British composer Bernard Rands taught at Harvard for many years and is better known in the U.S. than in Britain. He started with a musical language close to serialism but broadened it later in his career, a bit like Penderecki. The result in Rands' case fit the aims of U.S. orchestras well. He wrote tonally complex works that were nevertheless clear and easily graspable in their structure. The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, written for the Boston Symphony Orchestra on the occasion of the composer's 80th birthday, is a ...
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British composer Bernard Rands taught at Harvard for many years and is better known in the U.S. than in Britain. He started with a musical language close to serialism but broadened it later in his career, a bit like Penderecki. The result in Rands' case fit the aims of U.S. orchestras well. He wrote tonally complex works that were nevertheless clear and easily graspable in their structure. The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, written for the Boston Symphony Orchestra on the occasion of the composer's 80th birthday, is a good example. The original pianist, Jonathan Biss, reprises his role here and understands the work, which is intentionally not called a "Piano Concerto," as the composer wishes to express the balance between the piano and the orchestra. That's the main organizing principle: the balance grows more intricate over the course of the first movement but is not disrupted. The central movement is an especially effective nocturne (sample this), and the finale is an attractive virtuoso piece....
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