5.0 out of 5 stars
Still fresh after forty years, January 14, 2012
This review is from: Music of Charles Wuorinen: Two-Part Symphony / Chamber Concerto for Flute & Ten Players / Chamber Concerto for Tuba / Piano Concerto (Audio CD)
Charles Wuorinen has written a LOT of music. He's never been trendy, and popular culture (what popular culture there is in classical music) has focused on other composers. Popular culture has been wrong. Wuorinen is among the most worthy of his generation, and these pieces for orchestra and large ensemble show why.
There's no filler on this album. The Tuba Concerto shows both the darkness and the agility of its soloist. The Piano Concerto (unnumbered, so I assume it's the first) features Wuorinen himself in the solo role. It's a solid concerto, very much in the classical mold. My favorite pieces are the Two Part Symphony and the Chamber Concerto for Flute. The Two Part Symphony is a a bright piece with no small amount of showmanship. In ways I haven't figured out, it reminds me both of Roger Sessions and George Perle. It hints (strongly at times) at tonality, even though it isn't quite tonal. The Flute Concerto opens with a wonderfully complex gesture that seizes the stage. Plucked instruments (guitar, harp, harpsichord, celeste, piano) comprise a major part of the sound. It's sometimes serious and often playful. In many ways it's more like a Concerto for Small Orchestra. The incomparable Harvey Sollberger is flutist in this performance.
There are plenty of small hints that these are live performances. That may account for some extra spark in the music. Musically and technically, this is a first-rate CD.
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