Gregory Rose: Orchestral Music Gregory Rose

• Gregory Rose (b. 1948):
• 1 Birthday Ode for Aaron Copland 03:57
• Red Planet:
• 2 Red Planet: I. Valles Marineris 03:49
• 3 Red Planet: II. Syrtis Major 01:38
• 4 Red Planet: III. Olympus Mons 05:11
• 5 Red Planet: IV. Sirenum Fossae 01:56
• 6 Red Planet: V. Ascraeus Mons 01:32
• Violin Concerto No. 1:
• 7 Violin Concerto No. 1: Introduction 00:41
• 8 Violin Concerto No. 1: Episode No. 1, Calm 01:01
• 9 Violin Concerto No. 1: Episode No. 2, Fast 00:54
• 10 Violin Concerto No. 1: Episode No. 3, Fragile 03:20
• 11 Violin Concerto No. 1: Episode No. 4, Aggressive 01:36
• 12 Violin Concerto No. 1: Episode No. 5, Meditative 03:53
• 13 Violin Concerto No. 1: Episode No. 6, Agitated 00:54
• 14 Violin Concerto No. 1: Episode No. 7, Fast and Restless 01:02
• 15 Violin Concerto No. 1: Episode No. 8, Pensive 02:29
• 16 Violin Concerto No. 1: Episode No. 9, Fast and Restless 00:35
• 17 Violin Concerto No. 1: Cadenza & Coda 02:38
• Suite pour cordes:
• 18 Suite pour cordes: I. Prélude 01:32
• 19 Suite pour cordes: II. Vite 02:50
• 20 Suite pour cordes: III. Chant 02:07
• 21 Suite pour cordes: IV. Très fort 02:36
• 22 Suite pour cordes: V. Finale 04:08
• 7 Dances from "Danse macabre":
• 23 7 Dances from "Danse macabre": No. 1, — 01:32
• 24 7 Dances from "Danse macabre": No. 2, — 01:24
• 25 7 Dances from "Danse macabre": No. 3, — 01:20
• 26 7 Dances from "Danse macabre": No. 4, — 01:34
• 27 7 Dances from "Danse macabre": No. 5, — 02:05
• 28 7 Dances from "Danse macabre": No. 6, — 01:24
• 29 7 Dances from "Danse macabre": No. 7, — 02:30
• Total Runtime 01:02:08

Info for Gregory Rose: Orchestral Music

The English composer and conductor Gregory Rose (b. 1948) here presents a programme of some of his recent orchestral compositions, prefaced by a 90th-birthday tribute to Aaron Copland. Many of these pieces show the influence of Stravinsky in their angular melodies, brittle harmony, hieratic gestures and fondness for dance. Roses Violin Concerto, a single span of nine interlocking episodes, has a similar sense of implicit drama: it casts the soloist as the central character whom the instruments of the orchestra engage in dialogue as the work progresses.

The premiere of Gregory Rose’s Violin Concerto in 2018, was one of the most satisfying performances it has been my privilege to play a part in. It marked a way-station in a fascinating collaboration and treasured friendship. Greg and I are neighbours; we both live close to the Thames in East London, and our interests in and love for our neighbourhood is a constant in our conversations: the ever-present pull of the seven-metre tide not far from our respective doorsteps, the church architecture, history, bells (Greg is an indefatigable campanologist), and the many-layered stories of East London reach into our talks – instrument and pencil in hand or not.

