Andrew Imbrie turned 80 on April 6, 2001, and twelve performances of nine programs were presented across the country between March 4th and June 3rd of that year. If you are familiar with the music of this independently-minded, rugged composer, this new release will be of a very special interest, where music by friends, students and colleagues are presented along with two fine examples of his art. Veteran collectors will be familiar with such works as the chamber piece Dandelion Wine and the powerful Symphony No.3, formerly available on CRI. And, maybe, someday we’ll have a reissue of his masterpiece, the Violin Concerto, released on a long-gone Columbia LP of the late 1960’s. Perhaps the most important of Roger Sessions’ pupils, Imbrie has been making a major contribution to the musical culture of America as both composer and educator. From the time his String Quartet No. 1 won the New York Music Critic’s Award in 1944 until today, he has produced work after work of the highest craftsmanship, integrity, and artistic merit. While his work has won numerous awards, its value to our musical community is beyond measure. As an educator at the University of California, Berkeley and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, he has trained generations of musicians, musicologists and composers. The works presented at the birthday concerts were, in a small way, an attempt to say what could not be adequately said in any other way. This important new CD reproduces the second of such concerts, given on April 9, 2001 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
