Theme for a Movie

Music: Symphony No. 4 — I. Bewegt, nicht zu schnell (excerpt)
Composer: Anton Bruckner
Artists: Manfred Honeck, conductor; Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra;
Album: Bruckner: Symphony No. 4

FR-713SACD 
Street Date: February 10, 2015

http://referencerecordings.com
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1xYpe5A

Thrilling live performances from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, in brilliant audiophile sound!

Anton Bruckner is known as a deeply religious composer whose Catholic spirituality is prominent in his music, particularly his later symphonies. However, his Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major (“Romantic”) is one of his most secular, most influenced by nature and most popular works. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Manfred Honeck offer a bold new interpretation of this great music, breaking Bruckner out of the strictly interpreted box in which he is often placed. Here, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Honeck present the 1878/80 version, the same version that was used for the symphony’s premiere in 1881.

This release is the third in the highly acclaimed “Pittsburgh Live!” series of multi-channel hybrid SACD releases on the FRESH! Series from Reference Recordings. The previous release, “Dvořák/Janaček” (FR-710SACD), has received a Grammy® nomination along with numerous critical accolades.

For more than 119 years, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has been known for its artistic excellence, a rich history of the world’s finest conductors and musicians, and a strong commitment to the Pittsburgh region and its citizens. Past music directors have included many of the greats, including Fritz Reiner (1938-1948), William Steinberg (1952-1976), Andre Previn (1976-1984), Lorin Maazel (1984-1996) and Mariss Jansons (1995-2004). This tradition of outstanding international music directors was furthered in fall 2008, when Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck became music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony.

The orchestra has been at the forefront of championing new American works, and gave the first performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1 “Jeremiah” in 1944.  The Pittsburgh Symphony has a long and illustrious history in the areas of recordings and radio concerts. As early as 1936, the Pittsburgh Symphony broadcast on the airwaves coast-to-coast and in the late 1970s it made the groundbreaking PBS series “Previn and the Pittsburgh.”  The orchestra has received increased national attention since 1982 through network radio broadcasts on Public Radio International, produced by Classical WQED-FM 89.3, which are made possible by the musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

This release and the entire “Pittsburgh Live!” series are recorded and mastered by the team at Soundmirror, whose outstanding orchestral, solo, opera and chamber recordings have received more than 70 Grammy nominations and awards! Soundmirror has recorded for every major classical record label, now including Reference Recordings.

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 — I. Bewegt, nicht zu schnell (excerpt)

Michael P. Atkinson, Horns
Recorded in January 2015 at Hollow Bone Studio.  Engineered and Mastered by Dave Nelson.  

Program Notes: 

Nasty Fucker - mvm 2 - “Antiphonal"
Nasty Fucker was written in 2007 for flutes and electronics and was recorded by Claire Chase. It has since been adapted for clarinet by Joshua Rubin, and I am extremely thrilled and impressed by the horn version of the piece by Michael P. Atkinson. 
Nasty Fucker is a three movement piece.  The second movement (“Antiphonal”) uses octave transposition and reverb to add bass, space, and darkness to a mid-range part along with a sense of call and response. The bass effect would be the choir in that case and the clean instrument the solo singer.  Conceptually, the movement is about what’s below and the vastness of distance and perspective.
When flutist Rachel Lumsden asked me to write this piece for her, I said that I would do it as long as I don’t have to name it something frilly like “Beloved Blossoms of Yore” or some profound line in pseudo Latin. She barked back “You can call it Nasty Fucker if you want”. And so I did.
-Mikael Karlsson

Duet No. 1 and No. 5
These duets were written out of a desire to add more contemporary techniques and characters to the repertoire of horn music.  No. 1 was written in 2006, and is a collection of  episodes alternating between whimsy and capriciousness.  I borrow a theme from the first movement of Sir Michael Tippett's unique Sonata for Four Horns.  No. 5 was written in 2009 and is a bit more conventional in technique but explores a wide range  through an intense series of counterpoint which builds slowly to an unexpected conclusion.  
-Michael P. Atkinson

Nasty F*cker - mvm 2 - "Antiphonal" - Mikael Karlsson

michaelatkinsonmusic

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