For me, our environment counterpointed Greg’s idea of a concerto that would be series of dramatic tableaux, like the floats of a medieval ‘mystery play’ rolling past, or, more particularly, the religious wall-paintings of Northern Europe. As soon as he told me that the Berlin ‘Totentanz’ would be at the heart of the piece, we started swapping stories and pictures of other examples, and some that had inspired other artists, musicians and writers. For me, the excitement of finding inspiration in such material from the past, is the power that comes from its selective usage: after all, we are not seeing/using such paintings in the way that they were designed to be seen or used – when I look at the extraordinary medieval painting in Newark cathedral ‘Death and the Young Man’, I am not filled with dread of the afterlife, or a sense of my own sinfulness (perhaps I should be). And, as I worked with Greg on the emerging piece, I thought about Russell Hoban’s science fiction novel Riddley Walker (1980) inspired by the legend of Saint Eustace as painted on the north wall of Canterbury Cathedral in the 15th century. This book, set 2000 years after a nuclear holocaust, is written in an invented future language, incorporating surviving elements of the past (modern English and Kentish dialects): its characters play out powerful rituals rooted in the surviving fragments of iconography, popular theatre, and buildings. This seemed analogous to what Greg was writing, a narrative, very much of our own time, but flowering from the almost-palimpsest of the past-as-we-glimpse-it. This proved helpful to me, as I ‘hunted for the sound’ of the concerto. ...

Peter Sheppard Skærved, violin
Royal Ballet Sinfonia
Gregory Rose, conductor

The Latvian Radio Choir (LRC)
is a unique musical group in the domain of choral music – here is a chamber choir able to perform the widest repertoire from the early music to the most sophisticated scores created by modern composers. The Latvian Radio Choir is a creative lab insistently encouraging composers to write music that challenges the scale of vocal arsenal – from folk music to overtones and quarter tones.

Since 1992, LRC has two conductors – Sigvards Kļava, Music Director and Principal Conductor, and Kaspars Putniņš, Conductor. During the last 20 years, LRC has developed an unprecedented notion of a choir – every chorister has its own mission and individual contribution. As a result, the alloy of all the timbral bouquet stands for the sounding standard of the choral ensemble. The expertise of singers has made LRC a remarkably flexible ensemble able to deal with a wide variety of musical genres: vocal and instrumental music, as well as opera performances, multi-media projects, intimate a capella talks, and theatrical shows where singers can express themselves as versatile soloists, talented actors and instrumentalists.

The choir has been invited to perform at the top international musical forums in Salzburg and Lucerne festivals, BBC Proms, Radio France Montpellier Festival, the Baltic Sea Festival, Printemps des arts de Monte-Carlo, Klangspuren Festival, White Light Festival USA, KLANGVOKAL Dortmund, Musikfest Erzgebirge, Soundstreams in Canada, and at renowned concert halls such as the Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Konzerthaus in Berlin, and Cité de la Musique in Paris, Lincoln Centre in New York and Dresden Frauenkirche.

Latvian Radio Choir has successfully worked with many outstanding guest conductors, including Heinz Holliger, Riccardo Muti, Ricardo Chailly, Gustavo Dudamel, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Essa-Pekka Salonen, Peter Phillips, among others. The Lucerne Festival Orcestra, Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Camerata Salzburg and Concerto Copenhagen at als. have been the partners as well.

The Latvian Radio Choir records on a regular basis. The records have been published in collaboration with such labels as Ondine, Hyperion Records, Deutche Grammohon, ECM, BIS.

In 2015, a new series of recorded Latvian choral music was initiated by the record company Skani!. LRC has also been a part of recording the Grammy winner Arvo Pärt’s album Adam’s Lament (ECM), performance being conducted by Tenu Kaljuste.

One of the most valued recordings is Sergey Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil, praised by the renowned music magazine Gramophone as the best recording in February 2013 and ranked as one of the 25 best albums of the year by American radio NPR. In the summer of 2017, LRC debuted at the famous BBC Proms Festival with Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil with great success.

Latvian Radio Choir is a member and one of the four founders of Tenso, the European network for professional chamber choirs. The choir has repeatedly received the highest national award for professional achievement, including the Latvian Music Grand Prix, and the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers Award.

Latvian Radio Choir was founded in 1940 by one of the legendary Latvian choir conductors Teodors Kalniņš, who led the choir till the end of his days in 1962. Another important period in LRC history is connected with Edgars Račevskis – he was music director in 1963–1986. In 1987 – 1992 the post of LRC Music Director was held by Juris Kļaviņš, who invited Sigvards Kļava to become assistant conductor.

Booklet for Gregory Rose: Orchestral Music