Christopher Rouse - Symphony No. 1; Clarinet Concerto (Alan Gilbert; Martin Fröst)

Information

Composer: Christopher Rouse

1. Iscariot, for chamber orchestra
2. Clarinet Concerto
3. Symphony No.1

Martin Fröst, clarinet
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Alan Gilbert, conductor

Date: 2008
Label: BIS Records
https://bis.se/composer/rouse-christopher/christopher-rouse-orchestral-music

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

Christopher Rouse is an exciting composer. All of his music, even a dark, slow work such as the First Symphony, features a striking level of tension. He's also been lucky in that his music has received a good deal of attention on disc. Both the First Symphony and Iscariot have been recorded previously, the former by Zinman on Nonesuch (later Louisville First Edition), the latter by Marin Alsop on RCA. However, both of those discs seem to have vanished, at least for now, and so it's particularly nice to see excellent new recordings available from a label that stands by its product over the long term.

The First Symphony, nominally cast as an adagio lasting nearly half an hour and featuring quotations from Bruckner's Seventh Symphony, is wholly gripping and vividly contrasted despite the slow pacing and prevailing gloomy atmosphere. Alan Gilbert conducts it at least as well as did David Zinman (who was fabulous), and the BIS engineers capture the work's volcanic climaxes with aplomb. Iscariot also is predominantly slow, but once again the intensity is unrelenting. I'm not normally a fan of works with enigmatic titles that the composer refuses to explain (just do it and get it over with!), but when the argument is as cogent and ear-catching as this, why complain? Gilbert's reading is marginally broader than Alsop's, but not a whit less absorbing.

The Clarinet Concerto is the least appealing work here. Based on the composer's recollections of wacky television game shows of the 1960s and '70s, it's hyperactive without quite managing to be funny. Rouse is nothing if not a "serious" composer, perhaps a bit too much so, but there's no denying the work's virtuoso impulse, or the fact that Martin Fröst plays the living daylights out of it. In short, this is major music by a major compositional voice; if you missed the symphony or Iscariot the first time around, now's your chance to get caught up.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/Mar09/Rouse_biscd1386.htm
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=6547

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Christopher Rouse (February 15, 1949 – September 21, 2019) was an American neoromantic composer. Rouse studied with Richard Hoffmann at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, graduating in 1971. He later completed graduate degrees under Karel Husa at Cornell University in 1977. In between, Rouse studied privately with George Crumb. Though he has written for various ensembles, Rouse was primarily known for his orchestral compositions, including a Requiem, eleven concertos, and four symphonies. He was the composer-in-residence for the New York Philharmonic from 2012 to 2015.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Rouse_(composer)
http://www.christopherrouse.com/

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Martin Fröst (born 14 December 1970) is a Swedish clarinetist and conductor. He started to learn the clarinet at the age of 8, and studied with Hans Deinzer in Germany and Sölve Kingstedt and Kjell-Inge Stevensson in Stockholm. Fröst has been described by the New York Times as having "a virtuosity and a musicianship unsurpassed by any clarinettist". As a conductor, he has been a conductor-in-association with the Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra, is currently Artistic Partner with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Fröst has recorded commercially for such labels as BIS Records and Sony Classical.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Fr%C3%B6st
http://www.martinfrost.se/

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Alan Gilbert (born February 23, 1967) is an American conductor and violinist. Gilbert was born in New York City, USA, and is the son of two now retired New York Philharmonic violinists. As a youth, he learned the violin, viola, and piano. Gilbert studied music at Harvard University, New England Conservatory, Curtis Institute and Juilliard School. He was music director of the Santa Fe Opera (2003-07) and the New York Philharmonic (2009-17), principal conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (2000-08), and is currently principal conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Gilbert_(conductor)
http://alangilbert.com/

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