Work Information
|
Programme Note
Arranger's note:
In choosing the Concord Sonata for orchestral treatment I felt, above all, that here Ives had achieved his most complete and comprehensive expression, and that of all his works, this was the one with the most immediate appeal. Henry Cowell agreed, and encouraged me to go ahead with the project... My task throughout was illuminated by Ives's own "Essays Before a Sonata" and his collected "Memos," and in some cases Ives's words helped me decipher what at first seemed baffling in his printed music... As the present millennium departs, I invite you all to welcome one of our century's musical monuments, in its new orchestral environment.
-- Henry Brant
Reviews
-
...the new piece is a major achievement, brilliantly orchestrated and surely one of the finest of all American symphonies.
Richard Todd, Ottawa Citizen
-
No other project of recent years has fascinated me so much as Henry Brant's orchestration of Charles Ives's "Concord" piano sonata. Brant's career was sparked by his exposure to Ives; he loved the "Concord" and spent 30 years on the orchestration. And his reputation, through film scores, big-band arrangements, and experimental works, is that he's the world's greatest orchestrator. The match was heaven-made...Brant proved the impossible can be done. He's given the world a brand-new Charles Ives symphony.
Kyle Gann, The Village Voice
|
|
|
|