another go-round for pure, close-listening pleasure.
If you've read this far, just get it. Worth more than twice the cost of Naxos' list price of nine bucks, available in NYC for seven or less. I look forward to hearing more of his Naxos recordings, and seeing his opera Jackie-O.
Editor, AcousticLevitation dot org
Leonard Bernstein told him to combine American popular with concert music. He worked on his Yale dissertation about the connection between Mahler and Ives, and Emerson and Goethe. Well-rounded is what I'm aiming at, musically and otherwise. Clearly you'd want to be seated next to him at a dinner party. But how goes the music?
Wonderfully! This will be on my 2009 Best List. The slipcase cover of Metropolis Symphony loudly declares its intent and content: a red-caped Superman-like character in rapid flight over a metropolitan skyline. The composition is in five movements, they are non-programmatic, and each may be performed (or, at home, played) individually.
"Lexx" opens with a police whistle; right away there's trouble afoot. There's only the broadest minimalist reference of a broadly repeating phrase, and just for a minute or so.
"Krypton" opens with a police siren, then darkly ominous strings, very realistically captured fire bells, triangles and other percussive materials. Think: Appalachian Spring gone askew thanks to spiraling string glissandi and Mary Kathryn Van Osdale's violin, ending with a siren going off in homage to Varèse's Ionisation.
"MXYZPTLK" is more chamber-like with its flutes and piccolo and ends with a crack. "Oh, Lois!" offers swirling strings and that wind-swirly-whistling thing (forgive my technical exactitude), following by a manic brass chase that starts to sound like the well-known bumblebee flight, then quickly shifts off into it's own wild-ride.
"Red Cape Tango" is appropriately slow and insinuating, with a reprise of the previous bells.
Deus ex Machina for Piano and Orchestra: It begins with Henry Cowell-like strums inside the piano, followed by an intricate, rapidly-ascending line that simultaneously recalls Nancarrow and ragtime. The orchestra with piano is truly grand without being grandiose or bombastic; a great accomplishment. The piano solos evoke tender emotions, until it thunders up spiral staircases to Hollywood action-film evocation. You hear Barber, you hear lots of Bernstein, some Rachmaninoff in the piano.
Each of the movements is meant to be "a musical response to the world of trains." You already know the famous works which do this.
The first movement, "Fast Forward," stands up to all of them. It's very loud, exciting stuff, inspired by Italian futurist painters. The "Train of Tears" uses "Taps," what the composer refers to as his own "ghost melody" and other elements to evoke Lincoln's funeral train.
The closer, "Night Steam," uses 20th Century American-style rhythms and speed in response to photographs of the motion of the last steam locomotives. Terrence Wilson does a fine job with the modernist piano part; I'd love to hear him tackle a Rachmaninoff concerto or the Barber sonata.
I'm not rushing this review for musical lack of quality, but rather, the adrenaline each work brought out in me forces me to walk away from the keyboard now, sit in front of the audio system, and enjoy another go-round for pure, close-listening pleasure.
If you've read this far, just get it. Worth more than twice the cost of Naxos' list price of nine bucks, available in NYC for seven or less. I look forward to hearing more of his Naxos recordings, and seeing his opera Jackie-O.
Editor, AcousticLevitation dot org
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Psych MD
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am very pleased with the quality of the recording and especially the performance level the Nashville Symphony delivers. The Metropolis work is interesting - I'll have to live with it a while longer to decide but the Deus Ex Machina I am already quite drawn to. I find it superior to Metropolis and Bells for Stokowski. I do suggest hearing this album for that second work and to enjoy a thrilling performance from an American regional orchestra. Excellent job, Nashville!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting music; excellent recorded sound!
Naxos specializes in the less often recorded repertory. Naxos produces some of the BEST recordings available. Would recommend to anyone!
Published 2 months ago by Leslie W. Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Enduring Appeal of Superman
What makes this symphony so unique is that it wasn't written for any Superman movie or tv show, it sprang from one man's love for the Man of Steel. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Autumn M.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Metropolis
Driving along listening to NPR and this gorgeous music came forth. What is that? Have only heard it once sitting quietly and will do again post haste. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Oren Hays
2.0 out of 5 stars
MELODY ANYONE?
I bought this after listening to a review on NPR about it's Grammy nomination.
Oh well - so much for the Grammys.
Oh well - so much for the Grammys.
Published on April 8, 2011 by Gary A. Waugh
5.0 out of 5 stars
Metropolis Symphony
This is a lot of fun. If you like modern composers such as John Adams (Short Ride in a fast machine) and Jennifer Higdon (Blue Cathedral & Concerto for Orchestra), You'll like... Read more
Published on January 12, 2011 by Stephen L. Wright
2.0 out of 5 stars
My last hope failed
Miserably failed... I expected to hear a great American composer of the new generation. Instead, all what we have there is an aptly compiled set of percussion tricks with some... Read more
Published on December 29, 2010 by Alexei Kireyev
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mythic music with bells and whistles
All I knew of the Metropolis Symphony by Michael Daugherty was that it was written in 1988 as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Superman's first appearance in comics. Read more
Published on October 30, 2009 by Dean Frey
5.0 out of 5 stars
High-octane Michael Daugherty
I continue to be blown away by Iowa-born composer Michael Daugherty. His music tells a uniquely American story and that appeals to me very much. Read more
Published on October 26, 2009 by Craig M. Zeichner
5.0 out of 5 stars
SUPERMAN Returns!
I heard a guy call Spanish gibberish because he couldn't speak it. So much for the rewards of reading "100 Years of Solitude" in the original tongue. Read more
Published on October 24, 2009 by Tym S.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Big Brash and Fun
the Metropolis Symphony captures perfectly the mood and feeling of classic superman comics. Big bold themes painted in vivid primary colors suck you and leave you wanting more. Read more
Published on October 18, 2009 by jomojomo
