The classical CD world may be down, but it’s not out. To a great extent, recording companies are recycling older material, yet there is a lot of good, new stuff out. Here are a few that captured my attention.
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La Passione and other works by Louis Andriessen, with Gil Rose conducting the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.
Andriessen is a Dutch minimalist whose many compositions include stage and dance works. His style borrows from Stravinsky, jazz, and American minimalism and especially Terry Riley. His music is anti-German and anti-romantic.
This CD is a sampling of his orchestral and vocal works. It includes his delightful Bells for Haarlem which is scored for percussion and three keyboard instruments. There is also his Letter from Cathy, an homage to the great singer Cathy Berberian.
The larger La Passione is a vocal cycle that reflects the influence of Stravinsky’s Agon but ends with a piece called “Il Russo” (“The Russian”), which was inspired by Mahler’s “Das Lied Von Der Erde.”
Andriessen is a fascinating composer and worth hearing.