Leshnoff: Elegy, Violin Concerto No. 2 & Of Thee I Sing

Approfondimenti

Naxos has championed the music of composer Jonathan Leshnoff, with this being the fifth recording the label has devoted to his music. It seems to be having an impact, with the composer finding performance opportunities and commissions from a variety of American orchestras. The concluding work here, Of Thee I Sing, was commissioned by the Oklahoma City Symphony in 2020 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Federal Building bombing in that city. The work certainly qualifies as neo-Romantic music with its tonal harmonies and direct emotional appeal, but it is in no way unsubtle. The music converges on a setting of the title text ("My country, 'tis of thee"), with original music and the intended effect of transience after the tragedy is achieved. The center of the program is Leshnoff's Violin Concerto No. 2, composed in 2017. Sample the first movement, where a hidden low rhythmic figure at the beginning emerges into a tense prominence, with Noah Bendix-Balgley's solo violin line twisting adeptly around it. The slow movement, inspired by Jewish melody, sharply contrasts with the first, and in Bendix-Balgley's hands, it sounds like a tune that would be loved by symphonic audiences anywhere. There are four movements, the three normal concerto movements plus a short scherzo before the brisk, Coplandesque finale. It is immensely appealing music, and it is done justice by the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, here making its recording debut. Kudos all around to conductor Alexander Mickelthwate and to violinist Bendix-Balgley, who strike and maintain a consistent tone.

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