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HOWARD HANSON
Symphony No. 1 in E Minor Op. 21 "Nordic" / Lament for Beowulf Op. 25 Seattle Symphony and Chorale, Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 20/Nov/2011 ] "Both the playing and recording are beyond reproach, the climactic moments growing majestically in this warm, sympathetic acoustic." (Recording of the Month MusicWeb April 2012) |
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HOWARD HANSON
Symphony No. 3 / Merry Mount, Op. 31: Suite Seattle Symphony and Chorale, Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 10/Dec/2011 ] Hanson's symphonic cycle is one of the most important in American music. The Third Symphony, composed between 1936 and 1938, is imbued with the rich Nordic sensibility that runs through the First. It owes its impetus to the pioneering Swedish... |
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BLOCH
Bloch: America & Concerto Grosso No. 1 Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Jun/2012 ] Swiss-born Bloch, a pupil of Eugène Ysaÿe, emigrated to the United States in 1916. Written in 1926, two years after Bloch had become an American citizen, America: An Epic Rhapsody, is the composer's tribute to his adopted country. This romantic and... |
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RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
Capriccio Espagnol / Overtures / Dubinushka Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Nov/2011 ] "These Seattle Symphony recordings of Russian virtuoso showpieces are an excellent illustration of the amazingly high standards being achieved by other previously unheralded orchestras all over the globe. So what I want to know now about Schwarz and... |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Echoes - Classic Works Transformed Seattle Symphony / Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 22/Sep/2011 ] "The concept of Echoes was to select well-known short works - five to ten minutes in length - and to transform them for our present time. I picked six of my closest composer-friends, and asked them to arrange, orchestrate, or simply be inspired by an... |
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PFITZNER / SCHUMANN etc
Hans Pfitzner: Symphony in C major Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos / CD - released 2/Nov/2012 ] The musical expression of German Romanticism is the theme of this disc. The trajectory of Schumann's Konzertstück, Op. 86, written for four horns and orchestra, goes from heroism to introspection. |
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MORTON GOULD
Morton Gould: Concerto Grosso from ‘Audubon’ Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos / CD - released 10/Jul/2012 ] |
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NICOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
Rimsky-Korsakov: Orchestral Suites (Incls 'Snow Maiden') Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Dec/2011 ] "The pieces are enjoyable as lollipops; perhaps they will also encourage listeners to explore Rimsky-Korsakov's operatic legacy more fully." Gramophone |
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RICHARD DANIELPOUR
Richard Danielpour: Symphony No. 3 ‘Journey Without Distance’ Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos / CD - released 10/Jul/2012 ] "Danielpour is an outstanding composer for any time - one who knows how to communicate deep, important emotions through simple, direct means." (The New York Daily News) |
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WALTER PISTON
Piston: Symphonies Nos. 2 And 6 Seattle Symphony / Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 20/Jun/2008 ] "There is nothing academic about Piston at his best, which these two performances of some of his best symphonies eloquently attest. Formerly available elsewhere, they're now budget-priced with Piston's Fourth to come." - Buffalo News |
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DVORAK
Symphony No. 6 (with Janacek - Idyll) Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos Seattle Symphony Collection / CD - released 30/Jan/2013 ] "Schwarz usefully separates his violin desks, which pays generous dividends in the finale...[the Janacek Idyll is] an effective showcase for the Seattle strings, who distinguish themselves with a degree of lustre and expressive sweetness that matches... |
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DAVID DIAMOND
Diamond: Symphony No. 8 / Suite from the Ballet TOM Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 30/Jul/2008 ] "To sum up: Diamond's music is refreshingly free from gimmickry and razzmatazz. And these are seemingly exemplary performances by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra under their long-standing chief. So why hesitate?" -- David Gutman, Gramophone, 05/04 |
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ALAN HOVHANESS
Symphony No.1 'Exile' / Symphony No 50 'Mount Saint Helens' Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 20/Jan/2013 ] The 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens inspired the Symphony No. 50, with its remarkable evocation of the violent power and hauntingly mystic beauty of nature in "startlingly realistic engineering" (Gramophone). |
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DEEMS TAYLOR
Deems Taylor: Through the Looking Glass Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos / CD - released 20/Nov/2012 ] One of Deems Taylor's most successful compositions, Through the Looking Glass celebrates Alice in Wonderland, each of its five sections corresponding to passages or episodes from this enchanting tale. |
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ARTHUR FOOTE
Foote: Francesca da Rimini / 4 Character Pieces / Suite / Serenade (excerpts) Seattle Symphony Orchestra / Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Jun/2009 ] Born in Massachusetts, Arthur Foote was unusual among 19th century American composers in that practically all of his training took place in the United States. His individualistic style recalls the classical structure of Brahms while reveling in... |
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PETER MENNIN
Moby Dick / Symphony No. 3 Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 15/Sep/2004 ] Peter Mennin was a leading member of the school of American symphonic composers who came of age in the 1930s and 1940s, a group that includes David Diamond, William Schuman and others. Cast in a traditional design of three movements in a... |
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ALEXANDER BORODIN
Borodin: Symphonies Nos. 1-3 Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos / CD - released 20/Jul/2011 ] "This is glorious music, played with character and vitality." (The Daily Telegraph) |
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WILLIAM SCHUMAN
Schuman: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 5 / Judith Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 2/Jan/2007 ] "Wonderfully intense and luminous playing from the Seattle Orchestra. These are fine readings and the disc is made by the first modern recording of the Third Symphony in quite some time. Who knows, perhaps one of these days we will hear it... |
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WILLIAMS SCHUMAN
Symphony No. 8 / Night Journey (plus Ives - Variations on 'America') Seattle Symphony Orchestra / Gerard Schwarz [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 1/Mar/2010 ] "Powerful music presented in exemplary sound and compelling performances." (MusicWeb May 2010) |
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ALAN HOVHANESS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Hovhaness: Symphony No 50 "Mount St. Helens" / Symphony No 22 "City Of Light" Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz & Alan Hovhaness [ Delos / CD - released 2/Feb/1993 ] "Although he has been stereotyped as a self-consciously Armenian composer, his output assimilates the music of many cultures. What may be most American about all of it is the way it turns its materials into a kind of exoticism." Boston Globe |