Lee Actor
(b. 1952)
Violin Concerto (2005)
Symphony #2 (2006)
Timpani Concerto (2005)
Pip Clarke, violin
Stuart Chafetz, timpani
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra/Kirk Trevor
Albany TROY1017 67:11
One of the advantages of the internet is the ability to be able to sample music before buying it: for many, perhaps, the recent dates of the works on this CD would be an immediate turn-off. Although timpani concertos are not for everyone – and this one is the shortest of the three pieces – the other two works have much to recommend them. The symphony has a variety of moods ranging from the bleak to the jovial as in Shostakovich's 9th symphony. The violin concerto in many ways reminds me of Britten's. Actor is yet another American composer to watch.
