Michael Torke: Color Music

Torke (Artist), Zinman (Artist), Baltimore Symphony (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 11, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Argo
• ASIN: B000004CVR
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #213,426 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Music of chaos and complexity, October 1, 1999

By 

Richard A. Demers (Minneapolis, MN, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Michael Torke: Color Music (Audio CD)

I was turned on to Michael Torke's music when I saw the San Francisco Ballet dance to several numbers from this CD. Ash is my favorite. I can still close my eyes and see the complex interweavings of form and chaos that the dancers so beautifully performed. But it was the music that captured my imagination. It spoke to me of the complexity of our times. I listen to this CD often. Unfortunately, the SF Ballet company does not sell videos of their works.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zinman and Argo work well, July 14, 2002

By 

Garth Terry (Sykesville, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Michael Torke: Color Music (Audio CD)

I have had this CD for a while, and it remains to be one of my favorite in the collection. Bright, perky, and with a little bit of jazziness, the pieces come off well. The pieces themselves might resemble something minimalist, but it definately has a forward movement. This propulsion is powered mainly by motifs and colorful chords, and less by melody. While some may find this drab and boring, it is really just another way of listening to music. Unlike wrapping your mind around an atonal piece, you just have to relax and let it flow.

Torke claims to have a synthesis of his senses (which is uncommon but not rare) in that he hears colors, and thus different sounds resemble different colors. Hence the name of the music. Realize of course that the titles refer to the color that he perceives, and is open for interpretation.

One of the great attributes of the disk is David Zinman and the Baltimore Orchestra. They sounds great and the engineering provided by Argo results in a crisp clean sound that has a punctuated freshness to it.

The individual pieces vary in tempo and mood, from exciting and invigorating to mellow and relaxed. They are not necessarily intended to go together in a set, and in fact there are other "color" pieces that Torke has written. Take them as you will, but they form a nice package for the disk.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars vibrant hues, December 24, 1999

By 

Allison B. Baker (Springfield, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Michael Torke: Color Music (Audio CD)

Michael Torke is an up and coming composer of twentieth century music. By combining the jazz rhythms which have given American music a style all its own with the brilliant orchestral timbres of a classical orchestra, Torke proves that classical music is not dead, but, on the contrary, very much alive! I have gained a whole new respect for minimalism because of this cd. It is the subtleties and the unusual sonorities in his work that brings his colorful titles to life. I would highly recommend this cd to any open-minded music lover.