The three composers represented on this album are a triumvirate only in the loosest sense of the word, meaning a group of three. But the grouping works very well in many ways, and this is a release that should provide encouragement to those interested in the cause of contemporary music. All three composers deal with concerto-like contrasts between solo stringed instruments and orchestra. All the works are accessible, more or less traditional in structure, with clear tonal relationships, without being in any way classifiable ...
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The three composers represented on this album are a triumvirate only in the loosest sense of the word, meaning a group of three. But the grouping works very well in many ways, and this is a release that should provide encouragement to those interested in the cause of contemporary music. All three composers deal with concerto-like contrasts between solo stringed instruments and orchestra. All the works are accessible, more or less traditional in structure, with clear tonal relationships, without being in any way classifiable as crossover. Yet the contrasts among the works are appealing indeed. Perhaps the strongest of the set is Gabriela Lena Frank's Compadrazgo, a programmatic work linked in general terms to the concept connoted by the title, which refers to camaraderie. Of the composers who have tried to apply Bartók's ideas to Latin American music over the years, Frank is perhaps the most imaginative and diverse in terms of both musical reference and technique. She draws together various Latin...
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