2014 New Classical Releases Index

Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition ("Masterworks")

Pictures at an Exhibition: Promenade I (Orch. Ravel, M. A 24)

"Silver Fanfare" was composed in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Pacific Symphony, in Orange County, California, in 2004. It was originally composed as the first movement of a six-movement work for soloists, children's chorus, mixed chorus, and orchestra, entitled "On Music's Wings." Carl St.Clair conducted the premiere at the Pacific Amphitheater.

Written also to serve as a stand-alone orchestral concert opener, "Silver Fanfare" has been performed by such orchestras as the Boston Pops and the Nashville Symphony. It was chosen as the season opening work of the iconic Hollywood Bowl in both 2015 and 2016, performed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

This recording, by the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer at historic Abbey Road Studio 1 in 2013, is the opening track of Boyer's new recording in the Naxos American Classics Series, which was released worldwide in February 2014. The recording also includes Boyer's Symphony No. 1, and three other orchestral works. It has been broadcast on over 150 radio stations around the U.S. and abroad.

"Boyer, who claims more than 300 performances by more than 100 orchestras, writes in a fluent, powerful style that fuses conservative American currents with Hollywood-ish size and populist sentiment... eloquent, spaciously recorded performances…"
-- Gramophone

"Like all of the music on this disc, the symphony is tuneful, expertly crafted, colorfully scored… Boyer knows what he wants, and how to do it. This very well engineered disc is lots of fun, and a really good listen."
-- ClassicsToday.com

"The performances here are simply superb, showing off [Boyer's] engaging and easily accessible cinematic style. This is certainly a recording that should have broad appeal, and one which you will likely find yourself returning to time and again. The music is brilliantly orchestrated with engaging thematic ideas and a fine sense of dramatic shape."
-- Cinemusical

"Classical music listeners apprehensive about 'new music' have nothing to fear, and everything to love, about Peter Boyer. The American composer writes music in a neo-romantic style with an unabashedly direct and popular appeal… His Symphony No. 1, a tribute to his muse Leonard Bernstein, is a stirring work, filled with soaring, 'American sounding' themes and propulsive rhythms… a recording that’s sure to win him many new fans."
-- WRTI (Philadelphia), New Releases

To purchase on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/boyer-symphony-no.-1/id804059505

Music © 2004 Propulsive Music. Recording © 2014 Naxos Rights US, Inc. Used with permission.

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Silver Fanfare - London Philharmonic Orchestra/Peter Boyer, conductor

This is Ted Hearne's explosive piece for string orchestra, "Law of Mosaics", written for and performed here by A Far Cry, a Boston-based chamber orchestra. This recording stems from the album of the same name, in which he shared with composer Andrew Norman.
Ted writes in the program notes:
"'Thomas Jefferson went through the New Testament and removed all the miracles, leaving only the teachings.' 'Meaning is a matter of adjacent data.' 'The law of mosaics: how to deal with parts in the absence of wholes.' These passages, along with many others, are appropriated from a variety of sources and arranged by David Shields into his 2010 book, Reality Hunger: A Manifesto. It is a patchwork treatise on art and digital culture, and is an inspiration for Law of Mosaics - a new 30-minute piece for A Far Cry. 
The musical material from the first movement, Excerpts from the middle of something, is lush and climactic - but it is also a fish out of water, removed from surrounding music that might help it be better contextualized. It could follow a tense build-up, or precede a climax and resolution, but instead we hear it repeated and revised. As the material circles in on itself, it begins to make sense on its own, but never really 'goes' anywhere.

COMPOSER: Ted Hearne
ENSEMBLE: A Far Cry

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Pictures at an Exhibition: Promenade I (Orch. Ravel, M. A 24)

Sir Simon Rattle

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