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George Walker was often known as the dean of African American composers, and his music has hung on after his death at 96 even as younger ones have taken the stage and his High Modernist idiom has declined in popularity. What is perhaps most remarkable about it is the indefinable but unmissable presence of an African American aesthetic in his music, even as he generally avoided its rhythmic or melodic traits. Part of his current success has come because his orchestral music has found a champion in conductor Gianandrea Noseda, who has programmed and recorded Walker's five Sinfonias. The five performances here began to appear as digital singles in 2022 but are collected here into a single release. Walker's music has a Webernian concision, and the five all fit comfortably onto a single CD. There is a lot to be said for hearing them all together. The works date from between 1984 and 2016, with the last two coming from the composer's tenth decade. Walker's language is, as they proceed, distilled even further, with lyrical interludes such as the flute-dominated slow movement of the Sinfonia No. 2 pruned down to brief gestures in the single-movemet Sinfonia No. 4 ("Strands") of 2011 as the punchy brass choirs, angular string material, and brisk woodwind lines dominate the texture, with percussion often defining the structure. This makes the entrance of voices in the final Sinfonia No. 5 ("Visions") all the more moving; the texts commemorate the deaths of churchgoers at the hands of a white terrorist in South Carolina. This work, completed in 2016, was premiered posthumously by the Seattle Symphony, but it is good to have the rigorous version here by Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra. So it is with the other four pieces; these are ideal performances, and they are quite well recorded.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Sinfonia No. 1 (George Walker)
Gianandrea Noseda, Conductor, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center, Orchestra, MainArtist
2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Gianandrea Noseda, Conductor, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center, Orchestra, MainArtist
2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Sinfonia No. 2 (George Walker)
Gianandrea Noseda, Conductor, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center, Orchestra, MainArtist
2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Gianandrea Noseda, Conductor, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - Aaron Goldman, Flute, MainArtist - National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center, Orchestra, MainArtist
2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Gianandrea Noseda, Conductor, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center, Orchestra, MainArtist
2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Sinfonia No. 3 (George Walker)
Gianandrea Noseda, Conductor, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center, Orchestra, MainArtist
2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Gianandrea Noseda, Conductor, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center, Orchestra, MainArtist
2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Gianandrea Noseda, Conductor, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center, Orchestra, MainArtist
2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Gianandrea Noseda, Conductor, MainArtist - George Walker, Composer - National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center, Orchestra, MainArtist
2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Gianandrea Noseda, Conductor, MainArtist - Kevin Thompson, MainArtist, BassVocals - George Walker, Composer - Daniel J. Smith, MainArtist, VocalSolo - National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center, Orchestra, MainArtist - Shana Oshiro, MainArtist, SopranoSolo - DeMarcus Bolds, MainArtist, TenorSolo - V Savoy McIlwain, MainArtist, VocalSolo
2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Album review
George Walker was often known as the dean of African American composers, and his music has hung on after his death at 96 even as younger ones have taken the stage and his High Modernist idiom has declined in popularity. What is perhaps most remarkable about it is the indefinable but unmissable presence of an African American aesthetic in his music, even as he generally avoided its rhythmic or melodic traits. Part of his current success has come because his orchestral music has found a champion in conductor Gianandrea Noseda, who has programmed and recorded Walker's five Sinfonias. The five performances here began to appear as digital singles in 2022 but are collected here into a single release. Walker's music has a Webernian concision, and the five all fit comfortably onto a single CD. There is a lot to be said for hearing them all together. The works date from between 1984 and 2016, with the last two coming from the composer's tenth decade. Walker's language is, as they proceed, distilled even further, with lyrical interludes such as the flute-dominated slow movement of the Sinfonia No. 2 pruned down to brief gestures in the single-movemet Sinfonia No. 4 ("Strands") of 2011 as the punchy brass choirs, angular string material, and brisk woodwind lines dominate the texture, with percussion often defining the structure. This makes the entrance of voices in the final Sinfonia No. 5 ("Visions") all the more moving; the texts commemorate the deaths of churchgoers at the hands of a white terrorist in South Carolina. This work, completed in 2016, was premiered posthumously by the Seattle Symphony, but it is good to have the rigorous version here by Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra. So it is with the other four pieces; these are ideal performances, and they are quite well recorded.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 10 track(s)
- Total length: 01:05:10
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Gianandrea Noseda, National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center, Aaron Goldman, Shana Oshiro, DeMarcus Bolds, Daniel J. Smith, V Savoy McIlwain, Kevin
- Composer: George Walker
- Label: National Symphony Orchestra
- Genre: Classical Symphonic Music Symphonies
2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2023 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
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