Jennifer Higdon
(b. 1962)
Concerto for Orchestra (2002)
City Scape (2002)
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra/Robert Spano
Telarc CD-80620 66:17
Some may read the dates of composition and bypass this CD, expecting difficult music. It's not. The concerto is in five movements, as is Béla Bartók's, and there are echoes of that work in Higdon's first movement. The music has great power, is inescapably American and is, for me, an important release. Likewise City Scape, a commission by the Atlanta symphony, which portrays aspects of that city, especially effectively in the long second movement. The fine recording, also available as an SACD, shows the music in the very best light.
Read the full Classical Net Review.
